When Jeff Gorton sent out his letter on February 8, 2018, informing the fanbase that the Rangers were going to be sellers at the trade deadline, it took everyone by surprise. Despite losing seven of their last eight games, the Blueshirts were still in contention for a playoff spot. This was a team that had made the playoffs seven straight years, advanced to two conference finals and one Cup final. Certainly there was a move or two the Rangers GM could've made to make it eight straight years.
But Gorton could see the writing on the wall. Even before the 1-7 skid, there were tell-tale signs that this core had run its course. As difficult as it was to pull the plug, he did what he thought was best for the franchise. We can debate how the rebuild went down, but not why.
Fast forward eight years. Chris Drury, like his predecessor, could also see the writing on the wall. So he sent out his own letter to the fanbase, giving them the bad news. However, this current Rangers team, in no way, shape, or form bears any resemblance to the one Gorton tore down. Two seasons removed from winning the Presidents' trophy, this team is in year two of a steep decline. Not only are they not in contention for a playoff spot, they are currently in last place in the Eastern Conference. The only thing keeping them from last place in the league are the bottom feeders in the Western Conference.
Going all the way back to when the NHL expanded to twelve teams in 1967, I can't remember a shorter window for this franchise. All the Rangers have to show for a four-year rebuild is two trips to the conference finals and one bitter first-round exit at the hands of the Devils. Three fucking years! If your financial advisor gave you that kind of return on your investments, you'd fire him. Fortunately for Drury, he works for James Dolan, where loyalty is valued over competence.
When the final chapter is written on this team, its legacy will be that it relied way too much on special teams and goaltending to mask the flaws on its roster; flaws that were exposed by better teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 and the Florida Panthers in '24. Their sudden rise and fall should serve as a warning to every GM in the league that there are no shortcuts when it comes to building a championship team. You either have the stomach to do it the right way or you botch it, like Drury did.
Not that there weren't some good moments. If Jacob Trouba doesn't take a holding penalty in the second period of game three against the Bolts, the Blueshirts probably would've won that game and taken a 3-0 series lead. Who knows? Maybe they would've advanced to the finals. But as Don Cherry said when the Bruins lost to the Canadiens in the '79 semifinals, "If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle."
So now what? Carson Soucy was the first to be dealt: to the Islanders for a third-rounder. Next up will be Artemi Panarin. The winger has been a healthy scratch the last two games due to "roster management," which is short for your ass is outta here as soon as we find the right team. After that, who knows? Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere, Braden Schneider, all could be gone in the next couple of weeks. The guy I feel sorry for is Vladislav Gavrikov. The 6-3, 220 pound defenseman undoubtedly left money on the table to come here and play with his buddy Panarin. With Panarin gone and the prospect of the Rangers being in rebuild mode for the next few years. I wouldn't be surprised if Vlady ends up asking for a trade; right after he fires his agent.
As for the rebuild, the biggest problem Drury will have is Dolan. Let's face it, the man handles bad news about as well as a vampire handles a sunrise. He fired John Davidson and Gorton because he grew impatient with the progress of their rebuild. Well, guess what? Rebuilds that take less than five years are not rebuilds; they're retools. Take a good look at the Detroit Red Wings. It took Steve Yzerman seven years to complete his rebuild, and now the Wings are in second place in the Atlantic division. In Anaheim, Pat Verbeek is in year five of his rebuild, and the Ducks currently hold the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, albeit with the help of two Rangers castaways: Trouba and Chris Kreider.
To paraphrase a well-known song, you can't hurry success. In the cap era, the four most successful teams have been the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Lightning and the Panthers. All four have won multiple Stanley Cups and all four had cores that were built primarily through the draft and later supplemented through trades and a few free-agent signings. The Rangers attempted to do it the other way around, in essence putting the cart before the horse.
The trade for Trouba and the subsequent signing of Panarin in the summer of 2019 - celebrated at the time - in retrospect, short-circuited a rebuild that needed more time. That affected the development of Kaapo Kakko and Lafreniere, both of whom were consigned to bottom six roles on a team that now had unrealistic expectations foisted upon it. The acquisitions of Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves in Drury's first offseason were the direct result of an overreaction to the Tom Wilson incident at the Garden; and that spelled the end of Pavel Buchnevich's career on Broadway; which in turn led to a litany of deadline deals to fill the vacancy on the Mika Zibanejad line. Indeed, virtually every transaction Drury has made during his tenure as GM and President has been reactionary and was done to accelerate a process that in his heart he had to have known would be short-lived, if it worked at all.
And now that reality has caught up with him and the franchise, the sixty-four thousand dollar question is this: Will he and his boss finally admit that they fucked up and do it right this time? Or will they repeat the same mistake? Knowing this organization, it'll probably be the latter. But let's be optimistic for a change. After all, Dolan finally cried uncle with respect to the basketball operation and hired someone who actually knows how to put together a roster the right way. Say what you want about Leon Rose, but over the last four seasons, the Knicks have been one of the best teams in the NBA. Frankly, they haven't looked this good since the 1990s. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let your employees do their jobs.
So how does Drury excatly "do his job?" By stripping it down to the studs, that's how. I realize that'll be hard with Zibanajad and J.T. Miller holding no-move clauses, but you can still rebuild around them. Trade as many veterans as you can regardless of the fallout; accumulate draft capital; and, above all else, resist the temptation to go on a spending spree this or next summer. In other words, no more Panarins for the foreseeable future.
Next, play the kids, and by play, I mean in the top six, not the bottom six. Play them on the power play; play them on the penalty kill; play them at 4v4; PLAY THEM. It's time to find out whether Gabriel Perrault is the real deal or whether there was a legitimate reason why twenty-two other teams passed on him in the 2023 Draft.
This will be painful, especially if Panarin gets traded to the Islanders and they re-sign him to a five year extension; the Devils aren't going anywhere; and the nightmare of the late '90s and early 2000s is still fresh in the minds of many fans, this one included. Well, at least the Rangers will have solid goaltending during the rebuild, thanks to Drury signing Igor Shesterkin to an eight year, $92 million contract extension last year. Jesus, talk about having a Porsche in your driveway.
You know what they say: no pain, no gain.
Rangers fans have seen more than their fair share of pain; it's the gain that's been missing.
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