by Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Expectations for the New York Rangers are understandably high with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances in the last three seasons and a Presidents’ Trophy campaign in 2023-24.
As we pass the quarter mark of the 2024-25 NHL season, it’s safe to say those expectations haven’t been met.
Despite winning seven out of their first 10 games, things fell apart pretty quickly. They currently hold a 13-10-1 record, are fourth in the Metropolitan Division and have lost six of their last seven games, the worst point percentage of any NHL club since November 20. That includes Monday’s ugly 5-1 loss to New York City. Jersey Devils.
Even though things didn’t go well, no one could have anticipated the news coming out of the Rangers organization last week. General manager Chris Drury reportedly sent a memo to the rest of the NHL saying he was willing to make significant changes to their roster, mentioning Chris Kreider and captain Jacob Trouba as potential trade assets, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
In the wake of their 6-2 loss in Edmonton on Saturday, the Rangers made it clear they wanted to make moves and shake up their roster.
Names listed include Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, although other options will be considered.
-Elliott Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 25, 2024
Many have debated Drury’s true intentions behind this decision. Was this another example of a general manager looking to create urgency within his team, or is there real interest in moving two fundamental pieces of his franchise?
Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz started this debate earlier this season. He appeared on local Nashville station 102.5 The game in early November, when he spoke about the Predators’ early struggles, mentioning that he would launch his “rebuild plan” if there was no improvement.
Considering the Predators committed a total of $108.5 million to veterans Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and Brady Skjei, it’s hard to believe there would be a literal rebuild.
Rather, it seems like it would involve trading away other veterans to bring younger players into the lineup or trading away some pieces to make them stronger later. However, if the Predators can be motivated by canceling their plans to attend a U2 concert, it wouldn’t be surprising if the fear of a rebuild is the start of a possible turnaround in Tennessee. (They’ve gone 3-5-5 since then, so if that was a red flag, it didn’t work.)
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While it’s much more likely they’ll hold their own with this Rangers group, there’s something to be said for the core of the team and the internal pressure Drury might face to make changes.
They’ve had several deep playoff runs with the same results, and they’ve already changed coaches. It is to be feared that they have already reached a plateau since their return to the Cup race in 2021-2022.
While it’s hard to justify changes to a team that has been on the cusp of greatness so many times, there comes a point where you have to recognize that what you’ve built just won’t get you there. achieve.
Related: Are big changes coming for the New York Rangers?
Look no further than the 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for an example of a team that made unpopular decisions against a competitive team that ended up taking them to the top of the hockey world.
After three years of regular season success and disappointing playoff performances from 2019-2022, they made the incredibly difficult decision to trade Jonathan Huberdeau after a historic 115-point performance and a high-end two-way defender in MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames. for left winger Matthew Tkachuk.
This blockbuster also came from a team that had just won the Presidents’ Trophy, the same position the Rangers currently find themselves in. But now that more than two years have passed since that trade, Panthers general manager Bill Zito certainly has no regrets about making that difficult choice.
Only time will tell what Drury’s true intentions are in making this statement, but it has undoubtedly created tension between the players and management on top of their bad patch.
They lost three straight games after Friedman’s report before beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday. Chris Kreider, who was tabbed as someone to watch in trade talks, sat out with back spasms before being held scoreless in his return Saturday. He scored the Rangers’ only goal on Monday. Trouba, the Rangers captain who was also named in speculation, was minus-6 and had no points in the last five games.
Winning games solves all the problems they currently have, and this will be a pivotal period of Rangers hockey to watch.
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