With the Rangers loss to Carolina they have officially been eliminated from postseason contention.
The Rangers are the fourth team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy and then miss the playoffs the following year.
Adam Rotter: At least the last time the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy (1991-92) and then missed the playoffs the following year (1992-93), they won the Stanley Cup the year after missing (1993-94).
But this ends one of the most disappointing seasons in the 99 seasons of Rangers hockey. This team came into the season with Stanley Cup expectations, came out hot and then had it spiral out of control in November/December, they took advantage of al lousy Eastern Conference Wild Card situation to climb back into position only for them to fall on their face and miss the playoffs.
Why this happened is the question we have been trying to answer all season. Chris Drury clearly saw some issues and tried to make changes last summer. He got rid of Barclay Goodrow but couldn’t move Jacob Trouba. I’m not sure that Drury saw these issues as what he was trying to change, though. The Rangers of the prior three seasons and two Eastern Conference Finals appearances were too reliant on special teams and Igor Shesterkin. Clearing out cap space to get bigger, more physical and better at 5-on-5 seemed like the goal Drury had going into the offseason that he wasn’t able to accomplish because of a lack of cap space and keeping future cap space open for Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller extensions.
But so much of went wrong this season was based in compete level, horrendous defensive zone coverage, lack of attention to detail and terrible puck decisions. So many bad starts, so many times giving up goals in quick succession and so many third periods without any sort of pushback or push at all. Igor Shesterkin, who shouldn’t be shielded from blame completely, was left out to dry too much by the players in front of him and the Rangers were just too easy to play against. There was such a lack of urgency and for the most part, they seemed okay with it.
We knew that this season was likely going to be the last for this core group. Jacob Trouba said as much at the start of the season and rather than try to band together one last time to get over the hump, the team folded. There was no structure, their was no cohesion and there were no answers from game to game let alone shift to shift. At the same time, once they started to climb the standings it was easy to talk yourself into the idea of Igor Shesterkin stealing a series, of the Rangers finally putting it together at the last moment and then….they just fell back into all their old habits and lost all momentum. It was also just as easy to see them make the playoffs and fold like they ended up doing over these last few weeks. They didn’t deserve to make the playoffs and changes are coming because of it.
So now the question is what happens next and a big part of that is answering the question of who/what the Rangers are right now? Are they still a team with a chance to contend next season that just had a bad year? Are they a middle of the pack/battling for a Wild Card team or are they something that still needs more to be torn down before it can be built back up?
I believe that Chris Drury is safe and that he is probably selling James Dolan on the idea of this season being a quick step backward before contending again next season with some more changes. The only thing I think we know with the coaching staff is that they all won’t, or at least they all can’t return next season. I thought Peter Laviolette was safe for next season once he got through the swoon to end 2024. I also think he would have been safe had the Rangers just stayed near the bottom of the standings the whole season, but once they got close to the playoffs again and then fell out of it with some terrible performances, my thoughts started to change. At the moment I think it’s 50/50 he is back next season. Maybe they give him a chance with new assistant coaches, similar to when NFL coaches keep their job and fire their coordinators. Michael Peca has seen the PP cost the Rangers game after game and drop toward the bottom of the league. Phil Housley’s defense has consistently struggled and it wouldn’t be a shock if either of them are gone.
Laviolette has one more year left on his contract but I think that if there is any question about whether he would last at least half of next season then he should be let go now. There is no reason to bring him back, let him run training camp and then fire him after a slow start. It happens and it happened to him in 2013-14 when the Flyers fired him three games into the season. It doesn’t look great for Chris Drury to fire a head coach a every two years, but someone new was needed after the Rangers disappointed with Gerard Gallant two years ago and someone new might be needed now. Unless the Rangers end up with basically a new team then it would seem hard to think Laviolette can come in next season with a message that would resonate.
Who would replace Laviolette? I don’t know. We’ll have to see what other coaches may get fired, but it would seem like the big focus would be on Joel Quenneville. He’s actually eligible to be hired, which he wasn’t technically able to be when the Rangers were said to not be interested two summers ago, and Stan Bowman, who was also out of the NHL because of how Chicago handled the Kyle Beach situation, was hired as Oilers GM last summer. John Tortorella is available but that just seems hard to see. It can’t be totally ruled out but it would seem unlikely. Jay Woodcroft who was fired by the Oilers last season is probably going to be one of the top coaches available. He would have to be in contention. Mike Sullivan rumors are always around but he is under contract for a while with Pittsburgh and it’s hard to see them letting him come to the Rangers. Maybe if Edmonton flames out in the first round Kris Knoblauch would become available, but that seems like a stretch.
There is still the situation with extending or moving K’Andre Miller that needs to be addressed. Miller hasn’t taken the steps forward in his development that were expected and it remains to be seen if the Rangers are going to commit to him long term. It’s risky both to extend him long-term and also risky to trade him and see him blossom somewhere else. Any trade of Miller would likely see his replacement as part of the return. Will Cuylle isn’t going anywhere and the question there is just whether they bridge him now and extend him later as the cap continues to grow or try to lock him in long-term now. Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom will get new contracts and the Rangers will have to decide on qualifying Juuso Parssinen and Arthur Kaliyev. Parssinen will probably get qualified and Kaliyev would be interesting to qualify just to keep him around, but I’m not sure that will happen. I assume that Zac Jones will finally be traded this summer.
It’s more than likely that we are seeing Chris Kreider’s last games as a Ranger. He has two years left on his deal and a 15-team no-trade list. He’s looked like a shell of himself this season as he has battled through injuries. The Rangers need his $6.5 million in cap space more than taking the chance that he will heal from his injuries this offseason and return to being a more effective player. I would expect that unless these are going to be persistent issues that Kreider will be more productive next season. Mika Zibanejad has a no-move clause and I’d think that he returns as a winger full-time next season. Maybe Chris Drury takes a hard line with him as well and tells him he’ll be a healthy scratch to try and force him to waive his no-move clause, but the Rangers would almost certainly have to retain close to half his salary to move him and I don’t think they are going to do that. The biggest question up front for the Rangers though is with Artemi Panarin. He’s going into the last year of his deal and that means the Rangers can extend him on July 1. I think they have to re-sign him, but at what number and what term, I don’t know. It’s been a down season for him and he’s still over a point per game. I’d think he’ll still be an effective offensive player for at least a few more years.
There are other questions up front, especially around what happened to Alexis Lafreniere this season. He looked like he was becoming a star in the playoffs last year and the start to the season and instead he’s gone back to being the player he was prior to last season. There would be interest in him since he’s still young and cost controlled, but unless they are bringing back a major piece, I think he has to stay.
On defense there is the K’Andre Miller question but more importantly it’s the question of who Adam Fox’s defense partner will be. It could be Miller if the Rangers extend him, but it’s not going to be Carson Soucy. Braden Schneider would be an interesting choice since he’s sort of slotted behind both Fox and Will Borgen on the right side, but that is the kind of thing that you try this season before going out and overpaying for someone else. Will Borgen is signed and he’ll be around. I assume Soucy will as well, but that isn’t a lock after his struggles.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered but that is what happens when you disappoint in a season like this.