Peter Baugh got us started with Part 1 of our offseason mailbag earlier this week. Now it’s my turn to dive in with Part 2.

(Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

How would you grade GM Chris Drury’s offseason? — Steven K.

My initial thought is that a B feels right because the roster is more competitive now than when the offseason began. Since we won’t be able to properly judge many of Drury’s moves for a few more years, though, the real answer is probably TBD.

There are so many variables that will dictate how we look back on this summer. It starts with Pavel Dorofeyev and No. 5 pick Alberts Šmits, two players who were acquired to be franchise cornerstones and must now prove they can shoulder those responsibilities. Cole Beaudoin is another key figure, with the future development of the 20-year-old center a critical part of evaluating the Vincent Trocheck trade. Above all, what becomes of the 2028 and 2030 first-round picks the Rangers traded for Dorofeyev and Marcus Pettersson, respectively, will eventually tell us if Drury took the right course or set the franchise back even further.

Until we have those answers, the grade remains incomplete.

I definitely get the upgrades to our second-pair D, and I think those were good moves, particularly Pettersson. But where does drafting Šmits and all those other LHD, plus the extra D pickups, leave Drew Fortescue and Matthew Robertson? — Erik K.

You never want to put a ceiling on young players, particularly a prospect like Fortescue, who’s still only 21 and just turned pro. Maybe one (or both) forces their way into the lineup permanently, but the likeliest outcome is that Pettersson, Šmits and Vladislav Gavrikov hold down spots on the left side of the defense for years to come, thereby crowding out Fortescue and Robertson or pushing them to their off-hand side.

There may come a time when New York looks to move on from one of the veterans in favor of a younger option, especially if 2026 draft picks Ben MacBeath and Charlie Morrison come charging in a few years. But there’s also a chance that the Rangers use some of their defensive depth to target forwards, trading from a position of newfound strength to address an area they know needs more pop.

The reality is that some of these prospects won’t pan out, but if several do and a logjam is created, that would fall into the good-problem category.

The best offensive teams in the NHL scored about 3.5 goals per game last season. The Rangers sat at 2.87, and that was with Panarin for much of the year. To be even middle of the pack offensively and score three goals per game, where in the world are 252 goals coming from? — Jake E.

It starts with Dorofeyev, who scored a combined 72 goals the past two seasons (plus another 12 in this year’s playoffs) and gives New York a young shooter it desperately needed. But the 25-year-old is going to need help in terms of playmakers who can get him the puck and other scorers who can ease his offensive burden. For that to happen, the Rangers will need these three things to fall into place.

Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault, who combined for 43 points in New York’s final 23 games last season, build on that momentum and cement themselves as legitimate top-six wingers.
Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller, who are entering their age-33 seasons, prove they can still be productive as a one-two center punch.
An upgraded D corps makes more offensive contributions following a season in which only two defensemen eclipsed 18 points.

That’s a lot of ifs, but most of it will have to come to fruition for the Rangers to improve their attack. (It’s also worth noting that they’re still trying to add reinforcements.)

With a legitimate PP2 QB on the team for the first time in ages in Sean Durzi, should we expect any shakeups in units or the mix of ice time? — Dan T.

Five-on-five offense remains a primary concern, but the power play can relieve some of that pressure. Last season’s debacle makes it easy to forget that the Rangers finished with the NHL’s fifth-best PP, converting at 24.7 percent. There were glaring hot and cold streaks, and they’re moving forward without their biggest weapon in Artemi Panarin. But they still have the makings of a high-quality unit.

Dorofeyev will replace Panarin on the right half wall, where he’s a natural fit as a left-handed shooter who finished second in the league with 20 power-play goals. That should open up more shooting opportunities for Zibanejad on the opposite side, where he finished tied for fifth with 16 PP goals. Add in one of the NHL’s best PP quarterbacks in Adam Fox, and there’s a lot to be excited about. I’d expect Lafrenière and Miller to occupy the net-front and bumper positions, respectively.

The second unit should operate more smoothly with Durzi at the point and Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Will Cuylle and possibly Noah Laba rounding out the five-man group. Still, I’d be surprised if the ice time doesn’t remain close to a 75-25 split in favor of clearly superior PP1.

What is your prediction for Lafrenière’s scoring totals (goals/assists/pts)? — Jeff C.

