2020–21 New York Rangers season

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.https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31394724/new-york-rangers-fire-gm-jeff-gorton-president-john-davidson-source-says
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===
==Schedule and results==
===Regular season===
The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.
2020–21 game log	2020–21 game log	2020–21 game log	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
January: 2–4–2, 6 points (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 1–2–1)
{| class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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
==Player statistics==
As of May 8, 2021
===Skaters===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	42	17	41	58	+14	6
 	56	24	26	50	+2 	18
 	56	14	35	49	+6 	39
 	54	20	28	48	+12	42
 	55	5 	42	47	+19	14
 	50	20	10	30	 	34
 	47	12	10	22	+2 	15
 	42	8 	14	22	+9 	10
 	56	12	9 	21	 	8
 	48	9 	8 	17	+3 	10
 	51	1 	15	16	+20	35
 	54	8 	6 	14	0 	54
 	53	5 	7 	12	+9 	20
 	38	2 	10	12	+3 	22
 	48	5 	5 	10	+3 	73
 	30	2 	6 	8 	 	14
 	31	1 	7 	8 	+2 	13
‡ 	31	2 	5 	7 	0 	59
 	42	1 	6 	7 	 	11
 	20	2 	2 	4 	 	4
 	44	2 	2 	4 	+2 	10
 	14	1 	3 	4 	 	20
 	10	0 	4 	4 	 	2
 	13	1 	0 	1 	 	8
 	5 	1 	0 	1 	0 	4
 	5 	1 	0 	1 	0 	4
 	6 	0 	1 	1 	 	4
 	4 	0 	1 	1 	+1 	0
 	1 	0 	1 	1 	+1 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	 	0
===Goaltenders===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	35	31	1,899:01	16	14	3	83	2.62	987	.916	2	0	0	0
 	19	18	973:56 	8 	7 	2	44	2.71	465	.905	2	0	1	0
 	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
 	Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award	April 29, 2021
===Milestones===
Regular season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
 	1st NHL career game 	January 14, 2021
 	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
 	100th NHL career game 	January 28, 2021
 	400th NHL career game 	February 1, 2021
 	1st NHL career goal 	February 10, 2021
 	100th NHL career goal200th NHL career point 	February 20, 2021
Alexis Lafreniere	1st NHL career assist 	February 26, 2021
 	100th NHL career assist 	March 7, 2021
 	1st NHL career game1st NHL career assist1st NHL career point	March 15, 2021
 	50th NHL career goal 	March 17, 2021
 	500th NHL career game 	March 19, 2021
 	100th NHL career game 	March 22, 2021
 	1st NHL career game 	April 3, 2021
Vitali Kravtsov 	1st NHL career assist1st NHL career point 	April 11, 2021
Pavel Buchnevich 	Scored the 20,000th goal in Rangers franchise history 	April 13, 2021
 	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
 	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
 	1st NHL career game 	May 1, 2021
Morgan Barron 	1st NHL career goal1st NHL career point 	May 5, 2021
 	1st NHL career game1st NHL career assist1st NHL career point	May 8, 2021
 	200th NHL career goal 	May 8, 2021
===Records===
Regular season
Player 	Record 	Reached
 	161st NHL career goal (2nd most goals by American-born Ranger) 	February 1, 2021
 	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
 	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 	Details 	Ref
 	To Calgary FlamesCAR's 1st-round pick in 20203rd-round pick in 2020 	To New York Rangers1st-round pick in 2020 	
 	To Los Angeles KingsLias Andersson 	To New York RangersVGK's 2nd-round pick in 2020	
 	To San Jose Sharks7th-round pick in 2020VAN's 7th-round pick in 2020	To New York Rangers5th-round pick in 2020 	
 	To Los Angeles KingsBrendan Lemieux 	To New York Rangers4th-round pick in 2021 	
===Free agents===
Date	Player 	Team 	Contract term	Ref
 	Anthony Bitetto 	from Winnipeg Jets 	2-year 	
 	Colin Blackwell 	from Nashville Predators 	2-year 	
 	Jonny Brodzinski 	from San Jose Sharks 	1-year 	
 	Anthony Greco 	from San Jose Sharks 	2-year 	
 	Jack Johnson 	from Pittsburgh Penguins 	1-year 	
 	Keith Kinkaid 	from Montreal Canadiens 	2-year 	
 	Kevin Rooney 	from New Jersey Devils 	2-year 	
 	Jesper Fast 	to Carolina Hurricanes 	3-year 	
 	Vinni Lettieri 	to Anaheim Ducks 	1-year 	
 	Danny O'Regan 	to Vegas Golden Knights 	1-year 	
 	Greg McKegg 	to Boston Bruins 	1-year 	
 	Steven Fogarty 	to Buffalo Sabres 	1-year 	
 	Micheal Haley 	to Ottawa Senators 	1-year 	
 	Jean-Francois Berube	to Ontario Reign (AHL) 	1-year 	
 	Ryan Gropp 	to Västerviks IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)	1-year 	
 	Boo Nieves 	to Tampa Bay Lightning 	1-year 	
 	Mason Geertsen 	from Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) 	2-year 	
===Waivers===
Date	Player	Team	Ref
 	 	 	
===Contract terminations===
Date	Player	Via	Ref
 	 	 	
===Retirement===
Date	Player	Ref
 	 	
===Signings===
Date	Player 	Contract term	Ref
 	Brandon Crawley 	1-year 	
 	Alexis Lafreniere 	3-year 	
 	Phillip Di Giuseppe	1-year 	
 	Tony DeAngelo 	2-year 	
 	Alexandar Georgiev 	2-year 	
 	Gabriel Fontaine 	1-year 	
 	Darren Raddysh 	1-year 	
 	Brendan Lemieux 	2-year 	
 	Ryan Strome 	2-year 	
 	Braden Schneider 	3-year 	
 	Hunter Skinner 	3-year 	
 	Zachary Jones 	3-year 	
 	William Cuylle 	3-year 	
 	Karl Henriksson 	3-year 	
 	Ryan Lindgren 	3-year 	
==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 	 	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
1 	191 	Braden Schneider 	D 	 	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2 	602 	William Cuylle 	LW 	 	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
3 	923 	Oliver Tarnstrom 	C 	 	AIK IF J20 (J20 SuperElit)
4 	103 	Dylan Garand 	G 	 	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
5 	1274	Evan Vierling 	C 	 	Barrie Colts (OHL)
5 	134 	Brett Berard 	LW 	 	U.S. NTDP U-18 (USDP)
6 	165 	Matt Rempe 	C 	 	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
7 	1975	Hugo Ollas 	G 	 	Linköping HC J20 (J20 SuperElit)
Notes:
# 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.
# 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.
# 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).
# 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.
# 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==
Category:New York Rangers seasons
New York Rangers