2020–21 New York Rangers season

2020–21 New York Rangers
Division	5th East
2020–21 record	27–23–6
Home record	14–11–3
Road record	13–12–3
Goals for	177
Goals against	157
Team information
General manager	Jeff Gorton (Jan. 14 – May 5) Chris Drury (May 5 – May 8)
Coach	David Quinn
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Chris Kreider Artemi Panarin Jacob Trouba Mika Zibanejad
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) Maine Mariners (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Mika Zibanejad (24)
Assists	Adam Fox (42)
Points	Artemi Panarin (58)
Penalty minutes	Brendan Smith (73)
Plus/minus	Ryan Lindgren (+20)
Wins	Igor Shestyorkin (16)
Goals against average	Keith Kinkaid (2.59)

The 2020–21 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 94th season of play and their 95th season overall. Following the buyout of his contract on September 30, 2020, Henrik Lundqvist was not on the roster for the first time since the 2005–06 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada, the Rangers played a shortened 56-game regular season, which consisted of divisional play only, with the Rangers being temporarily realigned from the Metropolitan Division to the East Division.

Fan attendance in home games was prohibited until February 23, 2021, per an executive order from Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo. The Rangers reopened Madison Square Garden to spectators on February 26.

On March 17, head coach David Quinn and his assistant coaches, Jacques Martin, David Oliver, and Greg Brown were unavailable to coach the Rangers' game against the Philadelphia Flyers because of COVID-19 protocols and health and safety guidelines. A temporary coaching staff was called in and the team was coached by head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant coach Gord Murphy from the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, and the team's associate general manager Chris Drury. This was the first time in the NHL an entire coaching staff was not allowed to be in the arena to coach a game due to a pandemic. The Rangers won the game 9–0, which was the largest margin of victory since March 31, 1986, when they won 9–0 against the New Jersey Devils.

On April 25, the Rangers set a record for the most hat tricks in a single season with six. The players were: Mika Zibanejad (3), Chris Kreider (2), and Pavel Buchnevich (1). This was the most since the 1991–92 season when the team had eight.

On May 3, the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention after a 6–3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Two days later, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton and president/alternative governor John Davidson were both relieved of their duties by the organization. They were replaced by former Rangers captain Chris Drury who was named the new president and general manager.

On May 12, the Rangers fired head coach David Quinn by team's president Chris Drury after the team failed to make the playoffs. Assistant coaches Jacques Martin, David Oliver and Greg Brown were also fired.

Standings

Divisional standings

East Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	56	37	16	3	29	196	156	+40	77
2	x – Washington Capitals	56	36	15	5	29	191	163	+28	77
3	x – Boston Bruins	56	33	16	7	25	168	136	+32	73
4	x – New York Islanders	56	32	17	7	24	156	128	+28	71
5	e – New York Rangers	56	27	23	6	24	177	157	+20	60
6	e – Philadelphia Flyers	56	25	23	8	17	163	201	−38	58
7	e – New Jersey Devils	56	19	30	7	15	145	194	−49	45
8	e – Buffalo Sabres	56	15	34	7	11	138	199	−61	37

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.

