Last season was awful for the New York Rangers in every single way.
For starters, they missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021 shortened season. The team was inconsistent in every area of their game and it ended up dooming them in the long run.
Secondly, there was a lot of drama surrounding the club last season. The team traded their captain Jacob Trouba, got rid of Barclay Goodrow, and they did so by going behind each player’s back, which is something that upset a lot of the team’s veterans.
Lastly, whatever head coach Peter Laviolette did successfully in the 2023-24 season did not transfer over to last season. In the 2023-24, the Rangers were the best team in the NHL and came within two wins of going to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014.
No such thing happened last year. It was an abysmal season that led to Laviolette being fired.
It is now time for the franchise to wipe the slate clean as they head into the 2025-26 NHL campaign. In fact, there are a few reasons why this team can bounce back in a big way and end up being a Cup contender.
It starts behind the bench with the hiring of new head coach Mike Sullivan. Rangers general manager Chris Drury finally got the coach he always wanted.
Sullivan is a two-time Cup winner (2016 and 2017) and is someone who has experience turning around a team in a quick manner. He did just that when he took over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the middle of the 2015-16 season and led them to back-to-back Cups.
Secondly, there has to be some belief that the players who struggled last season will turn their game around come this October. The main player who will up his game is Mika Zibanejad.
Zibanejad has an all-world shot and is a great passer, but got away from doing both last season. If Sullivan can get him back to doing those two things and get him focused on winning hockey games instead of hurt feelings in the locker room, it could end up being a big year for Zibanejad on Broadway.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin will also be better this season. Shesterkin, just three seasons removed from a Vezina Trophy, is still looked at as one of the best goaltenders in the world, so if Sullivan can get the team to play more responsibly in front of him, he should be able to get back to being the goaltender that Ranger fans know he can be.
Speaking of playing better defensively, the Rangers shored up that part of their game by getting rid of K’Andre Miller and bringing in Vladislav Gavrikov. Gavrikov is a smart defenseman who does not make a lot of mistakes, is a minutes eater, is smart with the puck, and is a player who focuses on playing his main position – defense – rather than taking chances on offense.
his team is primed for a bounce back season. No one knows if it will lead to their first Cup in 32 years, but it will certainly be a heck of a lot better than last season.
ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing – Inside The Rink
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