The Rangers have already put in plenty of offseason work, but they’ve been open about wanting at least one more piece up front — and one of the more tantalizing names still on the board would check a real box.
New York is looking for another forward, ideally someone who can handle a middle-six role and push Oliver Bjorkstrand and Taylor Raddysh, currently penciled in as the No. 2 and No. 3 right wingers, further down the depth chart. Add a player with top-six upside to that group and the lineup suddenly looks a lot deeper. The problem is that free agency is thin this late. One option stands out anyway: Patrik Laine.
The Interest Level Is the Question
At 28 and still in his prime, Laine profiles as a classic low-risk, high-reward swing. He’s not flawless, but the ceiling is obvious.
The catch is whether the Rangers are actually in on him. Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic laid out the situation, writing that Laine is “another intriguing option who’s lingering on the market” and will “likely have to settle for a one-year, prove-it contract, which is right in New York’s wheelhouse, but Drury’s interest is unclear.”
That contract structure is the appealing part. A one-year, prove-it deal should slide into the Rangers’ cap picture without much trouble, and if they needed to clear a little extra room, there are moves available to make it work.
What Laine Would Bring
When Laine is right, he can flat-out fill the net. He broke in as an All-Star, scoring 36 goals with the Winnipeg Jets in 2016-17, then followed it with a career-high 44 the next season. He added 30 in 2018-19 to open his career with three straight 30-goal campaigns.
He hasn’t hit that mark since, but he does have seven 20-goal seasons on his resume. The most recent came in 2024-25 with the Montreal Canadiens, when he scored 20 in 52 games and chipped in 13 assists. Core muscle surgery limited him to just five games this past season before he reached free agency.
That last stretch is the part that raised eyebrows. Laine made comments about not being injured late in the year while remaining on injured reserve without a path back onto the ice. If he’s healthy, he’s exactly the kind of bet a Rangers team hunting for wing help should be willing to take.
Whether Drury sees it that way is the open question. The fit and the price both line up. The only missing ingredient is confirmation that New York actually wants to pull the trigger.
