While the New York Rangers have been one of the top teams in the NHL for the past few seasons, it was not long ago when they were the complete opposite. During the 2017-18 season, they hit a wall with their core players and it looked like their championship window was closing and it was decided that changes needed to be made. In February 2018, management would send out what is now known as “The Letter” to the fans letting them know that changes were going to be made and many players on the team at the time would be gone.
This began a rebuild that lasted over parts of four seasons and many seismic changes were made to help the Rangers rebuild their prospect pool, get younger talent onto the NHL roster and help set them up for where they are right now. In this piece, we are going to look at some of the successes and failures of this rebuild and how it has led to where the Rangers are today.
Current Top-6 Defense Group Was Built During the Rebuild
At the time that the rebuild started, none of the Rangers’ current projected top six defensemen were part of the organization. We are going to go in chronological order and see how each of them made their way to the Rangers. It started with Ryan Lindgren in 2018. He was the main prospect that was brought back in the deal that sent Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins. K’Andre Miller was next and the team traded up in the 2018 Draft to acquire him. Adam Fox was acquired in April 2019 from the Carolina Hurricanes for two second-round picks.
Their current captain, Jacob Trouba, was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets in June 2019 for Neal Pionk and a 2019 first-round pick, which the Jets traded to the Rangers earlier in the season for Kevin Hayes, so they got their own pick back. Zac Jones was drafted in the 2019 Draft in the third round and finally, Braden Schneider was drafted in the first round of the 2020 Draft.
The Rangers were able to build their current defense core through the draft and through trades where they didn’t have to give up much. They got a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in Fox and he is likely to win a few more before his career is over and they have a very solid group around him. While this group does have its flaws, it is miles ahead of what the Rangers had back in 2018 when the rebuild began. This group is relatively young and still has room to improve as the years go along.
Multiple Top 10 Draft Picks Going to Waste
While the rebuild technically started during the 2017-18 season, the first true move happened in the 2017 offseason at the draft. The Rangers traded Derek Stepan and Anti Raanta to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Tony D’Angelo and the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. This move allowed the Rangers to clear cap space and got them an opportunity to pick in the first round for the first time since 2012.
However, this pick ended up not turning into anything good as Lias Andersson was the player selected. He played in just 66 games for the team before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 2020 for a second-round pick that turned into Will Cuylle, who just had a great rookie season for the Rangers. This offseason, Andersson signed a deal to return to Sweden to continue his playing career.
Related: Revisiting Artemi Panarin’s Signing 5 Seasons Later
The following season, the Rangers had the ninth overall pick, but did not learn from their previous mistakes. They made a gamble by picking Vitali Kravtsov and it did not pay off. Much like Andersson, both players had issues playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) and felt that they were not getting the opportunity to succeed in the NHL. Kravtsov requested a trade from the team, but did eventually come back and give it one last shot with the Rangers. It did not last and he was traded prior to the 2023 Trade Deadline to the Vancouver Canucks for Will Lockwood and a 2026 seventh-round pick. He is now back in Russia playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
The Horrible Ryan McDonagh/J.T. Miller Trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning
The first big move of the rebuild came at the 2018 Trade Deadline when the Rangers traded their captain at the time, Ryan McDonagh, along with J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They would get a package in return that included Brett Howden, Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick. This was a horrible return for a player in McDonagh who still had another year left on his deal and Miller, who had untapped potential. This trade would end up becoming a disaster for the Rangers and none of the players they got or drafted with those picks are with the team today.
Howden was nothing more than a bottom-six center for parts of three seasons with the Rangers and he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and ended up winning a Stanley Cup. Namestnikov, like Howden, was a bottom-six player and was traded to the Ottawa Senators and has since bounced around the league. Hajek was a sixth/seventh defenseman for the team and was let go as a free agent last offseason. The 2019 second was used on Karl Henriksson who just signed a deal to play in Sweden. The 2018 first was used on Nils Lundkvist and the only bright side with him was that he was traded to the Dallas Stars for a first-round pick in the 2023 Draft. That pick was eventually used in the deal that brought Vladimir Tarasenko to New York. So as of now, the Rangers have nothing to show for the McDonagh/Miller trade and it can be argued that it was one of the worst trades in franchise history.
The Rebuild Helped Get the Team to Where They Are Now
Of all the players that were on the 2017-18 team, only two of them remain on the roster that’s heading to the start of the 2024-25 season. Those two players are Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. This rebuild allowed the Rangers to move on from older players who weren’t going to be part of the future and it allowed them to bring in draft picks and prospects and also younger players who could make an impact in the NHL. They also had some draft lottery luck that allowed them to get Kaapo Kaako and Alexis Lafreniere in back-to-back drafts. They also were able to bring in big-time free agents like Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck due to them having the cap space and they could sell the players that the future is bright in New York.
Now, the Rangers are about to enter yet another season in which they are looking like one of the top contenders that could bring home the Stanley Cup. It is crazy to think that if this team can’t get the job done, they may need to enter yet another retooling phase as they look at what’s best for the franchise going forward. This current roster was built through a rebuild and now, they look to bring the Stanley Cup back to New York.
