4 Things Rangers: NHL Schedule Drops; Summer Hockey On-Sale

NHL SCHEDULE DROPS
Here’s a front-loaded look at the 10 most interesting games of the New York Rangers 2025-26 season:

1. Tuesday, September 29 (8p) — New York Rangers at Boston Bruins The middle game of ESPN’s season opening triple-header.
2. Thursday, October 1 (7p) — Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers The home opener is more meaningful after the Blueshirts won only 14 games at home last season.
3. Sunday, October 4 (6p) — Utah Mammoth at New York Rangers I don’t normally highlight hockey on a football Sunday, but luckily both the New York Giants and New York Jets are playing 1p games on the day that Vincent Trocheck returns to Madison Square Garden.
4. Monday, October 19 (7p) — Anaheim Ducks at New York Rangers Chris Kreider’s second return to MSG won’t be as emotional as his first, but the Ducks bring plenty of intrigue led by the $18m man Leo Carlsson.
5. Thursday, November 5 (7p) — Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers Now that the Flyers are relevant again — coming off their first playoff season in seven years — it would be fun if these teams rekindled their long-dormant rivalry.
6. Monday, November 30 (7p) — Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers The Stanley Cup champions come to New York on Sunday, November 22 but that’s a 1p game on a football Sunday. That’s why we are circling the rematch 8 days later.
7. Monday, December 7 (7p) — New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers NHL scheduling quirks are ubiquitous, but having these two rivals play three times in 15 days in December is ridiculous.
8. Friday, February 12 (7p) — New York Islanders at New York Rangers A Friday night “Battle of New York” should feature a raucous crowd regardless of the team’s records. Might want to keep the kids home for this one.
9. Saturday, March 13 (10p) — New York Rangers at Vegas Golden Knights Speaking of raucous, a Saturday night game in Vegas sounds like a bucket-list destination.
10. Thursday, March 18 (7p) — Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers Assuming good health, rookie Gavin McKenna will have 73 games under his belt before visiting New York City for the first time on March 18 and April 10.

SUMMER HOCKEY
The 2026 Fourth Annual Shoulder Check Showcase is scheduled for Thursday, July 30 (6p) at the Martire Family Arena on the campus of Sacred Heart University.

It’s a great opportunity to see many NHL players in a relaxed atmosphere. While they are going at scrimmage speed with no hitting, they still put on an entertaining show for a great cause.

The event honors the life of Hayden Thorsen — while promoting the importance of checking in on the mental health of your family, friends, and teammates. As of this writing, tickets are still available.

Players expected to participate include current New York Rangers (Pavel Dorofeyev, Adam Fox, JT Miller, Matt Rempe) and ex-Blueshirts (Chris Kreider, Frank Vatrano). Plus, local products like Spencer Knight (Chicago Blackhawks via Stamford, CT ), Brett Pesce (New Jersey Devils via Tarrytown, NY), and Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia Flyers via Bedford, NY).


IS DRURY STILL SHOPPING?
GM Chris Drury inked D Braden Schneider to a 1-year, $5.5m contract this past week, leaving only young RFA defensemen Vincent Iorio and Scott Morrow unsigned. Neither player has leverage and will probably sign two-way contracts calling for $1m or less annually before training camp opens in September.

Once that’s done, does Drury head to a cottage in Canada like all the Canadian-born executives? Or is he still looking to upgrade his top 9 forwards?

We talked about the Rangers’ potential interest in the aforementioned Shoulder Check Showcase star Frank Vatrano, but that would require opening up cap space (i.e., sending Schneider to one team for a cheaper RHD, then acquiring Vatrano from the cash-strapped Anaheim Ducks).

Since Schneider has been available since The Letter v2.0 was issued on January 16, we believe he will be at MSG on Opening Night. His value increases when you consider the recent injury history of the two players ahead of him on the depth chart — Sean Durzi (missed 74 games over the last two seasons) and Adam Fox (missed 33).

Plus, if you look at the Rangers’ likely 22-man roster, they will only have approximately $2m left to give to an available free agent. That makes signing someone like Eeli Tolvanen unlikely. It also makes Drury’s decision to trade for Joonas Korpisalo, a $3m AAV back-up goalie, even more perplexing.


ADAM HENRIQUE
Adam Henrique broke the Rangers’ hearts as a rookie on May 25, 2012, when his OT goal propelled the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals and sent the Rangers home. With apologies to Henrik Lundqvist and his former teammates, the 36-year-old free agent would be the perfect replacement for Johnny Brodzinski in the Rangers locker room.

As the Blueshirts 13^th man, Brodzinski, now with the Washington Capitals, still managed to play in 57, 51, and 55 games the last three seasons. Henrique is a more accomplished forward with 572 points in 1058 career games, but he’s slowed down in the last 2+ seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite that, he has exactly what you are looking for in a veteran utility role. He can play all three forward positions, and has had a tremendous winning percentage in the faceoff circle the last ten years with the Anaheim Ducks (53%) and Oilers (55%).

If he’s looking for a full-time role, I would pass. However, if returning to the NYC Metropolitan Area as an elder statesman interests him, he could change his image at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

ICYMI “New York Rangers: Grading Every Offseason Move”