This season has turned into a disaster very quickly for the New York Rangers. A season in which they had Stanley Cup aspirations has turned into one in which they might be sellers come the trade deadline. It has gone off the rails quickly and dramatically in New York and it doesn’t look like it will be getting any better anytime soon. They are 3-9-0 in their last 12 games and those three wins have come against teams outside playoff positioning. As of this writing, the Rangers currently are on the outside looking in, but luckily for them, it is only by one point and a good stretch could put them right back into a wild card spot.
Every game they play now, the fans just expect them to lose. This has been some of the most depressing hockey to watch and they have shown no signs of getting any better. The veteran players look lost and look like they have given up while the younger players try to carry the load, but it hasn’t been enough. Many thought this day would come for this team, but not this quickly. In this piece, we are going to go over three reasons why the Rangers are where they’re at right now.
Unwillingness to Move Core Players Sooner
General manager (GM) Chris Drury is now in his fourth season with the team and this roster has basically been untouched in regard to the core players. The only big name he has brought in on a long-term deal was Vincent Trocheck in the 2022 offseason. Other than that, the rest of the big players were brought in or drafted by former GM Jeff Gorton. Guys like Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox have all been here for years now and they have helped the team achieve some success, but they have also been here for all the failures in recent years and that is where the first problem lies. Despite making the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three seasons, this team has yet to get over the hump and the core players have been a big issue in these crucial games when the season is on the line.
They had a 2-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning and lost in six games. They followed it up with a 2-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils the following season and lost that series in seven games. Last season, they had a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers and lost that series in six games. The Rangers have never been able to close out these series and their star players have never been good enough to get the job done. Despite this, Drury was reluctant to move any of them or bring in other big-name players to help them out and that has been a reason why they haven’t gotten to a Stanley Cup Final. Some players just aren’t good enough when the lights get brighter and the Rangers have several guys who fit that billing.
Barclay Goodrow/Jacob Trouba Drama Plus “The Memo”
This past offseason, the Rangers knew that they were going to need cap space in future seasons to sign some of their important players to new contracts. In order to make that happen, they needed to get rid of players and one of those was Barclay Goodrow. They wanted to find a trade for him, but when it couldn’t happen, they placed him on waivers and he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks. It was reported that Goodrow was unaware he was going on waivers until moments before it happened and he was unhappy to be going back to San Jose as it was one of the teams on his no-trade list, which the Rangers were able to get around by just putting him on waivers. He was a good locker room leader in New York and some of the players were unhappy about how his exit was handled.
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Then, you have the Jacob Trouba situation. It was reported that the Rangers had a deal in place with the Detroit Red Wings that would have sent him to his hometown team. Then, it was reported that he nixed the trade and put the Red Wings on his no-trade list and that killed the deal. The entire offseason goes by and now, you have a captain coming into a new season knowing that the team tried to trade him and still want to trade him, so it impacted his ability to be a leader knowing the Rangers didn’t want him. Eventually, after the losing continued, they moved him to the Anaheim Ducks after telling him they would put him on waivers like they did with Goodrow. The Rangers wanted him and his $8 million gone and they got it done, but it wasn’t in a way that was looked at fondly by his teammates and other teams around the league.
Drury Sending Out “The Memo”
Back when the losing started, Drury sent out what is now called “The Memo” to the 31 other teams letting them know he was open for business and specifically mentioned that Trouba and Kreider were on the trade block. This was his way of telling the team that if you don’t start playing better, changes are going to be made. Did this wake the team up? Absolutely not as the losing has continued and the team looks worse and worse. While they did move on from Trouba, other moves are going to have to be made to shake up this team because firing the coach isn’t going to solve the problem. These core players have had three coaches since the 2021 COVID-shortened season. David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette and yet, the same problems persist as they aren’t a good team five-on-five, the defensive structure is still non-existent and they rely too much on special teams and goaltending and when those aren’t working, you get this version of the Rangers.
Drury needs to follow through on making these changes because it is obvious that most of these players have quit on the coach and him. They don’t like how their friends have been treated and now, when they are finally being held accountable for their poor play, this is how they respond, by quitting and showing no heart and no effort. Anyone not named Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle or Alexis Lafreniere should be on the table in a potential move. If these players who have trade protections don’t want to be here, then get them to waive their protections by any means necessary. The Rangers need to change their culture and it starts by getting rid of the players who have done nothing but quit when times have gotten tough.
The Rangers were supposed to be Stanley Cup contenders this season and now, this season looks like it is going to be a wasted season. It was just six months ago that this team, with a majority of the same players, was playing in the Eastern Conference Final. Something seismic must’ve happened in that locker room for them to start playing like this just six months later. The reasons listed above have surely had an impact, but maybe it’s something bigger entirely that no one knows about. Whatever the reasons, changes need to be made now as they can still try and salvage this season.
