Rink Rap | A New York Rangers Podcast from Forever Blueshirts

Jim Cerny is joined by Steve and Joe of Broadway Block for a wide-open Rangers roundtable as the offseason takes shape. The crew debates whether Alexis Lafrenière can finally hit superstar territory on the Mika/Perreault line, why JT Miller has to bounce back, and whether Chris Drury is the right man to steer this retool. Plus: the top-six skill problem, the case for trading up (or staying put) at #5 for Anton Frondell or Porter Martone, Braydon Schneider's bridge-deal future, the Vincent Trocheck timing question, and why the Rangers still need to address the backup goalie spot behind Igor — even with Dylan Garand pushing for it.

Live chat questions from the Blueshirts faithful sprinkled throughout.

Jim Cerny breaks down what Charlie Coyle's six-year deal in Columbus means for a potential Vincent Trocheck trade out of New York, why Chris Drury must absolutely nail the No. 5 pick and the retool, and whether Mike Sullivan's B-minus report card grade was fair. Then James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now joins the show for a "misery loves company" sitdown — Devils edition: the Jack Hughes Chicago dinner injury, the Quinn Hughes saga that helped cost Tom Fitzgerald his job, what new GM Sunny Mehta might do, and the Markstrom-Shesterkin goalie fight. Plus: if you're building a team from scratch with one local coach — Sullivan, Sheldon Keefe, or Peter DeBoer — who do you pick?

Chapters:

0:00 — Welcome back, recapping last week at Mustang Harry's

2:08 — Rangers fall to No. 5, Toronto wins the lottery

6:30 — Charlie Coyle re-signs with Columbus

9:30 — Why Drury must nail the Trocheck trade

13:00 — Minnesota, Detroit, and LA as Trocheck fits

15:30 — Report card fallout: Drury's D, Sully's B-minus

22:00 — The Lafrenière burden isn't going away

25:30 — A Pavel Dorofeev offer sheet pipe dream

28:15 — James Nichols joins: misery loves company

31:00 — The cursed Chicago dinner that broke the Devils

35:00 — Markstrom vs. Shesterkin

39:30 — Quinn Hughes saga and the end of Tom Fitzgerald

44:30 — Sizing up new Devils GM Sunny Mehta

52:00 — The Metro is wide open behind Carolina

55:30 — Sullivan, Keefe, or DeBoer — who do you build with?

Jim Cerny on why Coyle's six-year deal in Columbus is the best news Chris Drury could've gotten, what the Rangers need to extract for Trocheck, the Lafrenière burden, and report card pushback on Sullivan's B-minus.

James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now joins Jim for a "misery loves company" Rangers-Devils sitdown — the Jack Hughes Chicago dinner injury, the Markstrom-Shesterkin fight, the Quinn Hughes mess that ended Tom Fitzgerald, and whether Sunny Mehta packages the No. 12 pick for an aggressive move.

Jim Cerny is live from Mustang Harry's in midtown Manhattan with Lou Orlando of Forever Blueshirts for instant reaction to the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery — and it didn't go the Rangers' way. Sitting on the third-best odds, the Blueshirts got leapfrogged twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs vaulted up to grab the No. 1 overall pick (saving Boston the Brandon Carlo trade pick in the process) and the San Jose Sharks landed No. 2. The Rangers slide all the way down to fifth.

Jim and Lou break down what a top-five pick in a deep draft class actually means for a team that needs everything: Gavin McKenna goes to Toronto, Michael Misa or one of the top defensemen like Chase Reid and Jackson Smith become the realistic targets at five, and the conversation turns to whether Chris Drury should trade the pick for proven NHL talent — Brady Tkachuk, Jason Robertson, Pavel Dorofeyev, even a hypothetical Connor McDavid scenario after his frustrated end-of-season presser in Edmonton. Plus: where Will Cuylle really fits, the Braden Schneider trade fit in San Jose, and why "retool, not rebuild" isn't just semantics for James Dolan and the front office.

