Rookie camp began Wednesday, so the likes of Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann and newcomer Scott Morrow are already on the ice in an organized setting. Training camp starts next week. After a far longer summer than the Rangers wanted, hockey is almost back.

Every new season marks an opportunity for new opinions and prognostications. We wanted to get the ball rolling with several bold ones regarding the Rangers, who are coming off a 39-36-7 season that was disappointing both on and off the ice. Both of us came up with five predictions, then responded to each other’s thoughts.

1. Chris Kreider will have a multi-goal game at Madison Square Garden. — Peter Baugh

Reasoning: This wouldn’t have been a bold prediction going into the 2024-25 season, but now Kreider — one of the most beloved Rangers of his generation — is on Anaheim. The Ducks come to town Dec. 15. It’ll mark the return of Kreider and former captain Jacob Trouba, both of whom will surely have plenty of motivation. For good measure, I’ll say Trouba picks up a secondary assist on one of Kreider’s goals that night.

Mercogliano’s response: Yeah, I can see it. Ex-Rangers always seem to score at MSG. Just ask the fans!

2. Adam Fox will establish a new career high in points (and make the final Olympic roster for Team USA). — Vincent Mercogliano

Reasoning: The 2021 Norris Trophy winner has taken some public lumps coming off a subpar season (by his lofty standards) and an underwhelming 4 Nations performance that brought his future role with Team USA into question. There’s no doubt that we’ve seen better versions of Fox than the 2024-25 edition, but anyone dropping him out of the NHL’s top tier of defensemen is overreaching.

Fox’s 55.7% xGF ranked 12th among 190 defensemen who logged 700 minutes or more at five-on-five last season, according to Natural Stat Trick — 0.01% less than his probable new partner, Vladislav Gavrikov, and 6.82% better than any other Rangers’ D. He’s asked to shoulder a heavy load for a bad defensive team and it’s worn him down at times, but word is he’s intensified his offseason training regimen and highly motivated to silence the critics.

The 27-year-old has never eclipsed 74 points in a season, but my hunch is he’ll get to 75-plus under new coach Mike Sullivan and solidify his place as one of the top-six defensemen in the U.S.

Baugh’s response: I could see it, but it’s entirely reliant on the power play’s production. Fox actually tied his career high in even-strength points last season (40). The Rangers’ power play, though, slipped from one of the league’s best to its fifth-worst. That took a huge bite out of Fox’s total numbers. He had only 18 power play points, down from 33 the year before.

If I were Team USA general manager Bill Guerin, I’d have Fox on the Olympic team in a heartbeat, but my sense is it’s not a lock. Colleague Michael Russo, who covers the Wild and Team USA, wrote after 4 Nations that Fox’s status with the team could be in jeopardy. He listed Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy, Brock Faber, Jaccob Slavin and Jake Sanderson as likely shoo-ins, leaving only two spots open. If Guerin is down on Fox after his last international showcase, the Rangers’ defenseman will likely need to have a strong start to the year to sway him.

3. The Rangers’ playoff fate comes down to Game 82. — Baugh

Reasoning: The Rangers were eliminated after Game 80 last season, but their season was already in a dire situation well before that. I predict New York will have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs going into their final game of the year at Tampa Bay. The East has six teams I consider good bets to make the playoffs this year, assuming relative health: Toronto, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, New Jersey and Washington, though I expect the Capitals will regress from last year. The Rangers will be in the next clump of teams, which includes Ottawa, Montreal, Detroit, Columbus and maybe even the Islanders or Flyers. It will lead to a crazy last day of the season conference-wide.

Mercogliano’s response: I’m not so sure if it’ll come down to the last game, but I agree it’ll be tight and the Rangers will fall in the bucket of teams competing for the last few spots. I’m on board with Peter’s top six, and I really like what they’re building in Columbus and Montreal. Ottawa has proved it’s a team to be reckoned with, as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Islanders are sneaky competitive. I do believe the Rangers will win more — they can’t have another 4-15-0 stretch, can they? — but there are a few glaring holes on this roster. Ultimately, it will come down to how quickly Sullivan can improve what was one of the NHL’s worst defenses last season.

