Last season: 39-36-7 (85 points), missed the playoffs.
COACH: Mike Sullivan (first season with New York; 479-311-127 career).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 7 vs. Pittsburgh.
DEPARTURES: LW Chris Kreider, D K'Andre Miller, RW Reilly Smith, D Zac Jones, coach Peter Laviolette.
ADDITIONS: Sullivan, D Vladislav Gavrikov, rookie F Gabriel Perreault, RW Taylor Raddysh.
GOALIES: Igor Shesterkin (27-29-5, 2.86 goals-against average, .905 save percentage), Jonathan Quick (11-7-2, 3.17, .893).
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 25-1
It's a new era with Sullivan bringing his two-time Stanley Cup-winning experience to the Original Six franchise not far removed from a trip to the 2024 Eastern Conference final. Last season was a massive disappointment, from the drama surrounding captain Jacob Trouba until he was traded to Anaheim in December to top players Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox underachieving. In hiring Sullivan, general manager Chris Drury is counting on one of the best coaches in the sport getting more out of the entire roster. The Rangers have the talent to make the playoffs, and that's the expectation.
The good: Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, starting a new long-term contract, gives his team a chance to win every time he starts. He can also steal games and could again be in the mix for the Vezina Trophy, which he won in 2022. Fellow Russian Artemi Panarin is going into the final year of his deal and was one of the stars whose play did not dip last season, producing at over a point-a-game pace.
The not-so-good: Blue line depth is a question after the top pairing of Fox and newly signed Vladislav Gavrikov. A lot is being expected of young defenseman Braden Schneider, who's coming off shoulder surgery. Trading Kreider to the Ducks opens a void for someone who can stand in front of the net and tip pucks in for goals. Recently named captain, top center J.T. Miller is also in charge of establishing a strong locker room culture after the tumult that was last season.
Zibanejad, opening the season on Miller's right wing, is firmly in the spotlight to bounce back from being minus-22. Opportunities are also there in the top six for Alexis Lafrenière and Will Cuylle to take on big roles. Gavrikov, signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract in free agency, was brought in to be a stabilizing force on defense and free up Fox to play more like the guy who won the Norris Trophy in 2021.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
New York Rangers new head coach Mike Sullivan listens during an NHL hockey news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)
New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury, left, and new head coach Mike Sullivan speak with reporters during an NHL hockey news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)
FILE - New York Rangers' Artemi Panarin (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, March 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
CAIRO (AP) — The White House released the names of some of the leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza after the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision met for the first time Friday in Cairo.
The committee's leader, Ali Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, pledged to get to work quickly to improve conditions. He expects reconstruction and recovery to take about three years and plans to focus first on immediate needs, including shelter.
“The Palestinian people were looking forward to this committee, its establishment and its work to rescue them,” Shaath said after the meeting, in a television interview with Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News.
U.S. President Donald Trump supports the group's efforts to govern Gaza after the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Gaza after the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, while thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to what is left of their homes.
Now, there will be a number of huge challenges going forward, including the deployment of an international security force to supervise the ceasefire deal and the difficult process of disarming Hamas.
Under Trump's plan, Shaath's technocratic committee will run day-to-day affairs in Gaza under the oversight of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have not yet been named.
The White House said an executive board will work to carry out the vision of the Board of Peace.
The executive board’s members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is to serve as the executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters.
The White House also announced the members of another board, the “Gaza Executive Board,” which will work with Mladenov, the technocratic committee and the international stabilization force.
Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan and Mladenov will also sit on that board. Additional members include: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.
In the West Bank, friends and relatives gathered Friday to mourn the death of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Health Ministry, which confirmed his death, said Mohammad Na’san was the first child killed by the army in the occupied West Bank in 2026.
Residents said Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas in an unprovoked attack. Israel’s military said in a statement that the incursion came after Palestinians had hurled rocks at Israelis and set tires aflame.
“There was gunfire directed at citizens and farmers, the most dangerous of which occurred during the storming of the village as people were leaving the mosques. The streets were crowded with the elderly, children, women, and elders, and they began firing relentlessly,” said Ameen Abu Aliya, head of the Al-Mughayyir village council.
The death was the latest episode of violence to hit al-Mughayyir, a village east of Ramallah that has become a flashpoint in the West Bank. Much of the community’s agricultural land falls under Israeli military control.
Early this year, settlers and Israeli military bulldozers destroyed olive groves in the area, saying they were searching for Palestinian gunmen. A children’s park in al-Mughayyir was also demolished.
In 2025, 240 Palestinians — including 55 children — were killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, while Palestinians killed 17 Israelis — including one child — in the region, according to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, two children were killed Friday in Gaza, a 7-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. They were killed in Beith Lahiya, near the Yellow Line, and their bodies taken to al-Shifa Hospital, the hospital said. No further details were immediately available.
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Jalal Bwaitel and Imed Isseid contributed to this report from Ramallah, Wafaa Shurafa from Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Matthew Lee from Washington.
A Palestinian inspects the rubble of the al-Hawli family home, destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the al-Hawli family home, destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Children walk over a pile of garbage at a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians on a beach in Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
