Rangers coach Mike Sullivan drops Stanley Cup roster take

The New York Rangers announced Mike Sullivan as the franchise’s 38th head coach on Thursday — and the two-time Stanley Cup champion believes his new roster has what it takes to win it all.

“They’re a really talented group; they’ve been knocking on the door to the Stanley Cup for a number of years now,” Sullivan said in his introductory press conference. “Every time we’ve played against this group of players, they’ve been fierce battles. I’ve grown so much respect over the years for the talent that the Rangers have.”

The bench boss continued: “I look forward to the opportunity to get to know some of these guys on a more personal level. I look forward to the opportunity to work with them both on the ice and off the ice, to try to become the most competitive team we can become and ultimately challenge for a Stanley Cup. That’s what drives us every day. …The prospect of working with this group of players to try to accomplish something special is exciting.”

The Rangers enjoyed one of their best regular seasons in franchise history in 2023-24, winning the President’s Trophy under Peter Laviolette and coming within two wins of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

But things went off the rails in 2024-25; the roster regressed mightily, and the club finished 39-36-7. New York missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020-21, costing Laviolette his job.

When Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways, general manager Chris Drury didn’t wait long to hire the 57-year-old.

“I truly believe Mike is a premier coach in the National Hockey League,” Drury said on Thursday. “The second Mike was available, we quickly and aggressively pursued him. There’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m very excited to be partnering with Mike.”

Rangers could look a lot different come October

Sullivan will certainly have his work cut out for him, especially after the way the last few months of the season went in the Big Apple. Heading into 2025-26, the roster already looks much different than it did during the 2024 Eastern Conference Final.

Former captain Jacob Trouba is no longer part of the equation, nor is Ryan Lindgren, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko or Reilly Smith. Veterans Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are also coming off down years, and have seen their names swirling in trade rumors for months.

And K’Andre Miller, who has been a staple on the blue line, needs a new contract and might not be back next season.

There is still a ton of talent on the team, led by Artemi Panarin and JT Miller, and a great crop of young players that includes Brennan Othmann, Gabriel Perreault and Brett Berard, among others.

But this is a completely different squad than the one that nearly beat the Florida Panthers two springs ago, and it’s going to be difficult to return to the dance in a Metropolitan Division that remains extremely competitive.

It’ll be intriguing to see if Sullivan can steer this roster back to the postseason — and a chance to play for Lord Stanley — after a rare miss in 2025.