Heartache and disappointment are part of being a New York Rangers fan, and that’s especially true in this century.
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Expectations are almost always high under the bright lights of New York, with all 32 teams’ goal to win the Stanely Cup. The Rangers have, without question, had some great runs over the past decade-plus but have failed to win the championship. Not only has that goal not been met in the 2000s, but the organization has just one Stanley Cup in the past 80-plus years.
Of course, the task isn’t easy. Just about everything must go right from staying healthy to elite special teams. But let’s look back at some of the best Rangers teams of the 2000s and see which had the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup.
2011-12
Before the 2011-12 season began, the Rangers mainly were a team that would barely squeak into the playoffs once the Henrik Lundqvist era began. John Tortorella, who took over for Tom Renney in 2009, created an identity that made them known around the league as a hardworking, forechecking team that would block shots. It was a fearless mentality that players bought into. Unfortunately, the Rangers’ talent wasn’t even close to competing with some of the top contending teams.
However, the dynamic changed when Brad Richards signed with Blueshirts as a free agent. For the first time in a while, fans were instilled with hope that the Rangers might have a team built to win the Stanely Cup for the first time, perhaps since the 1990s. The 2011-2012 regular season was a fun one, as they won 51 games and secured first place in the Eastern Conference. That would guarantee themselves home ice through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The one concern with the 2011-2012 team was the depth at forwards. Marian Gaborik was the leading scorer with 76 points (41 goals), and Richards was second with 66 points. Everyone else had 54 points or less. This was apparent after the Rangers in the playoffs in the first round against the Ottawa Senators were shut out on home ice in Game 5 to fall down 3-2 in the series. Notably, the dept on the wings was a concern behind Gaborik. It was thin with rookie Carl Hagelin, Ryan Callahan, and Ruslan Fedotenko. It wasn’t ideal.
However, the Rangers had one big reinforcement on the way—and that was Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ top prospect at the time. He signed with the team just before the playoffs began out of college and debuted in Game 3 of the first round. But he made his impact when the Rangers needed it the most, scoring what would be the game-winning goal in Game 6 against the Senators. The team would also come back to win the series in seven (from ‘Former first-round pick Kreider signs with Rangers,’ New York Post, April 11, 2022).
Kreider’s speed coming down the wing was dynamic and was something the Rangers desperately needed. That was displayed in the following round against the Washington Capitals in Game 1 when he blasted a slapshot past Braden Holtby for a 1-0 lead. The rest of the series was back and forth and could have gone either way. Still, the defining moment was Richards scoring a tying goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation in Game 5 to allow Marc Staal to score the winner overtime to give the Rangers a massive 3-2 lead in the series.
While the Blueshirts would take the series in seven, failing to close it out in six may have been the beginning of the end of the playoff run. The volume of games (with back-to-back Game 7 series’) eventually caught up after they took a 2-1 lead against the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. The team ran out of gas and failed to win another for the rest of the series. This was a tough one to lose, but the lack of offensive prowess and powerplay may have cost them anyway. But the combination of fatigue didn’t help. The 2011-12 team was good but missing a big piece.
2021-22
A lot can change in a decade. Interestingly, the only player left from the 2012 playoff team was Kreider, as the Rangers decided to enter a rebuild and dismantle the core in 2018 after sending this famous letter to their fans. But things were finally going their way, as they won a draft lottery and moved up to second overall, which earned them Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko, respectively. Then, the Rangers would trade for Adam Fox, who would win a Norris Trophy and already had highly-touted goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the pipeline. Plus, let’s not forget about the free agent signing of Artemi Panarin in 2019, which sped up the rebuild.
After Chris Drury took over as general manager and brought in Gerard Gallant as head coach, the Rangers wanted to take the next step and get back into the postseason. Some of his first moves involved signing Barclay Goodrow and trading for Ryan Reaves before the 2021-2022 season began to help improve the veteran presence.
While some questioned the transactions and how they would affect the Rangers’ future, it helped, at least in the short term. It was pretty clear by the trade deadline that the Blueshirts would qualify for the postseason. Drury took action as a buyer and acquired Tyler Motte, Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano. The latter of the two moves gave the top six forwards a boost. What separated this version of the Rangers from previous teams that qualified for the postseason was the elite special teams. Both units finished the regular seasons in the top three among NHL teams.