4. Vincent Trocheck will be named the 29th captain in franchise history. — Mercogliano

Reasoning: One of the fallouts from last season’s debacle was a turnover in leadership, with Trouba and Kreider both landing in Anaheim in separate trades, among several other moves. They weren’t seeing eye-to-eye with team president Chris Drury, so he’s turning over the reins to players that do.

The J.T. Miller trade signaled a clear shift in how the locker room will be policed, with his demanding — and, at times, abrasive — style intended to push the Rangers in the tough-minded direction Drury prefers. And while Miller is garnering consideration to replace Trouba and become the 29th captain in franchise history, the stronger winds seem to be blowing toward veteran center Vincent Trocheck.

The 32-year-old has deeper ties to the current roster, having been here the past three seasons while serving as a mentor for young players such as Brett Berard and Will Cuylle, who lived with the Trochecks throughout his rookie season. He’s also extremely close with Miller from their days growing up in the Pittsburgh area, which should create a unified front in the room.

Trocheck assumed the role without the title following the Trouba trade last season, but an official announcement could be coming soon.

Baugh’s response: If Drury and Sullivan decide to have a captain, Trocheck certainly is a leading candidate. I’ll second you on this one. I assume Miller will also receive one of the alternate captain positions.

5. Sam Carrick — not Matt Rempe — leads the Rangers in fights. — Baugh

Reasoning: Rempe is the Rangers’ most famous fighter, but Carrick actually had as many (four) as him last season. Fighting is obviously part of Rempe’s job, but the Rangers want him to be a complete player beyond it. He’s learning when to pick his spots. Carrick, meanwhile, is a hard-nosed skater willing to stick up for his teammates, and at 6-foot he has more opponents in his weight class than the giant Rempe.

Mercogliano’s response: Eh, I’m calling the bluff on this one. Rempe’s determined to prove he’s more than just a fighter, and he made positive strides in that regard last season. Everyone knew the 6-foot-9 forward couldn’t continue to drop the gloves at the pace as we saw when he debuted in February 2024, but he remains a huge presence who will be expected to answer the bell when the situation calls for it. I believe Rempe will be a lineup regular this season, which will lead to more fighting opportunities.

Multiple scouts and college coaches have said that Rangers top prospect Gabe Perreault would benefit from playing in the AHL before being thrown into the NHL fire. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)6. Gabe Perreault will begin the season in the AHL. — Mercogliano

Reasoning: Perreault is widely considered the top prospect in the organization — although colleague Corey Pronman drifted from the consensus in his most recent rankings — but the 20-year-old may not be the most NHL-ready.

There may be only one available lineup spot for a young winger to seize at camp, and while Perreault possesses the highest upside of any in the organization, both Berard and Brennan Othmann are ahead of him in terms of age (Berard turned 23 on Tuesday, while Othmann will hit that milestone on Jan. 5) and physical maturity.

I’ve spoken to multiple scouts and college coaches who feel that Perreault would benefit from a little AHL time before being thrown into the NHL fire. And while he could change the narrative with a strong showing at camp, the belief is that the Rangers won’t rush the process.

Baugh’s response: I’ll agree with you here, and I’ll add that if only one of those three young wingers makes the team out of camp, it will be Berard. That said, I expect Perreault to get plenty of opportunity as the season goes, especially if the Rangers deal with injuries in their top six.

7. The Rangers have a top-three penalty kill in the league. — Baugh

Reasoning: New assistant Joe Sacco led strong penalty kill units throughout his tenure as an assistant in Boston. The Rangers had a fine PK in 2024-25 — 80.3 percent, good for 11th in the league — but like most aspects of their team, it was worse than 2023-24. They were third-best in the league that season. They seem primed for a bounce back.

