Paul McCartney and the Beatles once wrote a song titled The Long and Winding Road, and it may have been about the 2024-25 NY Rangers season.
It’s finally over, so let what happened this season all sink in. NY Rangers fans have been in a cloud all season. Not a cloud bursting with sunshine, but a cloud with severe thunderstorms involved. In fact, for most lifelong fans, this NY Rangers season may have been the most disappointing in a long time, if not ever.
Let’s look at the facts. Last season, the Rangers had one of the best seasons ever for the franchise, finishing as the Presidents’ Trophy winner as the team with the most points in the entire league. They battled far into the playoffs, falling just two games short of the Stanley Cup Final. While fans were disappointed, expectations coming into this season were that the team would take that next step and go all the way.
Sadly, that did not happen. It was almost as if the whole team slipped on a giant banana peel and just never got going this season. How could this happen? An all-star Vezina Trophy goaltender in Igor Shesterkin was between the pipes. A solid young defensive core led by former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox was there. A potent deep offense up front, led by big-time scorers Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider had expectations. Plus, a young core led by former No. 1 overall pick Alex Lafrenière was there, too.
They were led for the second year by experienced coach Peter Laviolette, who has a Stanley Cup championship on his resume. The season started off with a bang with an opening-night 6-0 win over Pittsburgh. Fans were probably seeing sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads. With only one Stanley Cup win in 85 years, this was going be the year the Rangers hoisted the Cup.
That was until the season went into November. From that point, the Rangers’ season spiraled out of control. At one point, they compiled a 4-15 record. That would turn out to be the breaking point as the team never recovered. Yes, they had a few small win streaks here and there to tease the fans and get back into contention. But at the end of the day and the season, they came up short.
Do you know that since mid-November, the team did not win more than two games in a row? That is bad, but it gets worse. Their stellar goaltender had an up-and-down year and never really could carry the team as he had done in the past. Fox, Zibanejad, and Kreider all had subpar seasons. Lafrenierre, who in the middle of the season signed a big-money long-term deal, suddenly became invisible.
Not only did the offense not produce, but the defense fell apart. For being seventh in the league in goals against all the way to finishing the season in 21st place. The defense also allowed the second-highest high-danger scoring chances in the league. This is not good as they mainly left their goalies helpless to stop the puck. The coaching staff did nothing to remedy the situation. No accountability, no benching of players for poor performance, no adjustments at all. This is why there is some reason to believe there will be a new coach next year behind the bench for the Rangers.
Laviolette is a nice guy and a good coach, but he did nothing this year to help the cause. It was sad to hear him say in many press conferences, “We needed to win a hockey game tonight and we were not prepared.” A coach’s job is to prepare his team to play night in and night out. If he does not, then he doesn’t deserve to be the coach. It is almost as if the team tuned him out.
But Laviolette should not take all the blame. A lot of the problems with this team began last off-season when General Manager Chris Drury unceremoniously traded veteran Barclay Goodrow to San Jose. Then, early in the season, Drury made it known to the public that he was willing to trade anyone on the team, including fan favorite Kreider as well as team captain Jacob Trouba. Trouba eventually was dealt, followed out the door by former high draft picks Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. Yes, Drury did bring back JT Miller into the fold, but his moves just didn’t pan out.
The season finally came to an end last night with a 4-0 win over Tampa. The game did not mean anything to the fans, except for one special reason. Thursday night, Hall of Fame Rangers announcer Sam Rosen called his last game after 40 years. For most fans, he has been the only Rangers ‘play-by-play voice I have ever known. To this day, fans can hear Rosen saying, “The NY Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions, and this one will last a lifetime!” That was back in 1994, the last time the team won a Cup. At this point, it actually could last a lifetime unless some serious changes are made in the offseason.
Yes it was a nice sendoff last night for Rosen, with all the players wearing uniforms in the pregame warmups with “40” and Rosen’s last name on the back. The team even announced Rosen as the No. 1 star of the game, and the fans and even the players on the ice looked to the broadcast booth one last time and gave Rosen a standing ovation.
So now, finally and mercilessly, the season is over. What a debacle, what a disappointment, what a mess. Changes need to happen, and they should be in a large way. Look for Laviolette to be let go, but look for Drury to follow him out the door as well. As far as the players, Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger on the team, probably played his last game last night. His bestie Zibanejad, who does have a no-move contract, may see himself out the door, too.
But let’s not stop there. If they can find a taker for Lafreniere and his bloated contract, then the Rangers should make that deal in a heartbeat. K’Andre Miller, another high draft pick a few years ago, became a turnover machine on defense this year. He is a restricted free agent, but the team should not resign him. There is even a possibility that Artemi Panarin, who led the team in scoring this season, could be moved as well.
The 2025-26 Rangers will have a very different look next season. Most likely, Miller will be named team captain and the team needs to be built in his style of play. Young, big, aggressive players need to be found over players just looking for the pretty pass or pretty goal. Seeing tough-guy Matt Rempe play as one of your best players down the stretch tells you something about this season. The 2024-25 NY Rangers were heartless and need a transplant.
Hopefully, the sick patient can be admitted quickly to a trauma center and have a fast recovery for next year. It will be painful watching the playoffs this season knowing that the Rangers spit the bit this year. Now going on one trophy in 86 years, can it get any worse? I guess it can. Rangers fans could be fans of the Buffalo Sabres. Time to bury this Rangers team, and the obituary will say the following….”Here’s to a Rangers team who left their heart somewhere, and never found it!” Say goodnight, Gracie!
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