It’s been a nightmare season for the Rangers. They followed up last season’s President’s Trophy win and six-game Eastern Conference Finals defeat to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida with a trudging 35-32-7 record through 74 games — 21st in the NHL in points percentage.
Part of that, lately, has been by design. General manager Chris Drury thought the team needed major changes. He started by waiving heart-and-soul winger Barclay Goodrow in the offseason. He then spent months trying to execute a trade of his captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, while pursuing star center J.T. Miller.
The early results have the Rangers outside a playoff spot — far enough outside that Drury sold some depth pieces at the trade deadline. That would imply that the Rangers were giving up on the season, but they only sold off players on expiring contracts. New York’s actions all season indicate it is not interested in starting a long-term rebuild.
Perreault, New York’s top prospect, has a great story. He went from falling to No. 23 in the 2023 NHL Draft to being considered among the top young prospects on the planet in a short span thanks to scoring 108 points across 73 NCAA games — becoming one of the most decorated players in the history of a decorated NCAA program. Perreault started his college career as an undersized prospect with skating concerns and became one of the top contributors for a Boston College team that made two deep postseason runs — packing on weight and improving his skating in the process.
The Rangers are poised to insert Perreault onto a line with former No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere and top center J.T. Miller. This is a dress rehearsal for what the Rangers hope is to come from the playmaking 19-year-old winger.
What sense would it make to not bring Perreault in for these final games while the Rangers are trying to salvage a playoff push? An extra year on his entry-level deal would be valuable, but Perreault has earned leverage by being a top NCAA player. Signing Perreault indicates the Rangers view him no differently — as far as NCAA prospects go — than how Calgary viewed Johnny Gaudreau, Colorado viewed Cale Makar, Anaheim viewed Cutter Gauthier or Washington viewed Perreault’s teammate Ryan Leonard.
There is a financial benefit to signing Perreault this season. If the team believes in the player, signing Perreault earlier will limit his ability to maximize his second contract. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement, signed in 2012 and extended in 2020, doesn’t allow a player of Perreault’s age to seek an offer sheet in restricted free agency unless he has accrued three professional seasons of 10 games or more. The Rangers only have eight games remaining in the regular season.
On ice, Perreault adds a deeply needed infusion of puck skill into the Rangers forward group. On a team that has often looked exhausted, they now have a reinforcement who has played a much lighter NCAA schedule compared to his new NHL teammates.
New York hasn’t yet folded its hand. The Rangers want to win hockey games — something they’re better equipped to do with Gabriel Perreault on the ice.
Perreault will get a chance to prove it Wednesday night when he debuts against Minnesota. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