2020–21 game log
January: 2–4–2, 6 points (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 1–2–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 1 January 14 NY Islanders 0–4 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 January 16 NY Islanders 5–0 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 0 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 January 19 New Jersey 3–4 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 0 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 January 22 @ Pittsburgh 3–4 SO Shestyorkin PPG Paints Arena 0 1–2–1 3 Recap 5 January 24 @ Pittsburgh 2–3 Shestyorkin PPG Paints Arena 0 1–3–1 3 Recap 6 January 26 @ Buffalo 2–3 Georgiev KeyBank Center 0 1–4–1 3 Recap 7 January 28 @ Buffalo 3–2 OT Shestyorkin KeyBank Center 0 2–4–1 5 Recap 8 January 30 Pittsburgh 4–5 OT Georgiev Madison Square Garden 0 2–4–2 6 Recap
February: 5–5–1, 11 points (Home: 3–4–1; Road: 2–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 9 February 1 Pittsburgh 3–1 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 3–4–2 8 Recap 10 February 4 Washington 4–2 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 4–4–2 10 Recap — February 6 @ New Jersey – Postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic; moved to March 4 11 February 8 NY Islanders 0–2 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 4–5–2 10 Recap 12 February 10 Boston 2–3 OT Georgiev Madison Square Garden 0 4–5–3 11 Recap 13 February 12 Boston 0–1 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 4–6–3 11 Recap — February 14 Philadelphia – Postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic; moved to April 22 14 February 16 New Jersey 2–5 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 0 4–7–3 11 Recap 15 February 18 @ Philadelphia 3–2 SO Georgiev Wells Fargo Center 0 5–7–3 13 Recap 16 February 20 @ Washington 4–1 Shestyorkin Capital One Arena 0 6–7–3 15 Recap 17 February 24 @ Philadelphia 3–4 Shestyorkin Wells Fargo Center 0 6–8–3 15 Recap 18 February 26 Boston 6–2 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 1,800 7–8–3 17 Recap 19 February 28 Boston 1–4 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 7–9–3 17 Recap
March: 9–6–1, 19 points (Home: 4–0–1; Road: 5–6–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 20 March 2 Buffalo 3–2 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 8–9–3 19 Recap 21 March 4 @ New Jersey 6–1 Shestyorkin Prudential Center 1,800 9–9–3 21 Recap 22 March 6 @ New Jersey 6–3 Georgiev Prudential Center 1,800 10–9–3 23 Recap 23 March 7 @ Pittsburgh 1–5 Georgiev PPG Paints Arena 2,800 10–10–3 23 Recap 24 March 9 @ Pittsburgh 2–4 Kinkaid PPG Paints Arena 2,800 10–11–3 23 Recap 25 March 11 @ Boston 0–4 Georgiev TD Garden 0 10–12–3 23 Recap 26 March 13 @ Boston 4–0 Kinkaid TD Garden 0 11–12–3 25 Recap 27 March 15 Philadelphia 4–5 OT Kinkaid Madison Square Garden 1,639 11–12–4 26 Recap 28 March 17 Philadelphia 9–0 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 1,723 12–12–4 28 Recap 29 March 19 @ Washington 1–2 Georgiev Capital One Arena 0 12–13–4 28 Recap 30 March 20 @ Washington 3–1 Kinkaid Capital One Arena 0 13–13–4 30 Recap 31 March 22 Buffalo 5–3 Kinkaid Madison Square Garden 1,800 14–13–4 32 Recap 32 March 25 @ Philadelphia 8–3 Shestyorkin Wells Fargo Center 2,854 15–13–4 34 Recap 33 March 27 @ Philadelphia 1–2 Shestyorkin Wells Fargo Center 3,069 15–14–4 34 Recap 34 March 28 @ Washington 4–5 Kinkaid Capital One Arena 0 15–15–4 34 Recap 35 March 30 Washington 5–2 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,761 16–15–4 36 Recap
April: 10–4–2, 22 points (Home: 6–3–0; Road: 4–1–2) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 36 April 1 @ Buffalo 3–2 OT Shestyorkin KeyBank Center 0 17–15–4 38 Recap 37 April 3 @ Buffalo 2–3 SO Shestyorkin KeyBank Center 302 17–15–5 39 Recap 38 April 6 Pittsburgh 8–4 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,693 18–15–5 41 Recap 39 April 8 Pittsburgh 2–5 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 18–16–5 41 Recap 40 April 9 @ NY Islanders 4–1 Georgiev Nassau Coliseum 1,400 19–16–5 43 Recap 41 April 11 @ NY Islanders 2–3 OT Shestyorkin Nassau Coliseum 1,400 19–16–6 44 Recap 42 April 13 @ New Jersey 3–0 Shestyorkin Prudential Center 3,600 20–16–6 46 Recap 43 April 15 New Jersey 4–0 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,688 21–16–6 48 Recap 44 April 17 New Jersey 6–3 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 22–16–6 50 Recap 45 April 18 @ New Jersey 5–3 Georgiev Prudential Center 3,500 23–16–6 52 Recap 46 April 20 @ NY Islanders 1–6 Shestyorkin Nassau Coliseum 1,400 23–17–6 52 Recap 47 April 22 Philadelphia 2–3 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 23–18–6 52 Recap 48 April 23 Philadelphia 4–1 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 1,800 24–18–6 54 Recap 49 April 25 Buffalo 6–3 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 25–18–6 56 Recap 50 April 27 Buffalo 3–1 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,796 26–18–6 58 Recap 51 April 29 NY Islanders 0–4 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 26–19–6 58 Recap
May: 1–4–0, 2 points (Home: 0–2–0; Road: 1–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 52 May 1 @ NY Islanders 0–3 Georgiev Nassau Coliseum 1,400 26–20–6 58 Recap 53 May 3 Washington 3–6 Shestyorkin Madison Square Garden 1,800 26–21–6 58 Recap 54 May 5 Washington 2–4 Georgiev Madison Square Garden 1,800 26–22–6 58 Recap 55 May 6 @ Boston 0–4 Shestyorkin TD Garden 2,191 26–23–6 58 Recap 56 May 8 @ Boston 5–4 Shestyorkin TD Garden 2,191 27–23–6 60 Recap
Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)       Postponement