By the time the postseason began, the Rangers had a home-ice advantage to host the Pittsburgh Penguins as the second seed in the Metropolitan Division. The hope was that the group could pull out one series win, as the expectations of being a Cup favorite weren’t there yet. But after four games, the Rangers were on the brink of disaster, falling down 3-1 in the series. But they would rally back despite trailing in all three of the next win-or-go-home games to steal the series in seven. The power play and performances in elimination games from stars including Mika Zibanejad and Panarin were just enough to pull out a thrilling series win. Let’s not forget the spectacular goaltending from Shesterkin and the spontaneous kid line featuring Filip Chytil, Kakko, and Lafreniere.
And then again, in round two against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Rangers faced elimination after a rough Game 5 loss. But the power play would be a huge difference-maker for the Blueshirts later in the series, and they would take it in seven. Suddenly, defying expectations, the Rangers were in the Eastern Conference Final. And unlike the previous two series, they dominated play early and took a 2-0 lead with home-ice advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It looked like the Rangers were off to the Stanley Cup Final after the power play came up huge again with two goals in the second period in Game 3. They were up 2-1 and 20 minutes away from taking a 3-0 stranglehold on the series against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs. But it was too good to be true, as the team imploded in the third period and lost with seconds left in regulation. That was the ultimate buzz kill, and the team could not recover.
The Rangers ran out of gas again after two thrilling series that took seven games apiece. It was a lot of hockey played. While the group overachieved, it’s hard to stomach losing Game 3 and knowing how close they were to having a chance to play for the Cup. If that wasn’t the worst loss in franchise history – it’s up there. But still, as a Rangers fan, you, at the very least, had to be optimistic about the future and what you saw from Shesterkin and the kid line.
2023-24
After a disappointing season in which the Rangers went all in by acquiring Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, only to get bounced in the first round by their rival New Jersey Devils, the next season would be a mystery, with fans not knowing what to expect. Was the team going to sink, or were they going to put 2022-23 behind them and prosper?
The front office’s most significant move was moving on from head coach Gerard Gallant and replacing him with Peter Laviolette. It wasn’t an outside-the-box pick that energized the fan base, but he had a ton of respect around the league, with a Stanley Cup ring on his resume, and now over 1,500 NHL games coached. The most significant change from his predecessor was how hands-on Laviolette was. He runs high-intensity practices, emphasizing high attention to detail to his players. At first, it wasn’t clear if he would be the right person for the job – but he would get a chance.
The other challenge was that Drury had scarce cap space to work in the offseason. The most notable free agency signing was Erik Gustafsson, who would become a staple on the third defensive pair. Remember that Kane and Tarasenko weren’t returning, and the Rangers were forced to give younger players like Kakko and Lafreniere more playing time. In unimpressive circumstances, Laviolette was forced to make it work, and to his credit, he did. Lafreniere finally grew into the player Rangers fans all hoped the 2020 first-overall pick would be thanks to the expanded role the new coaching staff found them.
The season was going beautifully for the Rangers, who were in first place in the Metro for almost the entire season. Ahead of the trade deadline, Drury would acquire Alexander Wennberg to nail down the third-line center role after Chytil was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. The other move by the 47-year-old GM was acquiring Jack Roslovic in hopes that he could play next to Zibanejad and Kreider on the top line. Neither were flashy players – but they both filled key needs.
The moves helped the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy and get a favorable first-round matchup against a much inferior Washington Capitals team, who they swept. The Capitals could not compete with the elite special teams, coupled with a generational goalie talent. The next round against the Hurricanes was expected to be more challenging. And it was, even after the Blueshirts stormed out to a 3-0 lead after winning three close games, thanks again to elite goaltending and special teams. While the Hurricanes would give them a scare, the Rangers would pull off a third-period comeback in Game 6 to avoid the reverse sweep and host the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The problem with the Rangers was what would happen when the power play stopped clicking. Well, we got a glimpse of that in the series against the Panthers. It never felt like the Blueshirts had control of the series – even when up 2-1. The Rangers had their moments but could not sustain it over 60 minutes a night. The Panthers just had that extra gear that couldn’t be matched. The heavy forecheck put relentless pressure on New York and their defensemen, particularly those who couldn’t get the puck up the ice to the forwards. And Deja vu, yet another Eastern Conference Final lost after leading 2-1 in the series. The power play scored just one goal, while the Panthers’ unit scored five.
Make no mistake, the 2023-2024 Rangers had a great team – but the Panthers were just superior. While it was disappointing, it’s the reality. Maybe the series would have been different if the Rangers had another offensive-minded defenseman or an above-average puck mover. Plus, Zibanejad and his line deserve plenty of blame for failing to get anything going.