Given his expected top-line and PP1 usage, which he hasn’t had consistently in his previous six seasons, I’d imagine Lafrenière will eclipse his previous career high of 57 points, health permitting. I’m thinking somewhere in the 70-point range, with a chance to shatter last season’s high of 33 assists if he plays on a line with Dorofeyev and Zibanejad.

Braden Schneider to SEA for Shane Wright? — Felipe M.

I don’t think it’s a crazy concept, Felipe, but there are pretty clear hurdles. The Seattle Kraken are believed to be seeking scoring forwards, not defensemen, so I’m not sure this deal would meet their needs. I haven’t heard anything that suggests there’s traction there.

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, I still believe the Rangers would like to leverage Schneider into forward help of their own, especially given the improved defensive depth we discussed in response to Erik K.’s question. The market hasn’t yielded any sure-fire options to this point, so it may have to be a Wright-like reclamation project, if it happens at all. I’ve wondered about defense-needy teams like the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, as well as change-of-scenery candidates such as Columbus’ Kent Johnson and Calgary’s Connor Zary.

The search continues, but I also sense Drury is content to roll with Schneider to begin the new season if the right deal doesn’t come along. The situation can be reassessed at the trade deadline or next summer, when Schneider’s one-year, $5.5 million deal will expire, but New York will retain his restricted free agency rights.

The Rangers’ most glaring long-term issue is the lack of definitive top-six, play-driving forward prospects (at least guys who haven’t played NHL games yet). What prospects DO we have who, in your opinion, have an outside chance of becoming that type of player? — Brendan M.

The names who come to mind are Dorofeyev, Lafrenière and Perreault, who the Rangers are banking on to become point-producing staples in their top six for several seasons to come. That has to happen if this retool is going to work, but they don’t exactly fall into the prospect category. Dorofeyev and Lafrenière left that status behind years ago, and while Perreault is still only 21, he’s no longer a rookie. All three are also wingers, leaving a gaping hole in terms of young, high-end centers. (More on that shortly.)

The next wave of forward prospects is led by Beaudoin, Malcolm Spence and Liam Greentree, another former first-round pick acquired as part of the Panarin trade in February. Scouts I’ve talked to see their upside as contributing middle-sixers, not top-of-the-line play drivers. Nathan Aspinall was a big riser last season, when he finished second in the OHL with 94 points in 65 games, and Tomáš Chrenko was an intriguing swing-on-skill pick in the third round last month. But I agree with your premise, Brendan, that the lack of top-six upside in the pipeline is the most troublesome potential stumbling block.

Looking down the road, do you see targets for a new 1C? — Mark S.

The best way to find one who can impact your roster for an extended period is through the draft, with the odds much better the higher you pick. The 2027 class should have exciting options near the top — Alexis Joseph, Jonah Neuenschwander and Milan Sundström, to name a few — but the Rangers’ offseason actions indicate they have no intention of picking in the top five again next year. They’ll likely have to go outside of the organization to acquire a true top-line center.

The obvious target is Connor McDavid, who left the door open by signing only a two-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers last fall. Even if he decides to leave, New York would have to distinguish itself among a lengthy list of suitors for the best player in the world.

Other pie-in-the-sky scenarios could include the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews and the Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, with the former scheduled to join McDavid as a free agent in 2028 while the latter may decide he wants out if the Oilers’ situation doesn’t improve. Maybe the St. Louis Blues go back to entertaining offers for Robert Thomas, or another young-ish center follows the recent trend of leveraging contractual control to relocate. Any of those things are possible, but we’ve seen that finger-crossing is a risky strategy.

Other than McDavid and Matthews, there aren’t any marquee centers heading toward unrestricted free agency in the next couple years. There are some interesting RFAs, including the Boston Bruins’ Fraser Minten and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith in 2027, then highly regarded prospects such as San Jose’s Michael Misa, Boston’s James Hagens and Chicago’s Anton Frondell in 2028. But the chances of any of them shaking free from their current clubs at those stages are slim, as we just saw when the Ducks matched a massive offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers for Leo Carlsson.

If none of that happens, Drury will have to hope he finds his version of the Zibanejad trade, which just passed its 10th anniversary. In that deal, the Rangers sent Derick Brassard — who recently returned to the team in a player development role — and a seventh-round pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 23-year-old Zibanejad and a second-rounder. It’ll go down as one of the greatest trades in franchise history, but convincing a team to part with a potential 1C at a similar age will be a herculean task.