New York Rangers from President's Trophy to Missed Playoffs?

[GAGLine]

Are you suggesting the Rangers should have just kept on losing and picking top 10 until those young drafted players develop into the core?

The Rangers didn't necessarily need to keep losing, but they needed to be more patient for sure.

They sent out the letter in February of 2018, and in July of 2019, they spent nearly 20 mil on Panarin and Trouba. Don't tell me you're rebuilding and then spend a quarter of your cap on 2 players a year later.

This has always been the issue with the Rangers. Too much short-term thinking, and even when they seemingly have a long-term plan, they abandon it far too soon.

 

[EpochLink]

They need someone to keep JT Miller in check next season, if not he will curse out again at certain individuals.

 

[Ekiru]

The Rangers didn't necessarily need to keep losing, but they needed to be more patient for sure.

They sent out the letter in February of 2018, and in July of 2019, they spent nearly 20 mil on Panarin and Trouba. Don't tell me you're rebuilding and then spend a quarter of your cap on 2 players a year later.

This has always been the issue with the Rangers. Too much short-term thinking, and even when they seemingly have a long-term plan, they abandon it far too soon.

The last part of your comment; thats all NY sports teams lol

 

[WarriorofTime]

Think if Lafreniere had been a bit closer to his pre draft projection the rangers probably have another 3-5 years with this group. Might sting even more if he’s a late bloomer and closer to that guy when he’s 27 and it’s too late to matter much for rangers (and possibly traded before then) other than trade value for the inevitable next tank cycle.

 

[Raistlin]

Think if Lafreniere had been a bit closer to his pre draft projection the rangers probably have another 3-5 years with this group. Might sting even more if he’s a late bloomer and closer to that guy when he’s 27 and it’s too late to matter much for rangers (and possibly traded before then) other than trade value for the inevitable next tank cycle.

Last year on a Lafreniere thread, I was ridiculed for not buying into his hype, got pages of how he is driving everything and expect point per game next year. He has emerged and finally is going to prove Drury's patience with him is justified. Well... the problem now is that I dont think they can rebuild with Miller on board, they have to be competitive or he's going to destroy the room from within.

 

[Roomtemperature]

3-4 times in 33 years seems like it's pretty common. That's 10% rate to miss playoffs after being best team in regular season.

I wonder (and I won't look this up cause I remember 1996) if its the same rate of winning the cup and missing the playoffs

 

[Fogelhund]

Kakko was drafted #2 overall. Has he played like a #2 pick? He was also a reach! That’s my point…

Yet he has more points than picks 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 in the same draft.

Sure, you'd hope for more from a #2 overall, but that draft in particular has been disappointing.

He was an easy consensus #2, followed by Byram, Turcotte and Podkolzin, none of which would have been better picks,

2019 NHL Draft Consensus Final Rankings - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The Hockey Writers' consensus final rankings for the 2019 NHL Draft, showcasing the projected first round based on available public rankings.

thehockeywriters.com

They would have had to go well off the board, to get a better pick.

 

[Grifter3511]

Kakko was drafted #2 overall. Has he played like a #2 pick? He was also a reach! That’s my point…

revisionist history right here.

 

[josra33]

Yet he has more points than picks 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 in the same draft.

Sure, you'd hope for more from a #2 overall, but that draft in particular has been disappointing.

He was an easy consensus #2, followed by Byram, Turcotte and Podkolzin, none of which would have been better picks,

2019 NHL Draft Consensus Final Rankings - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The Hockey Writers' consensus final rankings for the 2019 NHL Draft, showcasing the projected first round based on available public rankings.

thehockeywriters.com

They would have had to go well off the board, to get a better pick.

Get out of here with your facts… we don’t do that around here. We only deal in a vacuum

 

[Leafshater67]

That Shesterkin contract is already ugly and it hasn’t even kicked in yet

 

[Section 104]

They were a bang average team last year that managed to take a +1 even strength goal differential and sequence it such that they won 55 games. It's almost impossible.

They face a Caps team in the first round that was like -50 and then a burst of energy from Chris Kreider saves them from getting reverse swept after their powerplay stopped clicking at 45%.

In 2023, they go out in the first round.

In 2022, they win a playoff series against Pittsburgh where expected goals were like 40-12 in favor of Pittsburgh.

They've never been particularly good and this is the best thing that could have happened. Maybe the front office will stop trying to win with this group and make changes. Maybe do that rebuild that they aborted to sign free agents.

Penguins were playing their third string goalie, Crosby missed a game and wasn’t really himself in another and it still went 7 games.

 

[bov]

I'm usually not a "fire _______" type but Drury has really botched this. There is no reason at all that the Rangers should be missing playoffs with the roster they entered the season with. Poorly managed team.

 

[Based Anime Fan]

The way I see it the Rangers aren't a team, they're a roster.

