NYR After Dark

Episode 15 — Cap's back, Ivan is sick, and the season is finally here. League news: Marchenko traded to Toronto in a big Columbus deal, and word broke that the Rangers had a Nikishin offer in place that fell apart over an extension — both hosts are fine it didn't happen, especially given how the Dorofeyev deal turned out. From there it's a preseason wrap: stock up for Perreault (point-per-game, plus-2, clear top-line chemistry with Zibanejad/Lafrenière) and Morrow (won the seventh-D battle over Robertson with strong camp skating), stock down for Robertson. They dig into the cut-down decisions — Raddysh waived and not claimed (a real surprise to both), Grant losing the backup job to Korpisalo despite a strong camp (with Cap pushing back hard that the org never gave Grant a real look), and Smith making the roster outright — before closing with season-opener lines, an excited breakdown of the Miller-Dorofeyev-Bjorkstrand line and the power play, and three-stars picks for the week (Fox, Miller, and Lafrenière/Igor depending on who's asked).

Episode 14 - with Cap on vacation, Tom and Ivan preview the four-game preseason slate (Devils/Islanders home-and-home pairs starting the next night), break down what the new two-group preseason format and camp roster splits (Smith the only prospect in the "NHL" group) signal about Sully's evaluation approach, and dig into the goalie backup battle (Korpisalo vs. Grand) and the crowded bottom-six/fourth-RW competition (Rempe vs. Yaro vs. Raddysh). The back half runs through fan reactions to the reported line combos — mainly the Miller-Dorofeyev-Bjorkstrand second line, which both hosts defend hard against "worst second line in the NHL" takes, arguing brand-new linemates just need time to build chemistry, plus a Cooley-Laba-Tolvanen third line they're already excited about.

Episode 13 — Tom and Ivan react to league news, recap the Rangers-Flyers rookie series (Greentree the standout, Shaykov strong in net, Bo, Aspinall, Sykora, Fortescue, Bowes and Dorrington all getting notice), and dig into fan season predictions plus their own listener poll on what has to go right for the Rangers this year — landing on JT Miller's return to point-per-game form as the key.

Episode 12 — Tom and Ivan break down the Eeli Tolvanen signing (and get into it over whether he deserved a two-year deal), debate who has to go from the Rangers' overcrowded bottom six, read fan responses from X, and preview the new-format preseason ahead of the Rangers-Flyers rookie series (Sept 12–13, PPL Center).

Tom and Ivan are 30 days from puck drop and diving into the biggest storylines around the Rangers and the league. They break down Cale Makar's monster 8-year, $20.4M extension and what it means for team-building, react to JT Miller and Vincent Trocheck's appearance on Spittin' Chiclets' "Sandbagger" golf special, debate whether the Rangers should bring in any PTOs this fall, and rank the players facing the most pressure heading into 2026-27 — including JT Miller, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Alexis Lafrenière. Tom and Ivan round the episode off with a "build your perfect Ranger" segment.