And it took them 30 years to win their 1st Stanley cup. Meanwhile the Rangers have been to 5 ECF's in 12 years including 1 SCF and apparently they have had no success according to some.
What we're seeing? What does this even mean? They are coming off a 114 point season and a ECF appearance. A season in which they missed Kakko for 2 months, Fox for a month( and then played on 1 leg in the playoffs), Chytil for 70 games. They played the corpses of Bonino, Wheeler, and Pitlick for over half a season, had Goodrow get half his jaw knocked out and scored only 4 goals. This years team will actually be better and deeper than last years. I don't understand this "woe is me" narrative.
Both the Rangers and the Panthers have 1 cup in the last 30 years, and that's really all that matters.
I understand your point. I enjoy seeing and hoping for the holy grail, but the panthers 1 cup in 30 years and my beloved Rangers 1 cup in 84 years so I am in both camps here
Drury has not run out of assets. He hasn't traded a single prospect except for Morgan Barron since he has been GM, so he has assets to trade if/when needed whether it be for picks or players. He just hasn't pulled the trigger yet. The cap situation isn't as bad long term as you make it seem. Trouba is gone next off season at the very latest. Panarin has 2 years left. The cap is going up, maybe even significantly. The only contract that is a long term concern is probably Mika. The Rangers are just 1 of 32 teams with some difficult decisions to make when it comes to the cap. The next one is Shesterkin.
I disagree with the win the cup or you suck narrative. It's reached idiotic levels on this board. It's hard to win the cup and to even have a legit shot at it. I would rather have a shot at winning and being in the final 4 than a bottom feeder making off season plans in January.
We don't have a lot of prospects worth a ton. So if you're looking for 2nd -4th round picks depending on who you trade, sure. The other issue is after half the top 6 goes, gets traded, or stays on the team being useless, we don't have a lot of star power within our organization/ current roster. The 2025 UFA list isn't that great unless you're landing a bish fish and willing to spend to the moon for the top 3. The 2026 UFA lis is going to be much the same. Spend a ton for the top 3 30 year olds or get some top 6 question marks/middle 6 players. Some of these prospects can recoup some deadline picks for us while we try and go for it, but that's about it, unless we're trading a bigger prospect name we have. It's tough because you want to add while you still have players putting up 75+ points. We don't have a ton of assets left to subtract those players and fill them with better playoff performers, while still maintaining high production during the season.
This prospect pool is better than most people think. Some will make the team and some will be used to replenish those 2nd, 3rd, 4th rounders that people are crying Drury has traded. 4 of the top 6 guys are likely here for 3+ years IMO. Mika, Kreider, Trocheck, Laf all not going anywhere. Panarin may be gone in 2 years. Then they have 11.6 million more to work with and Perreault ready for the big club. I'm really not worried about this team remaining very competitive moving forward.
We're already talking about Zibanejad looking meh. After 2 years, what do you think we'll be saying? Kreider is going to be turning 36 for that season when Panarin is gone. Sure some prospects will make the team, but very few are looking to be legit top 6 players. Maybe you hope Kakko turns into a light version of Mikko Rantanen and Trocheck maintains his play going into the 3rd season from now, but a lot of these players are getting old and a lot of our prospects don't scream replacement for them. As the cap increases so do the contracts. That money is going to have to be used for a big fish signing because right now we don't have a replacement.
Mika is a concern. You and I don't know exactly how it is going to play out. It's impossible to know. I believe that Perreault and at least 1 of Berard or Othmann will be in the top 6 eventually. If Panarin is gone in 2 years thats 11 million that will still go a long way towards helping the team regardless of what the cap is at the time. Maybe Kakko turns his game around like you said. A healthy Chytil helps tremendously. Maybe some of Sykora, Edstrom, Rempe, Cuylle, BMB, Laba give them a deep bottom 6. Mancini, Fortescue, Emery added to Fox, Miller, Schneider, Jones in a few year. Lots of possibilities. Again, not concerned at all.
I'm all for signing a FA if it makes sense but they often come with high price tags. Both Panarin and Trocheck were bangers though and I don't care what the haters say about Panarin. There is no 1 way to build a contender. FA signings, drafting, and trades are all ways to get it done.
And just wanted to add that doom and gloom wasted picks concern is just par for the course when a team enters and stays in the contenders window of a team’s cycle. Take a look at any contender and you’ll see the same pick dealing approach. The only one I can think about as truly wasteful was Kane trade but it’s pretty reasonable to assume that it was imposed on Drury by Dolan. And also it’s impossible to find a FO anywhere that would be “shooting” with 100% accuracy on all trades and dealings. In that regard Drury looks pretty comparable to the old Gorton / Davidson regime, for example.
Great... I'd like to see a cup win. Every other team improved. Rangers are running it back with a worse team.
Sure... but there are some flaws that you can help a kid overcome... like being stuck in Canadian Siberia.