Drury failed at building on a team, and made moves to improve the roster.

 

[Machinehead]

Last year on a Lafreniere thread, I was ridiculed for not buying into his hype, got pages of how he is driving everything and expect point per game next year. He has emerged and finally is going to prove Drury's patience with him is justified. Well... the problem now is that I dont think they can rebuild with Miller on board, they have to be competitive or he's going to destroy the room from within.

...good?

 

[Hunter368]

In the end I think partly is coaching/GM issue, partly a locker room issue and partly they were never as good as some thought. No single magic issue to resolve their issues but this summer it will start with a new coach & trades.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

Picking in the Top 10 four consecutive drafts and walking away with:

Lias Andersson
Vitali Kravtsov
Kaapo Kakko
Alexis Lafreniere

Is absolutely BRUTAL.

If the Rangers have any scouts leftover that were there between 2017-2020, they need to be fired. They also need to take a close look at their Player Development Program.

How odd. It shows you quoting me, but I didn't type that - nor is it the quote I responded to. This site upgrade continues to do bizarre things.

 

[pezpunk]

Ya the Rangers got whacked pretty good this afternoon, not looking good ! What happened to that team? Ranger fans tell me !!

Caps fans know.

 

[pezpunk]

NYR have a good selection of young players who could take the team forward but whilst the failing Vets take up all their ice time, the team is just falling off a cliff.

This is literally exactly what happened to the Caps Lav’s final year coaching them. We told you this would happen.

 

[EpochLink]

I'm more disappointed in Alexis Lafreniere, he started off strong this season then he signed that new contract. Ever since, he's been the typical "got paid, no play" kind of player.

I really thought after a good playoff run and strong start, he would at least produce better.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

A full season with JT Miller next season will help. He's been a beast since rejoining his old team. Has been a PPG.

 

[ORRFForever]

From a NYR who tunes in sometimes:

They traded their heart players away and kept a lot of the skill players. A lot of their lethality got old and lost their ability to be difference makers, Krieder is a depth player now.

Top to bottom, their roster is one trying to keep up, not one that dominates.

Their star, Panarin, can't do it myself. He's either taken a step back or is only able to play at 80-90%. A lot of that might be due to a lack of support, he can't seem to overcome the targetted pressure.

Their centre depth lacks a difference maker. It's solid but they don't have the guy who does it all. So they run solid but can't carry the team to the next step.

They don't have depth. Othmann is playing top line right now, he has 2 pts in his 21 NHL games. Not many better options on that line though. They dont have a lot of options.

Fox isn't what everyone thought he was. It might be biased because of his injury this year but he doesn't seem to have the same ability as Hughes and Makar have to get himself out of trouble. They don't seem to lean on him defensively, it seems like they have more faith in Borgen to take the defensive load than Fox. They lack a cornerstone dman, they have an offensive guy who can carry the team but he's not a stabilizing presence the way every playoff team seems to have.

Overall, they aren't dominating and don't seem to have the heart to keep fighting.

They got the losing stink on them.

What do you think of LAF? - both him and the way the Rangers have used him.

 

[The Panther]

I'm more disappointed in Alexis Lafreniere, he started off strong this season then he signed that new contract. Ever since, he's been the typical "got paid, no play" kind of player.

I was curious about this, as I noticed he had had a strong start to the season. So:

First 19 games
8 goals, 16 points

Next 59 games
8 goals, 28 points

So, from 8 goals in 16 games to 8 goals in 59 games. Quite the drop.

With his apparent regression this season, Lafrenière is starting to get a bit of "mini-bust" air about him. I mean, he's a good NHL player, but clearly not showing as much as they'd hoped by this point. The 7.2% in shooting is worrisome, and suggests that his shot isn't good enough to really challenge NHL goalies.

 

[Giant Panda]

What do you think of LAF? - both him and the way the Rangers have used him.

I've always been lower on Laf. Watching him in juniors was watching a player who looked like a tank and played like a tank but not in a way that works against other tanks. I predicted at the time he's have a Huberdeau type development arc. Not that he plays like Huberdeau, just in the way that it took Huberdeau (an extremely talented but limited player) 9 years post draft to figure out how his skills can be best used and what bring effective in his role looks like.

Last year Laf had 57 points but had 28 goals, I don't think he's a natural 28 goal scorer but I feel he's going to be a bit more than a 57 point guy. I feel he's being miscast right now by the Rangers, Laf is the type of player who will do very well on a deep team where he can play his role rather than every role.

I think he has one more disappointing year in New York, gets traded to a team that's going to utilize him to his strengths, and immediately put up a 20g 35a season leveling out as a 65pt player for a 5ish year stretch.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

If they had fired Laviolette back in December like they should have , they would easily be in a the playoffs.

But maybe this is for the best, need to clean house this summer.

 

[Homelander]

The Rangers ruining young talent. A tale as old as time.