There were many things wrong with the New York Rangers this season.
For starters, they failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs this season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best team last season. The Blueshirts finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, 11th in the Eastern Conference, and 22nd in the league with a 39-36-0-7 record for 85 points, a far cry from what they accomplished last season.
Secondly, a lot of their big-time players failed to be consistent this season. Guys like Mika Zibanejad (62 points), Vincent Trocheck (59 points), Alexis Lafreniere (45 points), and Chris Kreider (30 points) all struggled at different points of the season, and when that happened, the team’s offense sputtered.
Not only was the team’s offense inconsistent, but their defensive play was terrible this season. They were 19th in the league in goals allowed as they got horrific play from K’Andre Miller, who looked lost all season long, and struggled to get solid play consistently from Adam Fox and Braden Schneider.
When one looks at the above, it is easy to see that changes need to be made to get better for next season. The first move they made was firing head coach Peter Laviolette and assistant coach Phil Housley on Saturday, April 19.
This move made sense as it was clear that the players were no longer playing hard under Laviolette, and Housley’s methods were not working when it came to helping the team play strong defensively. One can look at those as positive moves.
One puzzling move that the Blueshirts made is that they decided to sign their President and General Manager, Chris Drury, to a multi-year extension. James L. Dolan, MSG Sports Executive Chairman and CEO, alluded to in a release that he believes Drury can right the ship.
“I am pleased that Chris will continue to lead the Rangers hockey operations in his role as President and General Manager,” said James L. Dolan, MSG Sports Executive Chairman and CEO. “Over his tenure, Chris has shown passion for the Rangers, a relentless work ethic, and a tireless pursuit of excellence. While we are all disappointed in what transpired this past season, I am confident in his ability to guide this organization to success.”
While having a passion for the team and a great work ethic are certainly valuable, those two things do not end up meaning anything if the team does not accomplish its goal, which is to win the Cup. They have failed to do so under Drury’s tenure, and if this season is any indication, can he build the necessary kind of hockey team that can win hockey’s Holy Grail?
So far, he has not been able to do that. Instead, he went about getting rid of two popular Ranger players, Jacob Trouba and Barclay Goodrow, in an unprofessional manner, which ended up fracturing the locker room.
While the players need to go out and do their jobs regardless of whoever gets traded, the way it was handled by Drury did not make him look good in the eyes of his hockey club. Trouba and Goodrow were two important leaders of the team when it came to their long playoff runs in 2022 and last season, so to take them out of the locker room certainly hurt the hockey club.
Now, the players have to wait and see who, if anyone, gets moved. Could Drury deal guys like Kreider and Zibanejad? What about the future of Artemi Panarin?
There is a lot that Drury needs to do in order to get the Rangers back on the winning track. It remains to be seen if he has what it takes to help the Rangers win the Cup for the first time since 1994.
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