The New York Rangers have turned a “Stanley Cup or bust” season into one of their worst seasons in recent memory. After going 12-4-1 to start the season, the team is now 15-15-1 and outside a playoff spot. Luckily, they are only three points out of a wild-card spot, and with one good stretch of play, they should find themselves right back in a postseason berth. However, they have shown no signs of improvement, with just three wins over their last 14 games, including losing to the worst team in the league twice in the past eight days – to two different teams, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators.
Fans are at their breaking point, and rightfully so. The team has shown no fight, no heart and no resiliency, and it has become a chore to watch them try to win games. The coaching staff, management, and the players have all taken heat. In this piece, we are going to rank which area is the least to blame to the most to blame for the Rangers’ situation.
#3 Rangers Coaching Staff
The area that should be getting the least amount of blame is the coaching staff. Head Coach Peter Laviolette has tried many different things to get his team going, but nothing has worked so far. He is also working with mostly the same group as last season, who led the team to a Presidents’ Trophy and an Eastern Conference Final appearance.
How could things change so much in a little over six months? Laviolette has moved younger players who are playing well – like Will Cuylle and Filip Chytil – up the lineup and given them more time while struggling veterans like Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have seen their ice time drop in recent games. While this could have both positive and negative effects, it hasn’t led to any wins, and right now, there isn’t much more Laviolette can do to shake up his lineup.
While this situation isn’t on Laviolette, some of his changes have left fans scratching their heads. His most recent decision to make Kaapo Kakko a healthy scratch was a major talking point in Kakko’s final days with the team. It made no sense to bench him when other players, older players, have been playing much worse than he was.
This wasn’t the first time he was scratched under Laviolette – he was also scratched during the 2024 Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers. Laviolette’s overreliance on playing his struggling veterans has cost the Rangers certain games. He needs the courage to scratch his veterans once in a while. So, while he hasn’t been perfect, he is far from the main problem.
#2: Chris Drury
General Manager Chris Drury has also taken a ton of criticism from the fanbase. He is now in his fourth full season with the team and still hasn’t added many impact players to a team that was already well-built by former GM Jeff Gorton. While Drury has brought in players to help in the playoffs, none of them stuck around. The only player brought in on a long-term deal was Vincent Trocheck, who Drury signed as a free agent in the 2022 offseason. Other than that, the team’s core players have been around for many years, and while they have made the playoffs every season under Drury, they haven’t been able to bring a Stanley Cup back to New York.
Related: Rangers Deal Kakko to Kraken for Borgen
After three straight playoff exits, Drury decided this past offseason that it was time to shake up his core group. First, he moved Barclay Goodrow, who was placed on waivers and claimed by the San Jose Sharks. Then, Drury wanted to move Jacob Trouba and reportedly had a deal in place to send him to the Detroit Red Wings. However, the report was leaked, and Trouba reportedly put the Red Wings on his no-trade list to kill the deal. Trouba stuck around until earlier this month when he was moved to the Anaheim Ducks.
Drury wanted to make bigger moves but was stuck keeping some players around because they wanted to stay in New York. So, while he should’ve just dealt with the Trouba situation in the summer at whatever cost, it isn’t all on him because Trouba used his trade protection as was his right. While Drury must take some of the blame for this situation, he isn’t the party that is most to blame for the team’s struggles this season.
#1: The Players on the New York Rangers
Those who are most guilty in this situation are the players on the ice. They wanted to run the roster back one more time. They were upset with the Goodrow situation, and Trouba came into training camp saying this was the roster’s last shot as constructed. The players knew that this season was Cup or Bust, and they played well to start, but when it got tough, and Drury sent out “The Memo” letting other teams know that Kreider and Trouba were available, the players laid down and died.
That is how the Rangers got to where they are today. When they were finally being held accountable for their poor play, they didn’t switch gears and start playing better. They played the same way, and the results have been the same. This group has a losing mentality, and when the going gets tough, they don’t show any heart or passion.
Many Rangers claim they want to be in New York and be part of the solution, but they are just part of the problem. Players like Kreider and Zibanejad, who should be two of the team’s best, have been two of the worst with no signs of getting better despite the continued losses and less ice time.
That is why fans are calling for these players to be traded – because they haven’t won and have shown they don’t have what it takes to get through the tough times. For a group of players who wanted to stay together for one more shot at a Stanley Cup, they can’t even beat the worst teams in the league. If these players want to figure out what the problem is, they need to look in the mirror, or the season will be over before the holidays.
The GM, coaches and players all have to carry some blame for what is going on, but it is up to the players to turn their season around. There isn’t going to be some magical player or two who comes in and fixes everything. The solution has to come from within, and while they haven’t shown that they have the answer, they need to find it and fast because the clock is ticking.