#Rangers #NYR #NHLDraftLottery #RinkRap #ForeverBlueshirts #NHLDraft #LetsGoRangers

Chapters: 

00:00 — Live from Mustang Harry's, the lottery results are in

01:00 — How the balls fell: Rangers needed 9 or 14, got 12

03:00 — Toronto jumps to #1, saves Boston's Carlo pick

05:00 — The new top five: Rangers slide to fifth

07:30 — Lou Orlando joins the show

11:30 — Misa, Reid, and who could fall to five

17:00 — Did the final month soften the blow?

24:30 — Schneider to San Jose — does it still make sense?

27:30 — Retool vs. rebuild: why the word matters

38:00 — Drafting for need or best player available

45:00 — A pissed-off McDavid and what it could mean

49:00 — The Brady Tkachuk trade math

52:00 — Robertson and Dorofeyev as RFA targets

58:00 — Where Will Cuylle actually fits

1:01:30 — Lou's gut reaction to the lottery

1:06:00 — What to do with that second first-round pick

1:09:30 — Wrap-up from Mustang Harry's

Brady Tkachuk spoke to the media in Ottawa — and he didn't hold back. Murray Pam of Hockey Hot Stove joins us live from the arena, straight out of the press conference, to break down exactly what Tkachuk said and what his body language told the room. Spoiler: he's frustrated, he's committed, and he's tired of being asked.

Then we pivot to the New York Rangers offseason — the NHL Draft Lottery is just days away (Tuesday, May 5), and the Rangers hold an 11.5% chance at the #1 overall pick with a guaranteed top-5 selection. We break down what that means for the rebuild, how the roster looks right now, what Mike Sullivan said at breakup day, and who the key players are in the bottom-six development race.

Plus: GM moves around the league — Toronto eyeing John Chayka and Mats Sundin, Sunny Mehta named New Jersey's new GM, and former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton talks about the 2018 rebuild, Jim Dolan's vision, and how he found out he was fired.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro & Episode Overview 

01:00 – BREAKING: Brady Tkachuk Press Conference (w/ Murray Pam, Hockey Hot Stove) 

18:05 – Segment 2 Intro: Rangers Offseason & Draft Lottery Preview 

25:00 – NHL Draft Lottery: Rangers' Odds, Top Prospects & What's at Stake

32:00 – Rangers Roster Breakdown: Bottom-Six, Greentree, Aspinall, Cartier & More 

42:00 – Free Agency Strategy & Pavel Dorofeyev as a Target 

46:30 – GM Carousel: Toronto, New Jersey, Vancouver & Seattle 

48:45 – Jeff Gorton on the 2018 Rangers Rebuild & Jim Dolan 

51:00 – Closing & What's Coming Next Week (Hart Levine/Puckpedia)

Murray Pam joins straight from the rink to break down Brady Tkachuk's surprise Ottawa press conference — why he's fed up with trade rumors, his commitment to the Senators, and what the next 12 months could mean for his future.

Jim breaks down the Rangers' offseason priorities — the high-stakes May 5 Draft Lottery, the roster as it stands today, free agency strategy (including a Dorofeyev offer-sheet idea), and the latest on GM moves around the league.

Jim Cerny sits down with Newsday Rangers beat writer Colin Stephenson to break down a difficult season and look ahead to what could be a defining offseason for New York. The two dig into the gaping hole in the top six left by the Artemi Panarin trade, whether the Rangers have the pieces — or the assets — to fix it, and why the free agent market this summer won't bail them out. They also assess Mike Sullivan's first year behind the bench, the encouraging post-Olympic stretch from Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault, what to realistically expect from the prospect pipeline, the Mika Zibanejad bounce-back season, the injury toll on Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox, and what a Chris Drury retool actually looks like. Plus — should Vincent Trocheck be moved, and is Alex Tuch a realistic free agent target?

