The New York Rangers season ended in disappointment with a six-game loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. That disappointment has carried over to the offseason and is a cause for concern to a fan base that has seen only one Championship in the last 84 seasons.
Improvements from one season to the next are crucial for a team to make strides in the regular season and the playoffs. The Blueshirts had an outstanding regular season in 2023-’24, winning a franchise-high 55 games.
Winning can also cause lineup deficiencies, as evident in the Eastern Conference Finals. Sloppy defense, an inability to find a right-wing to play alongside Zibanejad and Kreider (a problem all season), and Artemi Paanarin’s decrease in point production as the playoffs progressed were red flags many did not expect.
The strength of Igor Shesterkin’s shoulders could only keep the team close in most games for so long.
General Manager Chris Drury has a special knack for dealing with improvements during the offseason. This season is his worst job, but that is not all on him. Contracts by his predecessors have tied his hands.
Trades and Misunderstandings
Drury could have saved money on the team’s salary cap by moving Barclay Gooddrow and his $3.4 million to the San Jose Sharks. Well, that should be rephrased to illustrate what happened.
The Rangers placed Goodrow on waivers, and the San Jose Sharks picked him up. This appeared to be a prearranged move, but regardless, the transaction was made, and the salary cap cleared.
Rumors began circulating that the team would trade Captain Jacob Trouba to the Detroit Red Wings. The transaction would not have occurred until after free agency began on July 1, which was also the date Trouba’s modified no-move clause would kick in. He would have to give the Rangers a list of 15 teams he would not want to be traded to.
It’s unclear if this deal would have happened, but it was reported that Trouba put Detroit on his list, which would have nixed any trade.
Drury had to be a politician to keep his Captain at ease following this botched transaction.
“Jacob plays hard every night, provides a lot of leadership for us. Jacob knows what I think of him as a person and a player and I’m going to keep any private conversations I have with him or his agent keep it private. We’re always looking to move the team forward and be the best team we can possibly be. I’m not going to go through player by player, who is going to be here, who is not going to be here. We’re just trying to do the best we can in the offseason and put our best foot forward come training camp.”
The fallout from this has not been fully described, and it should be interesting to see how Trouba and the organization continue to have a good relationship after all of the bad blood has poured out into the hockey world.
Some Business at Hand
The Rangers also took care of some business. They signed Mathew Robertson, Braden Schneider, Chad Rudwell, and Kappo Kakko.
A trade for Reilly Smith hopes to provide answers to who will be the Right Wing for the team’s top line.
Smith, 33, tallied 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points in 76 games for the Penguins in 2023-24. Last season, he reached several personal milestones, including notching his 300th career assist, tallying his 500th career point, and skating in his 800th career game. He has played parts of 13 seasons in the NHL split between the Penguins, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, registering 513 points (213G-300A) in 840 regular-season games. He has notched 10 or more goals in 11 consecutive seasons, has hit the 20-goal plateau five times, and hit the 50-point plateau six times. Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, his 13 shorthanded goals are tied for sixth in the NHL. (NYRPR).
Lindgren/Shesterkin
The club has two very important pieces to address. Ryan Lindgren is an RFA with arbitration rights. His hearing is scheduled for later in August, but the two sides can continue to negotiate until the day of their scheduled arbitration hearing.
The 26-year-old is coming off a three-year, $9 million contract.
Igor Shesterkin is entering the final year of his contract. He will become a UFA at the end of this season, and Drury knows this may be his career’s most significant contract negotiation.
Unfortunately, the organization has not provided enough positive transaction news. The good news is that the summer is only half over, training camp is seven weeks away, and there is plenty of work to keep up with the improvements other clubs in the Metropolitan Division and around the NHL have made.