Player statistics

As of May 8, 2021

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Panarin, ArtemiArtemi Panarin	42	17	41	58	+14	6
Zibanejad, MikaMika Zibanejad	56	24	26	50	+2	18
Strome, RyanRyan Strome	56	14	35	49	+6	39
Buchnevich, PavelPavel Buchnevich	54	20	28	48	+12	42
Fox, AdamAdam Fox	55	5	42	47	+19	14
Kreider, ChrisChris Kreider	50	20	10	30	-1 –1	34
Blackwell, ColinColin Blackwell	47	12	10	22	+2	15
Chytil, FilipFilip Chytil	42	8	14	22	+9	10
Lafreniere, AlexisAlexis Lafreniere	56	12	9	21	-7 –7	8
Kakko, KaapoKaapo Kakko	48	9	8	17	+3	10
Lindgren, RyanRyan Lindgren	51	1	15	16	+20	35
Rooney, KevinKevin Rooney	54	8	6	14	0	54
Miller, K'AndreK'Andre Miller	53	5	7	12	+9	20
Trouba, JacobJacob Trouba	38	2	10	12	+3	22
Smith, BrendanBrendan Smith	48	5	5	10	+3	73
Gauthier, JulienJulien Gauthier	30	2	6	8	-6 –6	14
Di Giuseppe, PhillipPhillip Di Giuseppe	31	1	7	8	+2	13
Lemieux, BrendanBrendan Lemieux ‡ || 31 || 2 || 5 || 7 || 0 || 59
Howden, BrettBrett Howden	42	1	6	7	-2 –2	11
Kravtsov, VitaliVitali Kravtsov	20	2	2	4	-6 –6	4
Hajek, LiborLibor Hajek	44	2	2	4	+2	10
Bitetto, AnthonyAnthony Bitetto	14	1	3	4	-8 –8	20
Jones, ZacZac Jones	10	0	4	4	-2 –2	2
Johnson, JackJack Johnson	13	1	0	1	-5 –5	8
Brodzinski, JonnyJonny Brodzinski	5	1	0	1	0	4
Barron, MorganMorgan Barron	5	1	0	1	0	4
DeAngelo, TonyTony DeAngelo	6	0	1	1	-6 –6	4
Reunanen, TarmoTarmo Reunanen	4	0	1	1	+1	0
Richards, JustinJustin Richards	1	0	1	1	+1	0
Gettinger, TimTim Gettinger	2	0	0	0	-2 –2	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Shestyorkin, IgorIgor Shestyorkin	35	31	1,899:01	16	14	3	83	2.62	987	.916	2	0	0	0
Georgiev, AlexandarAlexandar Georgiev	19	18	973:56	8	7	2	44	2.71	465	.905	2	0	1	0
Kinkaid, KeithKeith Kinkaid	9	7	485:53	3	2	1	21	2.59	205	.898	1	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Rangers. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and honors

