Rangers report card: Grading the defensemen and goalies at midseason, from Fox to Shesterkin

Collectively, the New York Rangers group of defensemen had a difficult first half of the season, which will be reflected in their grades.

Thats done the goalies no favors behind them.

Before getting into the individual evaluations, here are some parameters: This story focuses only on players currently on the roster, plus those in the minors who have played more than 10 games.

Victor Mancini, who meets that threshold, gets a grade, but Chad Ruhwedel does not.

Jacob Trouba , who was traded, also does not get a grade.

Advertisement Players are graded based on how they have done compared to preseason expectations.

An A means the player is having a great season compared to what was expected, B is good, C is average, D is bad and F is, well, really bad.

An A for Adam Fox , who has won a Norris Trophy, looks different than an A for Braden Schneider or Zac Jones .

Players are ordered from most to least points.

A similar story on forwards ran earlier this week.

GO DEEPER Rangers report card: Grading the forwards at midseason, from Panarin to Rempe Now, away we go.

Defensemen 41 games, 2 goals, 33 points, plus-2 At his best, Fox is one of the five or so best defensemen in the NHL .

That makes this season a bit of a disappointment.

He hasnt been close to the main reason the Rangers are struggling, but his game has taken steps back.

Hes shooting the puck less, both at even strength and on the power play, and thats led to him having only two goals, one of which was on an empty net.

Still, hes a steady player, and the Rangers rely on him in all situations.

He has a mediocre grade only because of the high standard hes set.

41 games, 2 goals, 10 points, plus-5 Schneider is on pace for a slight career high in points, and hes earned more responsibility this season, going from 15:54 of ice time per game in 2023-24 to 17:11.

He arguably has deserved even more ice time.

Opponents have outshot the Rangers with Schneider on the ice, but some of that is because most of his zone starts have come on the defensive end.

Overall, he has not had a breakout season but one that is in line with his general progression.

Still only 23, theres a lot to like about his game and potential.

36 games, 2 goals, 9 points, minus-5 Lindgren has to take on challenging minutes and has made some loud mistakes this season.

Plus-minus is a flawed stat, but its notable that Lindgren has been at least a plus-16 every year hes played at least six games.

This year, hes minus-5.

He suffered a jaw injury in the preseason and had to wear a face shield at the start of the year, which didnt help his play.

Hes scoring at a similar rate to past seasons but has not been as steady as the Rangers have needed.

Still, hes part of a strong penalty-killing unit and will be an interesting name to monitor come the trade deadline, especially if the Rangers fall out of the race.

26 games, 1 goal, 8 points, plus-2 When hes been on the ice, Jones has performed similarly to last season.

The 24-year-old can move the puck but at times has gotten caught too low in the offensive zone, which has led to rush chances and goals against.

He seems to have fallen out of favor with coach Peter Laviolette, who has scratched him each of the past seven games.

Jones wants to play and needs to for his development but hed have to clear waivers to go down to the AHL.

That puts him and the Rangers in a tough spot.

Hes a trade candidate, or the Rangers could put him back in the lineup if another defenseman gets hurt.

Advertisement 35 games, 2 goals, 7 points, minus-6 In 79 games in 2022-23, Miller had 43 points almost all at even strength and played 21:57 a night.

Now 24, hes still logging 21:37 per game and going against hard competition, but his offensive numbers are down drastically.

Miller has great potential, as shown in 2022-23, but hes regressed in each of the past two years under Laviolette and assistant Phil Housley, who works with the defensemen.

15 games, 1 goal, 5 points, minus-3 Mancini is still raw, but the fact that he showed enough to earn a spot on the opening night roster out of training camp is encouraging for the Rangers.

Even though he wasnt ready to claim a role as an NHL regular, he gets a B because of his emergence as a prospect.

10 games, 1 goal, 2 points, minus-1 Borgen, acquired in the Kaapo Kakko deal, played in the Seattle Kraken s top four in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

His role diminished this season under coach Dan Bylsma, which factored into both his struggles with the Kraken and his trade to the Rangers.

His game has started to pick up as hes gotten settled with New York.

Laviolette is giving him top-four minutes, and hes put together a couple of strong games in a row.

He and Miller both jumped out Thursday against New Jersey .

Still, he hasnt gotten enough of a sample with the Rangers to get a grade.

11 games, 0 goals, 1 point, even The Rangers got Vaakanainen in the Jacob Trouba trade.

Like Borgen, he hasnt played enough to get a grade.

So far hes looked like a replacement-level player who can provide a team minutes in a third-pairing role.

Goalies 12-15-1, .906 save percentage To put it kindly, the Rangers have been inconsistent defensively in front of Shesterkin, which has contributed to what is currently a career-low save percentage.

Hes still third in the league in goals saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey, and was a big reason the Rangers got off to a 12-4-1 start.

Theres no doubt hes one of the best goalies in the league.

Next year, when his eight-year, $11.5 million average annual value extension kicks in, hell be paid like the very best.

Advertisement 6-5-1, .900 save percentage Aside from when Shesterkin was out with an upper-body injury, Laviolette has played Quick against lesser opponents than his starter.

Quick has had some strong nights, including his 32-save showing against the Boston Bruins and a shutout in Seattle, but has gotten lit up a few times as well.

Thats good enough for a 38-year-old on a team-friendly deal.

(Top photo of Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin: Wendell Cruz / USA Today).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6053063/2025/01/11/rangers-defensemen-goalie-grades/