The New York Rangers still have plenty of work to do this offseason to fill out their roster. General manager Chris Drury shocked many around the NHL by acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights. After landing the star winger, New York rewarded him with a massive seven-year, $77 million ($11 million AAV) contract.
The move gives the Rangers a new premier scorer to partner with center Mika Zibanejad and winger Alexis Lafreniere. While New York now has a quality first line, there are plenty of question marks regarding the rest of their forward group. The future of veteran Vincent Trocheck will now need to be sorted out. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed on June 29 that Drury’s asking price for the center is still extremely high.
On top of this, the Rangers are still looking to strengthen their two bottom forward lines. Although New York has options, The Athletic’s Peter Baugh has specifically pointed to former Florida Panthers winger A.J. Greer. According to the beat writer, Greer would “fit the identity the Rangers are hoping to build.”
This is not the first time that Baugh has linked New York to the Florida winger. The reporter also specifically pointed to Greer as a great bottom-six option for the Rangers earlier in the month. Before helping the Panthers collect the 2025 Stanley Cup, the winger played for four different NHL teams in five seasons. Nevertheless, he eventually settled in nicely in South Florida. He is coming off a career year, with 32 points during the 2025-26 season.
Adding A.J. Greer Would Fill a Significant New York Rangers Need
GettyFormer Panther A.J. Greer would be a great fit with the New York Rangers.
Greer’s solid season in Florida came with increased responsibility. In fact, he averaged nearly three more minutes per game on the ice this past season compared to the 2024-25 campaign. Typically viewed as a physical fore-checker, Greer helped increase his offensive output by staying out of the box. Despite featuring more on the ice, the veteran had fewer penalty minutes in 2025-26 than the previous year.
The New York Rangers would be hoping that Greer can continue this style of play in the Big Apple. New York could certainly benefit from adding a player with this combination of physicality and decent offense. The winger’s 203 hits and 104 total shots are particularly impressive considering he averaged just 12:26 per game last season.
Following his exit interview back in April, Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan specifically pointed to strengthening his bottom-six during this offseason. This was even though New York already has several young forwards who could fill these roles. Sullivan clearly wants to add quality veterans to his roster this summer.
New York Can Afford to Land the Veteran Forward
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston recently ranked Greer as the 43rd-best NHL unrestricted free agent. At the time, the insider predicted that the winger would soon receive a new contract in the neighborhood of three years, $8.4 million ($2.8 million AAV). If true, the New York Rangers would quite easily be able to afford the move.
According to Puckpedia.com, the Rangers have nearly $16 million in projected cap space. With Dorofeyev locked up, New York does not need to make any more major splashes to its forward group. Instead, Drury and Co. will likely be looking to make minor deals, such as targeting Greer. Assuming the Rangers offload Trocheck soon, they will also free up extra funds.
Rangers Named Great Fit for Veteran Cup-Winning Forward