2021–22 New York Rangers season

The 2021–22 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 95th season of play and their 96th season overall. Before the season, the Rangers lost Colin Blackwell to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

The Rangers retired the no. 30 jersey in honor of Henrik Lundqvist on January 28, 2022.

During the season the team commemorated Rod Gilbert, who died in August 2021, with a no. 7 shoulder patch on their jerseys. Additionally, the Rangers created the Rod Gilbert "Mr. Ranger" Award, which will be given annually to the player "who best honors Rod's legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice, and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community."

On December 3, 2021, after a 1–0 win over the San Jose Sharks, Rangers goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev had a first combined shutout since Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Raanta achieved it during a 2–0 victory over the Dallas Stars on December 15, 2016.

Three Rangers were selected to participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game: Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Mika Zibanejad. However, for personal reasons, Zibanejad did not attend the game. It was the 34th time in franchise history that the Rangers have had three or more players selected to the same All-Star Game and first since the 2011–12 season with Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Girardi and Marian Gaborik. At the conclusion of the regular season, Shesterkin was nominated for and eventually won the Vezina Trophy, and was also named to the NHL first All-Star team.

On April 9, 2022, the Rangers clinched a playoff berth after a 5–1 win against the Ottawa Senators. In the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Rangers trailed 3–1 after the first four games of the series, but won the next three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and won the series 4–3. This was the third time in franchise history that the Rangers won the seven-game series after trailing 3–1 (2013–14 and 2014–15). The Rangers qualified for the Conference Finals for the first time since the 2014–15 season after they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the Second Round. They would go on to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Preseason
The preseason schedule was published on July 27, 2021.

Regular season
The regular season schedule was published on July 22, 2021, with only about a handful of games scheduled in February because NHL players were planning to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, on December 22, the NHL announced that its players would not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.



Playoffs
The Rangers faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the First Round, and defeated them in seven games. In the Second Round, the Rangers faced the Carolina Hurricanes, and defeated them in seven games. In the Conference Finals, the Rangers faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, and lost in six games.







Player statistics
As of June 12, 2022

Goaltenders
† 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.

Transactions
The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.

Draft picks
Below are the New York Rangers' selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 23 and 24, 2021, in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing selections from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.


 * 1) The Buffalo Sabres' third-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on July 1, 2019, that sent Jimmy Vesey to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.
 * 2) The Arizona Coyotes' third-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on July 24, 2021, that sent a third and sixth-round picks both in 2021 (80th and 176th overall) to the Washington Capitals in exchange for this pick.
 * 3) The Los Angeles Kings' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on March 27, 2021, that sent Brendan Lemieux to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick.
 * 4) The Ottawa Senators' fourth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on October 7, 2019, that sent Vladislav Namestnikov to Ottawa in exchange for Nick Ebert and this pick.