For 62 years, I have been a fan of the New York Rangers. For most of those decades there has been nothing but disappointment and heartache. My father took me to my first hockey games, including the Rangers in 1963. I fell in love with the game; it seemed easy to understand. I don’t know who the Rangers played against that first night. There were only five possibilities, but I have no memory of that.
There were certainly bad years, thin line of talent across all the specialties. A few years it seemed the team was mailing it in, waiting for the end of the season to go play golf.
Other years were crushing in their end of season collapse, or early exit from the playoffs.
There was, and will always be, 1994. I trust that will not be the last Stanley Cup before I pass from the mortal coil.
For the lost seasons, losing seasons, early ending seasons, nothing can compare to the abject apathy of the 2024-25 New York Rangers. In those 62 years, this is the worst season of the lot. It has been embarrassing and humiliating to be a Rangers fan.
The stars aligned in the 2023-24 campaign, leading to the President’s Trophy, but the promise of a long run to the Stanley Cup Final was cut short at the Eastern Conference Final.
That was difficult, but this time around has been worse. And there is little competition for the spot.
This is not just a skaters’ issue. Though there is plenty of blame to go around on the ice.
This is an issue from ownership to general manager to head coach. Each need to accept their role in this season and do something about it.
Tepid trades, with empty returns are a place to start. The trade of Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for who? The impact on the ice from that trade has all been in Anaheim.
The NHL trade deadline in March brought so little it was hardly worth the print or typing effort to make an assessment. It was empty.
The return of J.T. Miller to the Garden was sort of welcome, but on a listless Rangers bench he was ruined.
The most stupefying decision made by general manager Chris Drury was the signing of goalie Igor Shesterkin to a $12 million annual salary for seven years.
Shesterkin has 2.91 goals against average. If that’s worth $12 million then there is a major problem in this organization and the league as a whole. Add to it that his save percentage is an unacceptable 0.903. Again, this is worthy of $12 million?
The forwards have been lost most of the season. There were brief flashes of the previous season’s brilliance, but it was always fleeting. Just enough to tease you back to following the club, but never enough to keep you there.
Artemi Panarin has played as well as could be expected on this club. Lines have been shuffled so many times you would have less vertigo staring at a roulette wheel in Vegas.
All that shuffling for what? Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, Alexi Lafreniere, and others have been hamstrung by coaching decisions, injuries, or apathy the entire season.
At times, the defense has looked less coordinated that a new born foal in a field.
The most galling aspect of this season has been the absolute loss of heart on this roster. True there are exceptions. Will Cuylle, Braden Schneider, and Brett Berard have been bright spots on an otherwise dismal roster.
Sport is a business. It is designed to provide entertainment to be sold to fan bases. This campaign evidenced no such entertainment, except for the opposition’s fans. The ridicule heaped on the organization and its fan base has been endless and justified.
If the organization is not going to be run as a business than the languid efforts of this roster are going to take hold and create problems for those who want more. And right now, there are far too many skaters on this roster with less interest in helping the Rangers win than their opponents.
Eight times this season the Rangers have been shut out. They lost as many as six games in a row in the back end of the season when they lost sight of the wild card spots in the East.
February 22nd was the lowest point of the season, others may argue. The Buffalo Sabres whacked the Rangers, 8-2 in update New York. There were others, of course, including two losses to the Calgary Flames by 2-1 counts, a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, at the Garden, and a series of shutout losses to the New Jersey Devils.
I am not fond of seeing people lose their jobs. In this case, because hockey and sport are businesses, the Rangers need to be treated as a business. Cold, impersonal, reasoned, intelligent, and purposeful decisions need to be made. NOW. So not wait for the off season.
Use CodePHN15
New ownership with a passion for the game is needed.
A general manager with a better eye for talent and the ability to build through trades, a new coach who knows how to handle adversity, and make adjustments mid game, mid period, mid line change.
Players who were stars, will never be stars, will never carry this team need to be jettisoned.
That includes Shesterkin and others on the forward and defensive lines. It cannot be personal, it is about the business, the entertainment, and retention of long time fans.
Otherwise we are looking at another rebuild, and I am too old for that.
