It came down to the wire this year, but we finally have a clear picture of which players the New York Rangers plan to carry on their NHL roster entering the 2024-25 NHL season, which will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The final tally comes with a couple caveats due to injury. The Blueshirts will start with 22 healthy players, which is the number they're expected to keep for most of the season, plus two more who are injured. Forward Jimmy Vesey (lower-body injury) was placed on long-term injured reserve Monday, meaning he'll be out for a minimum of 10 games and 24 days, while defenseman Ryan Lindgren (upper-body injury) was designated for standard injured reserve and will only have to miss seven days.

That left me with 24 players to offer thoughts on for what has become an annual exercise around these parts, so let's dive right in and analyze the outlook for each of them:

Forwards

Jonny Brodzinski – Keeping Brett Berard or Brennan Othmann would have been a sexier choice, but it makes much more sense for those prospects to continue their development with AHL Hartford while the 31-year-old Brodzinski serves as a dependable 13th forward. He can play all three forward positions and provides especially important insurance at center, where injury questions linger and the organization has few other places to turn.

Sam Carrick – The only new center on the roster is Carrick, a 32-year-old who's bounced between the NHL and AHL but caught the Rangers’ eye for his hard-nosed, defensive style of play. They signed him to replace Barclay Goodrow as fourth-line center and penalty killer, which he’ll do for more than $2.5 million less per season.

Filip Chytil – The 25-year-old missed 72 games last season, plus another 10 in the playoffs, in the disheartening aftermath of a Nov. 2 concussion. That left what head coach Peter Laviolette described as “a big hole” in the middle of the lineup, particularly as it relates to secondary scoring and speed in transition. The risk of another setback will hover over his every move, but a determined Chytil has been a standout this preseason and should be a major difference-maker if he can stay healthy. Frankly, the Rangers are counting on it.

Will Cuylle – After kicking down the door for an NHL spot last year, the 22-year-old is poised to take on a little more in Year 2. He’s clearly earned the trust of Laviolette, who continues to praise Cuylle for making the right reads and being in the right spots. He’ll be tasked with bringing that reliability to the third line while also adding penalty killing onto his plate.

Adam Edström – Laviolette challenged players on the roster bubble “to come in and shake us, and say, ‘I’m here,’” with Edström doing that as effectively as anyone. The 23-year-old has developed a well-rounded game, with improved offensive touch, opportunistic defense and a 6-foot-7 frame that packs a big punch. It would have been hard to keep him off the roster, with Vesey’s injury opening a clear path.

Kaapo Kakko – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but this feels like a make-or-break season for the former No. 2 overall pick. He’s still only 23 but entering his sixth NHL season and coming off arguably his most disappointing campaign. Kakko produced just 19 points in 61 injury-interrupted games, which forced him to settle for an underwhelming one-year, $2.4 million contract in June and left many wondering about his future in New York. He’s looked more aggressive with his shot at training camp while working to refine his net-front presence, but this remains a believe-it-when-you-see-it situation.

Chris Kreider – The 33-year-old has been a remarkably consistent source of offense – just ask the Carolina Hurricanes, who Kreider singlehandedly eliminated with a natural hat trick in the close-out game of their second-round series. He notched 39 goals plus a career-high 36 assists during the regular season while playing a pivotal role on special teams, so it's hard to find much to critic. But if we’re being picky, the Rangers could use a five-on-five boost from Kreider’s line with Mika Zibanejad.

Alexis Lafrenière – Breakout season? Check. Now the question is how much further the former No. 1 overall pick can push it. It feels like 57 points only scratched the surface of Lafrenière’s potential, with his encouraging playoff performance and promising camp serving as indications his ascension has just begun. He’s due for a new contract next summer and betting on himself to up that price tag by taking another step forward.

Artemi Panarin – The 32-year-old responded to his 2022-23 disappointment by posting staggering numbers, setting new career highs in goals (49), points (120) and shots (303). He embraced an aggressive shooting mentality without sacrificing his world-class playmaking ability, resulting in one of the NHL’s premier offensive seasons. The only thing left to do is make that kind of impact – or at least something close to it – come playoff time, which has been a struggle in recent years.

Matt Rempe – Last season was like a dream for the unheralded rookie, who captured the imagination of NHL fans with his ferocious fights and effervescent personality. But this year will be about proving he's more than just a novelty act. Rempe, who's now listed at an imposing 6-foot-9, 255 pounds, attacked his offseason by moving in with Jonathan Quick and training with Kreider, a notorious workout warrior. We'll see how that work translates on the ice.

Reilly Smith – Coming out of an offseason that was quieter than anyone imagined, Smith is the only addition who figures to play a prominent role. His lone season in Pittsburgh didn’t go as planned, but the Rangers believe they snagged a quality top-six option with championship DNA. The 33-year-old has looked pretty good in that problematic 1RW spot next to Kreider and Zibanejad and at the very least profiles as an upgrade over Jack Roslovic, the previous player they traded for to fill that void.