🎙️ Rink Rap is the New York Rangers podcast from Forever Blueshirts.

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Chapters:

0:00 — Intro & welcome to Colin Stephenson 

3:56 — Rangers' top six problem: who replaces Panarin's production? 

6:29 — Was trading Panarin always the plan — and why? 

8:02 — JT Miller & the shift toward a grittier identity 

26:14 — Lafreniere's breakout: sustainable or situational? 

29:24 — Gabe Perreault: encouraging signs, but pump the brakes 

30:00 — Sakura, Kamilash and keeping youth expectations in check 

32:06 — Mike Sullivan's first season: the good, the bad, the verdict 

43:57 — Vincent Trocheck: keep him or trade him? 

48:17 — The Florida Panthers model and why skill still wins 

50:51 — Chris Drury's roster-building philosophy: overcorrected on grit? 

57:30 — Adam Fox injury concerns and the Igor Shesterkin health factor 

01:01:46 — Cap space, free agency outlook and the Tuch/Radish UFA market 

01:02:28 — Trade vs. free agency: the smarter path to upgrading the Rangers

im Cerny breaks down two of the biggest storylines heading into the Rangers offseason. First, he pays tribute to Jonathan Quick, who announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons — reflecting on the iconic send-off the Florida Panthers gave him after his final game, his legacy as a three-time Stanley Cup champion and probable Hall of Famer, and what his three years in New York meant to the organization on and off the ice. Jim also digs into what comes next between the pipes: the Dylan Gran question, the free agent backup market and how the Rangers' approach will signal exactly how much they trust their prospect.

Then after the break, Jim turns to Vincent Trocheck — the elephant in the room. With a failed trade deadline move behind them, Jim examines Trocheck's body language, his reduced media presence, and why moving him this offseason is the right call for both sides. The Trocheck decision, Jim argues, is the linchpin of the entire Rangers retool.

#NewYorkRangers #RinkRap #ForeverBlueshirts #JonathanQuick #VincentTrocheck #DylanGran #NHLOffseason

Chapters:

0:00 — Jim opens the show, previews a two-topic episode and teases full offseason coverage ahead

1:35 — Jonathan Quick retirement announced; Jim reacts to Quick's final game and the Panthers' ice tribute

4:40 — Bobrovsky orchestrates the on-ice farewell; Jim on what "great appreciates great" really means

6:00 — Quick's legacy: 410 wins, three Cups, and a case for the Hockey Hall of Fame

7:37 — The 2023-24 season revisited — Quick at his best as a Ranger, and the role he played in Igor's mid-year reset

12:00 — This season's collapse; what Quick's decline exposed about the Rangers' backup situation

17:00 — Dylan Gran's playoff track record and the big question: is he ready to be the No. 2?

18:43 — Jim argues the Rangers must sign a veteran backup this offseason — Spencer Martin is not the answer

20:55 — Break preview: goaltender free agent options and the Trocheck situation coming up

23:02 — Back from break; Jim runs through the veteran backup market and no-name-but-solid options

25:15 — Kevin Maxwell returns to the Rangers as Director of Pro Scouting — congratulations and context

26:16 — Cam Talbot, Daniel Tarasov and the two-category framework for evaluating backup candidates

28:00 — The AHL route: Brandon Halverson, Caden Primo, Phoenix Copley and the training camp battle idea

32:40 — What signing a Rittich or Comrie over Gran would actually signal about the organization's plans

35:08 — The Matt Murray wildcard: the Sully factor, the injury history, and whether it's worth a camp invite

39:11 — Pivoting to Trocheck: Jim on the body language, the media absence and the failed trade deadline deal

41:27 — Why trading Trocheck this offseason is the right move — for the Rangers and for Vinnie himself

43:31 — Closing thoughts; Rangers wrap up Wednesday in Tampa, draft lottery odds, and what's ahead on Rink Rap