The New York Rangers are all in on the Stanley Cup. Their gaze is firmly set on hockey's top prize. In this Rangers 2024-25 season preview, I'll detail if the Rangers can win the Cup and how to bet on them in their quest this season.
New York Rangers Offseason Acquisitions
- Traded for Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins
- Signed Braden Schneider to a 2-year contract
New York Rangers Offseason Departures
- Waived Barclay Goodrow
- Blake Wheeler became a UFA
- Jack Roslovic signed with Carolina Hurricanes
- Erik Gustafsson signed with Detroit Red Wings
- Alex Wennberg signed with San Jose Sharks
New York Rangers 2024-25 Season Preview: One Last Push For Cup?
If the Rangers want to win the Cup, step 1 is to avoid winning the Presidents' Trophy. Last year, New York ended the regular season with the best record but fell to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the 11th year in a row where the best regular season team didn't win the Cup. The Presidents' Trophy curse is real. New York would be wise to avoid it this year.
Thankfully, for them, oddsmakers are giving them the seventh-best odds to win the trophy at +1150. Meaning the curse will be passed on to someone else this year.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | +600 |
| Dallas Stars | +900 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +950 |
| Florida Panthers | +950 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1150 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1200 |
| New York Rangers | +1250 |
There were no big changes in the Rangers lineup over the offseason. Most of the additions and subtractions were around the fringes of the roster. So I expect a similar output in the regular season. And by that, I mean making the playoffs with at least 100 points.
Sportsbooks have set the Rangers' odds to make the playoffs at -345. A 78% implied odd. They've also placed their regular season points total at 100.5 with either side at -110. So clearly, the books agree with me.
The Rangers' Metropolitan Division won't be the murderers row it used to be. Columbus will be horrible this year, Philadelphia is still rebuilding, Pittsburgh will take another step backward and for all of Washington's efforts at retooling on the fly I doubt all of their new pieces can gel.
| Team | Total (Over Odds/Under Odds) |
|---|---|
| New Jersey Devils | 100.5 (-125/+100) |
| New York Rangers | 100.5 (-110/-110) |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 100.5 (-110/-110) |
| New York Islanders | 91.5 (-110/-110) |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 90.5 (-110/-110) |
| Washington Capitals | 89.5 (-125/+100) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 85.5 (-110/-110) |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 67.5 (-115/-111) |
The Rangers will play Columbus and Pittsburgh four times and have three dates against Philadelphia and Washington this year. That's fourteen winable inter-divisional games. The Blueshirts could easily cross the 100-point threshold by banking a ton of points thanks to a weak Metro.
No doubt New York will succeed in the regular season once again. The doubt sets in once New York makes the playoffs.
New York Rangers 2024-25 Playoff Odds
Before a puck is dropped, the Rangers hold the seventh-best odds to win the Stanley Cup at +1350. This is an improved position from last year when New York had the 10th-best odds at +2000.
New York has already proven they can go deep into the playoffs with this current roster by going to the Conference Finals twice in the last three years. Which is much better than say New Jersey (+1100 to win the Cup) or Carolina (+1250) who have a combined one Conference Final appearance in three years.
The key to any deep playoff run is having an elite shot-stopper between the pipes. The Rangers have that with current Vezina Trophy favorite Igor Shesterkin. Over the past three playoffs, there is no better goalie than Shesterkin with his 12.98 goals saved above average, Adin Hill and Sergey Bobrovsky are 2nd and 3rd respectively and they both powered their respective teams to a Cup.
I'm not calling the Blueshirts Stanley Cup favorites, but they've got what it takes to win so getting them now while their odds are longer than they should be is a good idea for any sharp bettor out there.