Vincent Trocheck – On a team that has well-established stars at every position, very few were as valuable as Trocheck last season. The 31-year-old does it all – five-on-five, power play, penalty kill, 58.7% faceoff win rate – and does it all well. He gives Laviolette a versatile center who shows up when it matters most, as he was undoubtedly the Blueshirts’ best skater in the playoffs.

Jimmy Vesey – A lower-body injury disrupted the 31-year-old’s camp and will force him to start the season on LTIR. Vesey remains a dependable fourth-liner and sturdy penalty killer, but his absence will provide opportunities for young players like Edström and Rempe to potentially squeeze him out of the lineup.

Mika Zibanejad – It’s likely that no Ranger will be scrutinized as intensely as Zibanejad this season. Some of the criticism is over the top, especially considering all the team asks him to do defensively, but there’s no hiding from the lack of five-on-five production. The 31-year-old managed only eight 5v5 goals during the regular season and then just one in the playoffs. New York simply needs more out of its No. 1 center.

Defensemen

Adam Fox – The 26-year-old had a frustrating end to his season after re-aggravating a right knee injury in the first round of the playoffs, but he says he’s “100%” now and should rank among the least of the Rangers’ concerns. As long as he stays on the ice, I’m calling the first 80-point season of his career.

Zac Jones – This is the opportunity the 23-year-old (he’ll turn 24 on Oct. 18) has been waiting for. He looked ready for a full-time role while playing regularly at end of the regular season, which convinced the Rangers to let veteran Erik Gustafsson walk in free agency and clear a spot for Jones. He bulked up to 190 pounds over the summer to prepare for the wear and tear of defending the world’s best forwards, and if he can hold up in his own end, it should allow his puck-moving skills to shine.

Ryan Lindgren – The 26-year-old hasn’t skated with the team since sustaining an upper-body injury during a Sept. 24 fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, but he’s made enough progress to avoid starting the season on LTIR. He should be back soon for what amounts to a critical season. The Blueshirts love his rugged style of play, but the one-year deal they gave him over the summer suggests they’re leery of his long-term outlook.

Victor Mancini – The biggest surprise of camp was undoubtedly Mancini – a 22-year-old fringe prospect who wasn’t even drafted in his first two years of eligibility. The Rangers took a chance on him with a 2022 fifth-round pick and may have uncovered a late bloomer. The 6-foot-3, 229-pounder bullied his way past several veterans and fellow prospects on the D depth chart with an outstanding camp, and while he’ll probably land in Hartford whenever Lindgren is ready, he’s earned an NHL look to start the season and a chance to carve out a larger role in the near future.

K’Andre Miller – The 24-year-old may not garner as much attention as some of the bigger names on this roster, but he’s relied on as much as almost any of them. Miller ranked second in average time on ice per game (21:34) behind only his new (and perhaps temporary) partner Fox and could see even more this season with a top-pair assignment and increase in power-play usage. Laviolette called him “a horse,” with a thoroughbred contract coming his way if the pending RFA puts together a big season.

Chad Ruhwedel – The Rangers could have turned to other veterans as the seventh defenseman, but it always felt like it was Ruhwedel’s job to lose. The 34-year-old has ample experience in that role from his time with the Penguins and has shown he can be a steady fill-in after long layoffs.

Braden Schneider – In an effort to get his four most-trusted defensemen on the top-two pairs, Laviolette is asking Schneider to shift to his off-hand side and play to the left of Jacob Trouba. How he’ll be used once Lindgren returns is to be determined, but the 23-year-old responded well to added responsibility at the end of last season and looked ready for the challenge.

Jacob Trouba – Elevating Schneider would likely come at the captain’s expense, but it may also be the best thing for him. The Rangers have been burned by their insistence on matching the 30-year-old up against opposing team’s top lines, with Trouba’s broken ankle last March finally convincing them to lighten his load. It also convinced them to explore trading him over the summer, which caused some awkward fallout and fueled belief this will be his “last crack” in New York.

Goalies

Igor Shesterkin – After rejecting an offer that would have made him the NHL’s highest-paid goalie, the pressure is on for Shesterkin to make that look like a wise decision. A Vezina Trophy-caliber season would give him the leverage to command an average annual value of $12 million or higher, but any missteps could drive that price down. Regardless of how it turns out, the Blueshirts need him in net to keep their Stanley Cup dreams alive.

Jonathan Quick – The future Hall of Famer was everything the Rangers needed from their backup goalie and more last season. He silenced critics who thought he was done by posting an 18-6-2 record with a .911 SV%, but can he do it again at age 38?

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers' 2024-25 roster: One thought for every player