The main culprit in the New York Rangers inability to properly build a Stanley Cup winning team has not been the coaches, the players, the fans, or the management of the respective teams. There is a much larger issue, one that I don’t see the Rangers ever truly recovering from as an organization. This issue comes with some benefits for sure, but it always lingers as something that can mess with the best plans at any time.
Welcome to New York and the New York problem.
That’s right, the elephant in the room for the Rangers every offseason, trade deadline, and more, is that the Rangers are the premier New York-based hockey team. Sure, the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils are close to the city, but the Rangers are the team to play for. Even when they’re terrible, they’re the New York team to play for.
That sounds great, right? Well, sort of.
For a team to build a proper team in a salary cap world, the Rangers need to balance star power with depth, among many other things. There needs to be proper development of young players, and those young players need their respective opportunities to build within the organization. For that to happen, they must not be jumped by already established players.
Unfortunately, the Rangers always have the opportunity to fix their problems now. Need a defenseman? Well, everyone wants to play for the Rangers. Need a forward? No problem! Need a backup goalie? Every free agent is in!
This sounds like a good thing (and at times it is), but it makes it difficult for management to resist. The shiny new toy syndrome is real.
For example, Alexis Lafeniere and Gabe Perreault are projected to be on the first power-play unit next season. Does anyone truly expect the Rangers to rebuild properly and keep them both on that unit? I certainly don’t. Some player will demand a trade or want to play for the Rangers, and the Rangers will scoop them right up as they always do.
Patrick Kane wanted to be a Ranger? Ranger. Vlad Tarasenko? Ranger. J.T. Miller part two? Ranger. These weren’t necessarily bad moves, but they all cost assets and weren’t essential at the times of the moves. They were more….options. And when Kane, Tarasenko, and Miller are options, how do you say no?
That brings me to my final point. New York itself is a demanding place. If Chris Drury came out and said “I won’t acquire a superstar until I feel the team is truly ready to fit one into the current rebuild,” James Dolan would kick him right out of the building, as ticket sales would go down and the business suites would suffer. This organization is not run by management, it’s run by expectations. In New York, expectations are stronger than anywhere else in the U.S.
There’s no true way to overcome the behemoth that is New York. Instead, just know the next time someone is available, they’re going to want to play in New York. Odds are, the Rangers will acquiesce.
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