2014-15
Some might forget that the 2014-15 team was another lineup to win the Presidents’ Trophy this century. This year was Alain Vigneault’s second year as head coach, with some notable changes. These include former GM Glen Sather replacing the loss of Anton Stralman with Dan Boyle and signing Tanner Glass after trading Derek Dorsett in the offseason. And while losing Benoit Pouliot hurt, he was essentially replaced by college free agent signing Kevin Hayes.
While Glass undoubtedly made the fourth line worse, Boyle helped improve the power play as a point man. Regardless, expectations were high after the Rangers went to the Cup Final the previous season. The talent was there to make another run, and the Rangers lived up to the hype.
After cruising through much of the regular season, Sather decided to double down on his roster and add a significant piece ahead of the trade deadline. That was Keith Yandle. While the offensive defenseman filled a need – it was a risky deal that involved trading top prospect Anthony Duclair and a future first-round pick. It was an expensive price for a player that would play on the Rangers’ third pair. Also, don’t forget the Rangers traded two first-round picks in the previous season for Martin St. Louis. Nevertheless, Sather was all in.
The Yandle trade helped the Blueshirts secure the Presidents’ Trophy, and Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were up in the first round. While it was a tight series, the Rangers were the superior team. Marc Andre Fleury, to his credit, played well. They won it in five games after Carl Hagelin scored the series clincher in overtime.
Round two against the Capitals was a slugfest for the Rangers early on. Head coach Barry Trotz had his team execute a game plan that smothered New York. The Rangers found themselves in a 3-1 hole and faced elimination down a goal late in the third period in Game 5 at MSG. Capitals goaltender Holtby was marvelous – for about 58 minutes. Then, Kreider tied the game off what looked like a harmless shot from the top of the Capitals circle. Then it was time for a win or go home (or stay home, for that matter) overtime, and Ryan McDonagh came up captain clutch to extend the season.
It looked like the Rangers were dead in the water – but after snatching victory from defeat, they had all the momentum. The Blueshirts buzzed in Game 6, with goals from their top players, including Rick Nash and Kreider, to force a Game 7 at MSG. After falling behind early, rookie Hayes would knot it up on the power play. It was a tightly defensive contested game that took overtime. And past the midway point, the Rangers, one of the worst face-off teams in the NHL that season, had an offensive draw. It was a set play that involved getting the puck back to Yandle for a one-timer to Dan Girardi. While it didn’t go in, the rebound found Derek Stepan looking at a wide-open net after Holtby scrambled to find the puck. Spoiler alert: the Stepan didn’t miss the net, and it was one of the greatest goals in Rangers history.
It seemed like the Rangers were destined to return to the Cup Final. Even the team’s social media account used the hashtag #ChangeTheEnding. The young but talented Tampa Bay Lightning would be next in the Eastern Conference Final. Over halfway through, the Rangers found themselves in a 2-2 series with a home-ice advantage. But Game 5 didn’t go their way, and the Rangers were blanked by Ben Bishop at MSG. While that was a tough loss that felt like it would end their season, the team responded with a big 7-3 win thanks to Derick Brassard’s five-point night. But a trip back to the Cup Final still wasn’t destiny, as the Rangers were shut out at home again in a devastating Game 7 loss.
There were two big reasons the Rangers failed in the end. One was their struggle to score goals throughout the playoffs. Nash and especially St. Louis struggled to consistently put the puck in the net. It’s tough to win when your highest-paid scorers aren’t your best ones. And if it weren’t for Kreider’s heroics in round two, there would be no Eastern Conference Final or Game 6 in Washington.
And then there was the injury bug – which may have been the number one reason. For one, McDonagh broke his foot in Game 4 against the Lightning. Although the captain courageously played through it, he was severely limited afterward. He was almost even unavailable for Game 7. Mats Zuccarello did not play the rest of the playoffs after suffering an upper body in the first round. Defensemen Girardi and Yandle played through MCL and shoulder sprains. Marc Staal also played through a hairline fracture in his ankle. And that does not include Kevin Klein, whose broken arm at the end of the regular season cost him the entire first round of the playoffs.
To sum up, almost the Rangers’ entire defensive core could hardly stand up straight, and perhaps their most crafty winger was unavailable, period. It’s impressive how the beat-up group even made it to a Game 7. All hail King Henrik. Worst of all, this was the last legitimate Stanley Cup contender this core featuring Henrik Lundqvist, McDonagh, and Nash would have. It’s a shame because 2014-15 was well balanced, from five-on-five to special teams to defensive play.
