The New York Rangers have come plenty close to winning a Stanley Cup over the last decade. They made the Cup Final in 2014 and three Eastern Conference Final in 2012, 2022, and 2024. In each series, the Rangers were overpowered by a combination of skill, speed, heavy play, and star power. Emphasis on star power is critical, as the 2012 and 2014 runs were done in by lack of consistent offense, and the 2022 and 2024 runs by underwhelming 5v5 play. There’s a theme: the Rangers need a star, and they need one that also produces in the playoffs. Problem is, those stars are quite difficult to find.
Despite not winning any of those Stanley Cups, the Rangers provided plenty of exciting memories. I’ve written and talked plenty about not being a fan of the direction the Rangers are headed. This is a roster constructed of aging talent, mixed in with low-ceiling young players, with few to no exciting prospects in the system. That does not bode well for finally breaking through and winning one.
The one thought I keep coming back to the most is that the Rangers need a star, desperately.
For the Florida Panthers, it’s Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. For the Colorado Avalanche, it’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. The St. Louis Blues were the last example of a team who didn’t have one, but they had Ryan O’Reilly playing truly elite two-way hockey. Then you have Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals, Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and suddenly we’re all the way back to the Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews/Anze Kopitar’s of the world.
One could argue the Rangers had that in Artemi Panarin, but Panarin doesn’t backcheck and doesn’t raise his game in the playoffs. Alexis Lafreniere was expected to be the solution, but he clearly is not panning out as a top talent.
Now, the Rangers need a star and must find another way to make it happen. This will prove more complicated with the rising salary cap, as teams are more than ever finding ways to keep their homegrown players. The top free agent in this upcoming offseason is Panarin. Following him, it’s likely….Nick Schmaltz? Good luck with that.
Next, you’re looking at trades. Teams likely to blow it up include the Nashville Predators, who could offer an aging Filip Forsberg, the Calgary Flames, who could offer Nazem Kadri and his bloated contract, and maybe the Buffalo Sabres if they even want to trade with the Rangers?
If the Rangers could pry Tage Thompson from Buffalo, it would be a sure sign they’re understanding what they’re missing. Still, there’s little to no evidence he’s ever going to be on the move.
The Rangers need a star, and perhaps their best approach is to find one at the draft. However, the Rangers hired Mike Sullivan, a sure sign they are not attempting to tank or rebuild primarily through the draft. So unless the Rangers miss the playoffs and get great lottery luck, that’s probably out.
Realistically, the most likely scenario is the Rangers try to do a talent by numbers approach. In 2012 they tried it with Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, and co. In 2014 they tried it with Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, and co. In 2022 they tried it with Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad. In 2024, they tried it with….Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad, It’s how the Rangers approach team building, and it’s worked to some degree. It’s just not enough.
Expect “not enough” to be a large part of the Rangers future. The Rangers need a star, and I just don’t see where that star is coming from.
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