The New York Rangers have had an interesting start to the 2025-2026 season. They have played well at times and have some excellent goalkeeping from Igor Shesterkin, but have not played well at home and have been quite inconsistent.
Related: New York Rangers struggle without Vincent Trocheck
As they continue to work their way up the rankings, let’s take a quick look at some updates surrounding the team.
In this edition of Rangers News & Rumors, we look at the trade speculation surrounding Brennan Othmann, the team’s recent loss to the ice-cold Calgary Flames, a positive update for Noah Laba and the signing of Nathan Aspinall.
Brennan Othmann’s trade speculation continues
With how much he has had to struggle out of the gate, it was no surprise that trade speculation began surrounding forward Brennan Othmann. In a recent issue of the 32 Thoughts podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman revealed the potential asking price if a team wanted to acquire him.
“When asked, the Rangers asked for good AHL prospects in exchange for Brennan Othmann,” Friedman said.
The 22-year-old Othmann played one game for the Rangers this season, in which he had no points. In the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Hartford Wolf Pack, he has one assist through four games.
It doesn’t sound like a trade is imminent by any means, but it sounds like the Rangers are at least exploring the market for the youngster.
Rangers lose to icy flames
In what was one of the most heartbreaking losses in a while, the Rangers lost to the Calgary Flames, who have struggled mightily out of the gates.
Before that game, the Flames had a record of 1-7-1 and were at the bottom of the standings with the worst record in the entire league. Even after beating the Rangers, the Flames trail the San Jose Sharks by one point and remain the worst team in the NHL.
It wasn’t a close match either, with Rangers losing 5-1 and dropping to 3-5-2 on the season. Hopefully it’s one they can bounce back from quickly and in their next game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Noah Laba scores first NHL goal
The only positive from that huge loss to the Flames was Noah Laba scoring his first NHL goal, the only goal for the Rangers of the game.
Through his first ten career NHL games, he now has one goal and two assists for three points.
Rangers sign Nathan Aspinall
The Rangers recently announced that they had signed Nathan Aspinall to a three-year entry-level contract.
#NYR have agreed to terms with striker Nathan Aspinall on a three-year entry-level contract.
Full details: https://t.co/r0d4Kwl6Oo pic.twitter.com/hKcrKWppLI
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 23, 2025
Aspinall, who is 19 years old, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft at 159th overall after a solid performance in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Flint Firebirds, where he scored 18 goals and added 16 assists for 34 points in 65 games.
This season, he scored six goals and added eight assists for 14 points in nine games with the Firebirds. Last season he played five games in the AHL with the Wolf Pack, but did not record a point.
At the time of this article’s publication, he has scored 42 goals and added 57 assists for 99 points in 165 career OHL games, for an average of 0.60 points per game.
Stay tuned as the 2025-2026 season progresses The hockey writers as your source for news, updates and more from the NHL and the hockey world.
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