Mercogliano’s response: I’m not so sure about this one, either. The Rangers have lost several of their go-to PK guys in the last year and a half — Kreider, Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey among the forwards, plus Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and K’Andre Miller on D. Gavrikov will help fill one of those voids and young players such as Cuylle and Braden Schneider may be ready to take on more responsibility, but top three is a lofty goal.

8. Will Cuylle will score 30 goals. — Mercogliano

Reasoning: Cuylle may be the only Ranger who can claim his 2024-25 season was an improvement from 2023-24, and I think it’ll get even better in Year 3.

His two-year, $7.8 million extension represents the highest average annual value New York has ever awarded a forward on their second contract ($3.9 million), but it still looks like a bargain. The 23-year-old should elevate to the top-line LW position vacated by Kreider and play alongside J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad, where his heavy left-handed shot and straight-ahead play style will lead to ample scoring opportunities.

I expect him to live in the high-danger areas and make a jump from last year’s career-high 20 goals.

Baugh’s response: I’m going to disagree. I think Cuylle’s point production will be around the same as it was last year, but I don’t see him jumping up 10 goals. After a fast start playing with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko last year, he had only nine in the final 52 games of the season (14-goal pace). My guess is he scores in the low 20s and continues to earn opportunities on the penalty kill and second power play unit.

9. Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov both average career highs in ice time. — Baugh

Reasoning: For the Rangers to have success, Mike Sullivan will likely need to lean heavily on his top defensemen, especially given the question marks in the bottom four. Aside from Fox and Gavrikov, none of the other defensemen have averaged more than 18 minutes in any season. Sullivan showed a willingness to constantly send Kris Letang over the boards in Pittsburgh; Letang averaged more than 25 minutes six times under the coach. Fox’s previous career high was 24:42 per game in his Norris Trophy season, which came with David Quinn as head coach. Quinn is now on Sullivan’s staff as an assistant. I think he plays on both special teams units and blows past that, especially if Sullivan pairs him with Gavrikov at five-on-five. Gavrikov, meanwhile, played a career-high 23:05 a game last season. The Rangers will need him to replicate that.

Mercogliano’s response: As a counterpoint, I wonder if the Rangers will try to find ways to keep Fox fresher and avoid some of the wear and tear we previously discussed, maybe by shaving off some PK shifts. But I agree that Sullivan is going to rely heavily on his top-two D given the question marks behind them, which is why I could see this prediction coming true.

10. Carson Soucy will receive more minutes than many are expecting. — Mercogliano

Reasoning: This may not be the most popular prediction among the Blueshirts faithful, but the reality is the Rangers don’t have a ton of great options. As Peter alluded to, Fox is expected to team with Gavrikov on what has the makings of an elite top pair, but there’s a significant drop-off from there.

We can safely assume that Will Borgen will occupy the right side on the second pair, and it’s likely that Sullivan will experiment with Schneider, a natural righty, on the left during camp. But despite last season’s struggles, my sense is that the Rangers intend to give Soucy a chance to bounce back.

They acquired him from Vancouver at the deadline because they wanted to add size to their back end and preferred a defenseman with term. The 6-foot-5, 208-pounder, who’s entering the final year of a deal that carries a $3.25 million AAV, was part of the 2025-26 plans from the moment the trade went down.

The metrics didn’t look as bad as the eye test — the 31-year-old registered a 53.1% xGF in 16 games with New York — and he has a history with Borgen from their days in Seattle. And while a 48.05% xGF across 581:31 time on ice together doesn’t jump off the page (how much credit do they receive for a 54.17% goal share?), it’s also not as alarming as some have made it out to be.

Baugh’s response: Someone has to play after Fox and Gavrikov, right? The Rangers gave up a decent pick to get Soucy (the No. 65 pick in the 2025 draft) and he will certainly get an opportunity to make that trade look better than it did in 2024-25.

(Top photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)