The New York Rangers, as of November 26, 2024, are possibly the worst 12-7-1 team in NHL history. They have massively overachieved on the back of stellar goaltending, while the rest of the roster has been underperforming horribly. The 5-0-1 start proved to be a mirage, as they’ve gone 7-7-0 since and haven’t beaten a team that’s firmly in playoff position since… *checks notes* October 19th…
The cracks began to reappear when the defending champion Panthers came to town on October 24th and picked up right where they left off with the Rangers in the conference final, dominating them for 60 minutes. What followed was even more damning, as losses to the Capitals, Sabres, and Jets showed that any team with real playoff aspirations had figured out the Rangers’ formula, just like Carolina started to do as they almost mounted a comeback in the second round, and Florida successfully did after falling behind 2-1 in the conference final.
You might see “Sabres” and “playoff aspirations” in the same sentence and double take, but check the standings. The Sabres currently occupy the second wild card spot and are breathing down the Rangers’ necks in WC1.
This trend continued on the Rangers’ Western Canadian road trip, and after failing to adjust in a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Oilers, GM Chris Drury put the league on notice that he’s looking for a roster shakeup and his phone lines are open.
A chance presented itself for a fire to be lit under the asses of the Rangers’ stars as they returned home to face St. Louis. They lost 5-2 in an uninspired effort to give Jim Montgomery his first win as the Blues coach.
The Rangers are now awaited by their bitter rivals, the 15-5-1 Hurricanes, and failure to bounce back at this juncture almost certainly means Drury’s hand will be forced, and the trigger will be pulled. He can’t continue icing the same roster expecting different results.
Here’s who, in my opinion, should not need to worry about being involved in negotiations:
- Igor Shesterkin
- Artemi Panarin
- Alexis Lafreniere
- Adam Fox
- Will Cuylle
- Filip Chytil
- Braden Schneider
- Zac Jones
Everyone else should be entertained as a trade asset. This does NOT mean fire sale. It means those are the Rangers’ options as chips for a player out-player in trade to shake up this stagnant roster.
Time is not the Rangers’ ally in the slightest. The upcoming offseason presents many challenges in terms of retaining players while being right up against the salary cap, including their MVP in Igor Shesterkin, who has earned every penny he’s going to receive on his next contract, and it will be a fuck ton of pennies. Every time he steals another game, his price goes up. He has the New York Rangers front office by the balls, and they hate the position that puts them in.
This roster is constructed poorly. You can blame the prior administration, you can blame Drury, it doesn’t change a damn thing. The Rangers have failed to truly open a window of championship contention where highly paid players in their prime mesh with cost controlled youth talent to provide a deep enough roster to win 16 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Call it mismanagement, call it bad luck, it does. Not. Matter.
This is what your veterans are now. They’ve lost a half step, some have lost a full step. Sure, all eyes have been on Zibanejad, Kreider, and Trouba, but Ryan Lindgren is clearly starting to pay the price of playing his warrior style of game. Trocheck has 2 points in his last 10 games.
On top of that, your young players have to get paid this Summer. Lafreniere is locked in long term, but Cuylle, Kakko, and Jones all need new contracts this summer, and at least 2 of those players are due for substantial raises.
Did I mention Igor Shesterkin is an unrestricted free agent July 1st? He has no reason to sign for less than $12m AAV.
So there’s your problem. Unless a magical Trouba helmet spike turns things around, the underperforming veterans making $4.5m-8.5m against the cap have hamstrung the potential success of the best goaltender in hockey, one of the best wingers in the league and a truly gifted group of young players, and there’s nobody to blame except… everybody.
It’s on Drury for mismanaging the roster. It’s on Laviolette for not getting more out of them. It’s on the underperforming players for not holding themselves accountable.
This team arrived in Carolina today. What awaits them tomorrow is a team that is coached outstandingly well, rolls four lines, has no holes in the back end, and is totally comfortable playing in front of their third string goalie. The Hurricanes posses the puck obsessively and put everything on net and into the blender. I am fully expecting the Rangers to get run out of the building. I’m expecting them to get killed. I’m calling out anybody I just named. Prove. Me. Wrong. I’d love nothing more than for this blog to make me look like an idiot by the end of the year. It’s up to the New York Rangers to do that.
The Morning Skate 