The Rangers have been a consistent playoff team in the last century. After having such a successful season in 2023-2024, what went wrong this past season which resulted in the Rangers missing the playoffs?
Offense
What went wrong this season?
The New York Rangers typically have one of the best offenses in the league with some star players being Mika Zibenijad, Chris Krieder, Artemi Panarin, and Vincent Trocheck. These players have been incredible in past seasons and have led the Rangers to the confrence finals in the 2023-2024 season. Having star players like Zibenijad and Krieder have horrible seasons, and Krieder being dropped down to a bottom 6 forward was a main reason why the offense underperformed.
Defense
What went wrong this season?
The Rangers defense had many struggles from the start of the year, which resulted in the Rangers trading away their captain, Jacob Trouba. This hurt the team in many ways because they lost a great defender, and their captain. Not only that, but the Rangers also signed their star goalie Igor Shestirkin to the highest paying deal in NHL history for a goalie. After the deal was signed, Igor underperformed a lot which could be a result of bad defense.
Coaching
What went wrong this season?
The Rangers front office continue to be inconistent with their head coaches as this is the second time in second time in the last 4 years where the Rangers have fired their head coach after just 2 seasons with the team. Having a coach that does not have any job secuirty, even though he brought the Rangers to the eastern confrence finals in the year prior, makes for a bad organization and locker room.