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Date
Fox, AdamAdam Fox	Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award	April 29, 2021

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
Lafreniere, AlexisAlexis Lafreniere	1st NHL career game	January 14, 2021
Miller, K'AndreK'Andre Miller	1st NHL career game	January 14, 2021
K'Andre Miller	1st NHL career point	January 22, 2021
K'Andre Miller	1st NHL career goal	January 26, 2021
Alexis Lafreniere	1st NHL career goal	January 28, 2021
Rooney, KevinKevin Rooney	100th NHL career game	January 28, 2021
Panarin, ArtemArtem Panarin	400th NHL career game	February 1, 2021
Gauthier, JulienJulien Gauthier	1st NHL career goal	February 10, 2021
Strome, RyanRyan Strome	100th NHL career goal 200th NHL career point	February 20, 2021
Alexis Lafreniere	1st NHL career assist	February 26, 2021
Buchnevich, PavelPavel Buchnevich	100th NHL career assist	March 7, 2021
Reunanen, TarmoTarmo Reunanen	1st NHL career game 1st NHL career assist 1st NHL career point	March 15, 2021
Trouba, JacobJacob Trouba	50th NHL career goal	March 17, 2021
Smith, BrendanBrendan Smith	500th NHL career game	March 19, 2021
Fox, AdamAdam Fox	100th NHL career game	March 22, 2021
Kravtsov, VitaliVitali Kravtsov	1st NHL career game	April 3, 2021
Vitali Kravtsov	1st NHL career assist 1st NHL career point	April 11, 2021
Pavel Buchnevich	Scored the 20,000th goal in Rangers franchise history	April 13, 2021
Shestyorkin, IgorIgor Shestyorkin	1st NHL career shutout	April 13, 2021
Artem Panarin	300th NHL career assist	April 17, 2021
Pavel Buchnevich	1st NHL career hat trick	April 17, 2021
Vitali Kravtsov	1st NHL career goal	April 18, 2021
Jones, ZacZac Jones	1st NHL career game	April 22, 2021
Zac Jones	1st NHL career point	April 25, 2021
Ryan Strome	300th NHL career point	April 27, 2021
Barron, MorganMorgan Barron	1st NHL career game	May 1, 2021
Morgan Barron	1st NHL career goal 1st NHL career point	May 5, 2021
Richards, JustinJustin Richards	1st NHL career game 1st NHL career assist 1st NHL career point	May 8, 2021
Zibanejad, MikaMika Zibanejad	200th NHL career goal	May 8, 2021

Records

Regular season

Player	Record	Reached
Kreider, ChrisChris Kreider	161st NHL career goal (2nd most goals by American-born Ranger)	February 1, 2021
Zibanejad, MikaMika Zibanejad	Most points in one period with 6 (tied with Bryan Trottier)	March 17, 2021
Mika Zibanejad	1st player in NHL history to record 6+ points in consecutive games vs. one opponent within a regular season (6 goals, 6 assists against Philadelphia Flyers)	March 25, 2021
Panarin, ArtemiArtemi Panarin	Most assists (93) in first 100 games (98) in Rangers history (passing Mark Messier)	April 9, 2021

Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06)	To Calgary Flames CAR's 1st-round pick in 2020 3rd-round pick in 2020	To New York Rangers 1st-round pick in 2020
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07)	To Los Angeles Kings Lias Andersson	To New York Rangers VGK's 2nd-round pick in 2020
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07)	To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2020 VAN's 7th-round pick in 2020	To New York Rangers 5th-round pick in 2020
March 27, 2021 (2021-03-27)	To Los Angeles Kings Brendan Lemieux	To New York Rangers 4th-round pick in 2021