2013-14
Pound-for-pound, the 2013-14 Rangers were the best team the franchise had since the 1994 Stanley Cup winners. The most significant moves in the offseason were signing Pouliot to a one-year deal and replacing Tortorella with Vigneault. The Quebec-born head coach preached an up-tempo pace that involved transitioning from defensive play in the neutral zone to a counter-attack. The key was to force opponents into mistakes while getting odd-man rush opportunities up the ice.
While exciting times would come with Vigneault’s new system, the start to the 2013-14 regular season was an unmitigated disaster. After going 1-1 in their first couple of games, the Rangers would lose their next three, getting outscored a whopping 20-5 over that stretch. The season started to spiral, and the record dropped to 2-6. Luckily, they would regroup and win the next six of eight. There were a couple of things in particular that helped fuel the turnaround. One was the strong play from backup goaltender Cam Talbot, who finished the year with an incredible .941 save percentage in 21 games.
The other was calling up Kreider, whose youth gave the Rangers much-needed energy. While Vigneault had plenty of issues with developing and finding ice time for younger players, to his credit, that wasn’t the case with the speedy winger. Vigneault gave the rookie not only top-six minutes for much of the season, but he also turned out to be a major net-front presence on the power play.
Overall, it was a slow process, but the Rangers kept themselves in the playoff conversation before taking off in January. There was only one issue along the way: the drama surrounding then-captain Callahan. The Rochester, New York native was a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and the two sides were having difficulty coming to terms on a new contract extension. So Sather decided to trade him ahead of the deadline and package him in a deal for St. Louis. While it cost the organization two first-round picks, it turned the Rangers into a legit Stanley Cup contender.
While St. Louis struggled to get things going for the rest of the regular season as a Blueshirt, he made himself known in the postseason. This was especially true after tragedy hit the veteran and his mother passed away. When it happened, the Rangers were in the second-round series, facing elimination in Game 5 against the Penguins. St. Louis decided to play in it, and the team broke out with a 5-1 win. Then, it went back home to MSG on Mother’s Day, and St. Louis, of all players, scored just minutes into the contest to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The locker room rallied around the Laval, QC native, and held on for a 3-1 win to force a Game 7.
But the comeback was not complete yet. It did, however, look like the Rangers had all the momentum and even scored the first goal of the Game 7. The Penguins stormed back to tie it in the second period – but Richards answered back to give the Ranges back the lead. But you knew closing out the third period wouldn’t be easy. The Penguins threw everything they had at the Rangers – Lundqvist just wouldn’t let them score. He played out of his mind and stopped almost all 13 high-danger chances in Game 7.
After the improbable comeback, the Rangers would get a favorable matchup against the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the postseason. The Habs’ leading scorer in the regular season was Max Pacioretty, who only had 60 points. While there wasn’t as much depth and top-line heavy talent compared to the Rangers, Carey Price wasn’t going to be easy to solve. However, he would only suit up for Game 1 after an unfortunate collision forced him to miss the rest of the series. The matchup got more favorable, but Stepan also was forced to miss Game 4 after breaking his jaw. The Rangers were short a top-six center – but St. Louis came up with another big moment – scoring the game-winner in Game 4’s overtime to put the Habs on the brink of elimination. The Rangers would then win 1-0 in Game 6 and were just four wins away from hoisting Lord Stanley.
The Los Angeles Kings were up next. In the series, at times, the Rangers’ speed was too much for the Kings to keep up with. In most games, the Blueshirts would score the first goal. While Vigneault had his team buy-in on his style of play, there was one flaw in it. His squad would get too defensive with leads, letting the opponent dominate the offensive zone. In fact, in all three overtime losses in Games 1, 2, and 5 – the Rangers had a lead. The third periods were abysmal. They did not score a goal in the last 20 minutes of each game, whereas the Kings were heavy on the attack while trailing.
What if the Rangers won just one of those games? Would it be a different outcome? There were so many close calls in overtime, including McDonagh’s hit post in the must-win Game 5 and Kreider’s breakaway attempt in Game 2. The 2013-14 team was a great team that fell short. It was one of the few Rangers teams this century that could dominate possession and generate scoring chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, they ranked eighth and seventh for expected goals in the regular season and Corsi, respectively. The power play percentage was average relative to the rest of the league. It was the best chance to win a Cup, at least for that core with Lundqvist.
Instead, fans can only look ahead to 2024-25 and hope that will finally be the year to end the 30-plus-year drought. But appearing in five Eastern Conference Finals and one Stanely Cup Final while coming up empty hasn’t been easy to stomach. One thing is for sure—winning the Cup is a long and challenging journey.
