Certainly not trash. But there is a chasm between them and the rest of the elite teams in the league.
Since the mid-70's they have attempted to use rental veterans to try and make a run to a Stanley Cup.
One time it worked.
The salary cap pretty much put an end to that my guy. It was exactly what the team needed….
Since the lockout, the rangers have been one of the most successful teams.
1 trip to the cup in the lundqvist era, and basically a playoff team very season.
2 trips to the conference finals in the last 3 seasons.
They have a pretty young squad. You have 5 -6 players that are 30 years old or older….
The majority of their team is 26 and under. Shesty 28. Rangers are going to be good for years to come as well……
Besides Panarin, Trochek was the only other Notable UFA player they signed……
And he’s making under 6mill per year……
Rangers have come a long long way since the dark days of signing Gomez/Holik/Drury/etc. type multi-year high dollar deals.
95% of their team or better has either been drafted or acquired thru trade, and the farm is hardly destitute.
They have some solid cheap talent coming up to reinforce the ranks…….
A premier UFA destination will always dip into the pond when it deems in necessary.
But let’s not act like they sign a top UFA every offseason anymore.