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Anthony Bitetto	from Winnipeg Jets	2-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Colin Blackwell	from Nashville Predators	2-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Jonny Brodzinski	from San Jose Sharks	1-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Anthony Greco	from San Jose Sharks	2-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Jack Johnson	from Pittsburgh Penguins	1-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Keith Kinkaid	from Montreal Canadiens	2-year
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Kevin Rooney	from New Jersey Devils	2-year
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10)	Jesper Fast	to Carolina Hurricanes	3-year
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10)	Vinni Lettieri	to Anaheim Ducks	1-year
October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11)	Danny O'Regan	to Vegas Golden Knights	1-year
October 14, 2020 (2020-10-14)	Greg McKegg	to Boston Bruins	1-year
October 19, 2020 (2020-10-19)	Steven Fogarty	to Buffalo Sabres	1-year
November 13, 2020 (2020-11-13)	Micheal Haley	to Ottawa Senators	1-year
December 31, 2020 (2020-12-31)	Jean-Francois Berube	to Ontario Reign (AHL)	1-year
January 9, 2021 (2021-01-09)	Ryan Gropp	to Västerviks IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)	1-year
January 12, 2021 (2021-01-12)	Boo Nieves	to Tampa Bay Lightning	1-year
March 4, 2021 (2021-03-04)	Mason Geertsen	from Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)	2-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)

Retirement Date Player Ref October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Brandon Crawley	1-year
October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12)	Alexis Lafreniere	3-year
October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13)	Phillip Di Giuseppe	1-year
October 15, 2020 (2020-10-15)	Tony DeAngelo	2-year
October 15, 2020 (2020-10-15)	Alexandar Georgiev	2-year
October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)	Gabriel Fontaine	1-year
October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)	Darren Raddysh	1-year
November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)	Brendan Lemieux	2-year
November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)	Ryan Strome	2-year
March 4, 2021 (2021-03-04)	Braden Schneider	3-year
March 29, 2021 (2021-03-29)	Hunter Skinner	3-year
April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13)	Zachary Jones	3-year
April 19, 2021 (2021-04-19)	William Cuylle	3-year
April 21, 2021 (2021-04-21)	Karl Henriksson	3-year
May 10, 2021 (2021-05-10)	Ryan Lindgren	3-year

Draft picks

See also: List of New York Rangers draft picks

Below are the New York Rangers' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing selections from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was originally scheduled to be held on June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the conclusion of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Alexis Lafreniere	LW	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
1	191	Braden Schneider	D	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	602	William Cuylle	LW	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
3	923	Oliver Tarnstrom	C	Sweden	AIK IF J20 (J20 SuperElit)
4	103	Dylan Garand	G	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
5	1274	Evan Vierling	C	Canada	Barrie Colts (OHL)
5	134	Brett Berard	LW	United States	U.S. NTDP U-18 (USDP)
6	165	Matt Rempe	C	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
7	1975	Hugo Ollas	G	Sweden	Linköping HC J20 (J20 SuperElit)

Notes:

1. The Calgary Flames' first-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on October 6, 2020, that sent Carolina Hurricanes' first-round pick and a third-round pick both in 2020 (22nd and 72nd overall) to Calgary in exchange for this pick.
2. The Los Angeles Kings' second-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Vegas Golden Knights' second round-pick (60th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for Alec Martinez and St. Louis Blues' second-round pick in 2021 and this pick.
3. The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on February 23, 2019, that sent Mats Zuccarello to Dallas in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in 2019 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
4. The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent a seventh-round pick and Vancouver Canucks' seventh-round pick both in 2020 (196th and 206th overall) to San Jose in exchange for this pick.
5. The Nashville Predators' seventh-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on February 6, 2019, that sent Cody McLeod to Nashville in exchange for this pick.

References

New York Rangers
Team	Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • History Madison Square Garden
Stanley Cups	1928, 1933, 1940, 1994
Affiliates	Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), Maine Mariners (ECHL)