Insider reveals New York Rangers prospects future with the organization just may be in jeopardy
Photo credit: Blue Line Station
For Brennan Othmann, a retool for the New York Rangers is a double-edged sword. Depending on how it swings, he could be a key piece in the Rangers' future, or a piece to be leveraged in trade to put the team back in win-now mode. Is his future in Madison Square Garden in trouble?
The New York Rangers have a top prospect in the AHL by the name of Brennan Othmann. He was a first-round pick in 2021, selected 16th overall, and was a highly skilled, goal-scoring winger in the OHL.
He's brought that talent over to the Hartford Wolfpack and shown he's ready for a promotion to the NHL, but was unable to crack Peter Laviolette's lineup in 2024.
At 22, and one of the best prospects in the system his time could be limited as a Ranger.
He's only played a total of 25 NHL games the past two seasons, not enough time to gauge where he could fit into the lineup. Instead, he's spent the majority of his career in the AHL, where in 2023-2024 he scored 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists) in 67 games.
Othmann would lend 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 10 playoff games with the Wolfpack and was expected to make the Rangers' bottom-six out of camp.
He'd join the Rangers for 22 games this season, and would lend just two assists, playing an ATOI of 9:52 per game. Hardly put in a situation to succeed by Peter Laviolette.
But his underlying numbers tell a story.
Per Evolving-Hockey, Othmann posted a 70.06 goals for percentage, a 53.51 Corsi for percentage, and a 51.69 expected goals for percentage. The Rangers as a team scored 3.41 goals for per 60 minutes, and conceded just 1.46 against. These numbers came during just 214 minutes at 5v5
He's good, but he needs to put up actual offense to justify a top-line spot in the Ranger system. But with the team being overloaded with forwards who play high-level hockey like JT Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Will Cuyllee, and others, camp will be very competitive.
He may end up being the odd-man out, as he could get pushed out by Gabe Perreault who's a former 1st-round pick and viewed as the team's new top prospect.
He'll get a chance to prove himself before Othmann does, putting the former 16th overall pick in a squeeze.
With the team angling to put themselves back into Stanley Cup contention, it's difficult not to see Othmann being dangled as a piece in a trade for high-level talent in July.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
| POLL | ||
MAI 16 | 949 ANSWERS Insider reveals New York Rangers prospects future with the organization just may be in jeopardy Should GM Chris Drury of the New York Rangers trade forward Brennan Othmann in July? | ||
| Yes | 262 | 27.6 % |
| No | 687 | 72.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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