The New York Rangers are coming off a disappointing season after losing in bad fashion to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs and after deciding to part ways with John Tortorella, the team has a new head coach with Alain Vigneault taking over.
That isn't the only thing that will be new either, as the NHL set up its division realignment and now the Rangers are in the Metropolitan Division along with the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets. The team is coming back strong with Rick Nash and Brad Richards and the team also has the best goalie in the conference in Henrik Lundqvist, which will always give them a chance in the playoffs.
The Rangers have made some moves this offseason already and recently signed center Mats Zuccarello to a one-year deal worth over $1 million, leaving just Derek Stepan to re-sign. The team decided to keep Richards after a rough playoffs and now the 25-year-old center will be with the team at least through next year. Last season he scored three goals and had five assists in just 15 games and also has six assists and seven points while playing in 12 playoff games before the Rangers were eliminated.
The new schedule offers some very interesting matchups for the Blueshirts, including a meeting with former coach John Tortorella at MSG in New York at the end of November. The Rangers will open on October 3 playing against the Coyotes and will have their home opener at the end of October while the Garden gets touched up once again over the summer. Last season the team finished second in the Atlantic division behind the Penguins and ended the regular season after the lockout with a 26-18-4 record.
