The early end of the New York Rangers’ season in April, before the Stanley Cup playoffs for a second straight year, has led to plenty of time for offseason speculation. Who could the Rangers trade, and what will they get back? Will they make any impact signings?

New York has already started its summer business, drafting Alberts Šmits, acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev, and trading depth wingers Brett Berard and Adam Edström. Now the Rangers will start to show their free agency decisions.

The market opens at Noon on Wednesday, and team president Chris Drury enters the summer with plenty of cap space (a projected $15.67 million, per PuckPedia), plenty of roster questions, and limited options to spend on. Here’s a past story on potential free agent targets, and we’ll update this free agent tracker throughout the day as the latest news comes in.

Who are the top five NHL players to hit free agency?

Veleno signs as 4C option

The Rangers added depth center Joe Veleno, a league source told The Athletic, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. PuckPedia reports his contract will be for one year at $1.2 million.

Veleno played 61 games for Montreal last season and had two goals and three assists. He appeared in the Canadiens’ playoff lineup nine times, logging one assist in their run to the Eastern Conference final.

Veleno was a solid faceoff taker for the Canadiens (51.6 percent) and a solid forechecker. He’s fast — his max speed was in the 90th percentile last year, per NHL Edge — but did not generate much offense with Montreal. He has a career high of 28 points with Detroit in 2023-24.

The 26-year-old will be a fourth-line center option for the Rangers. — Baugh

Korpisalo comes aboard

Rangers opened Wednesday’s free-agent frenzy by making a trade, acquiring goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round draft pick and forward prospect Kalle Vaisanen, the teams announced.

Korpisalo is the leading candidate to back up starter Igor Shesterkin now that Jonathan Quick has retired. The 32-year-old has played that role in Boston the last two seasons, posting a 14-9-6 with a .894 save percentage, 3.15 goals against average and -8.94 goals saved above average in 2025-26, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Finn has two years remaining on a contract that carries a $3 million cap hit and a 10-team no-trade list. (Ottawa is retaining $1 million of Korpisalo’s $4 million average annual value from a previous trade.) — Mercogliano

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Bottom-six priorities

A couple former Rangers — Mats Zuccarello and Erik Gustafsson — have reportedly agreed to deals with the Los Angeles Kings, per colleague Pierre LeBrun. They’ll join former New York coach Peter Laviolette there, as well as former Rangers star Artemi Panarin. We had previously listed Zuccarello as someone who could make sense for the Rangers to bolster the middle six, but he’s headed west.

Adding a bottom-six center remains a priority for the Rangers. Teddy Blueger, Boone Jenner, Scott Laughton and Colton Sissons are all names worth keeping an eye on, though TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Toronto Maple Leafs and Sissons are talking. — Baugh

Borgen drawing interest

We know the Rangers have been exploring trade options for Braden Schneider, but he may not be the only right-handed defenseman they’d consider dealing. Will Borgen’s no-trade clause turned into a 15-team list today, opening up the possibility that New York could move the 29-year-old.

It makes sense for the Rangers to gauge the market, with the Ottawa Citizen reporting that the Senators are among the interested clubs. Borgen is a 6-foot-3, 199-pounder who’s also a good skater (91st percentile in speed bursts over 22 mph, according to NHL Edge), but his puck skills are limited (15 points in 75 games last season) and his underlying metrics are lackluster (46.83 percent expected goals-for rate, according to Natural Stat Trick). He’s probably best-served in a bottom-pair role, but has spent much of his time in New York playing in the top four.

The Rangers shifted toward Schneider in a more prominent role last season and may prefer to keep him if they can get something of value for Borgen, who has four years remaining on his contract for an annual cap hit of $4.1 million. The Anaheim Ducks are another defensemen-needy team to monitor. — Mercogliano

No on Bourque

We’ve talked about the Rangers focusing on young playmakers, a category into which Dallas Stars RFA center Mavrik Bourque certainly falls. Multiple reports suggest he’s available via trade, but I’m told New York is not among the teams making a push as of Wednesday morning. (Update: Bourque was traded to Nashville.) — Mercogliano

Latest on Trocheck

Some fans are wondering whether Dorofeyev’s addition could change the thinking on center Vincent Trocheck, but I wouldn’t be so quick to make that assumption. Everything I’ve heard for months suggests the soon-to-be 33-year-old will be traded this summer, with signs still pointing in that direction. His switch to power agent Pat Brisson was viewed around the league as a clear indication that Trocheck is expecting it.

Trocheck has discussed the toll the trade rumors have taken on his family, and you’d imagine getting some clarity soon would be helpful in terms of moving and planning school and other activities for his two children. (It sounds like his son, Leo, is hooked on hockey already.) The problem is, the Rangers continue to drive a hard bargain.

Drury may have to lower his ask to resolve the drawn-out situation, but I’ve reported he’s aiming for a young player as the centerpiece of any deal and don’t have any firm evidence that’s changed. Another factor is fellow Brisson client Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings and may need to set the center market before Drury feels comfortable dealing Trocheck.

Much of the chatter over the weekend at the NHL Draft in Buffalo pointed to the Sabres as a team to watch, but it sounds like GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has a lot of irons in the fire. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes  are other clubs the Rangers have had conversations with, though I’m sure they’re talking to more than that.  — Mercogliano

Potential UFA targets

The Rangers remain focused on trade possibilities, but they’ll also look to fill some holes via free agency. Their primary positions of need are a left-handed defenseman, a top-six right-winger and a bottom-six center.

They have ample cap space to use — my projection is slightly higher than PuckPedia’s, at around $16.5 million — but Drury would be wise to avoid any long-term commitments in this watered-down free-agent class. Look for New York to pursue reclamation projects and veterans who are willing to sign for one or two years.

That could put the Rangers out of the running for Mario Ferraro, who’s long been a rumored target but is likely aiming for a lengthier pact. Among lefty D, I’d look toward players with connections to coach Mike Sullivan from his Penguins days, such as Matt Grzelcyk and Ryan Shea. (Another option, Jeremy Lauzon, came off the board by re-signing with Vegas on Tuesday night, and it sounds like things have cooled on the Ville Heinola front.)

As for the RW, both Andrei Kuzmenko and Patrik Laine feel like worthwhile prove-it bets on likely one-year deals, but other teams are surely thinking the same thing. Eeli Tolvanen and Ilya Mikheyev would also be intriguing if they’re OK with going short-term. And, no, I can’t completely rule out Mats Zuccarello, who will always have a soft spot in New York fans’ hearts, but the buzz is he may be heading out west.

Finally, as 4C options, we have our eyes on Teddy Blueger, Noel Acciari and Kevin Stenlund. Blueger would provide a Latvian connection for Friday’s No. 5 draft pick Alberts Šmits, which could be an added benefit. — Mercogliano