Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesAuthor-journalist and hockey historian Alan Greenberg has watched the Rangers as both fan and reporter, dating back to the Original Six era. Here are questions The Maven posed to him and his answers:
1. As a fan, how you feel about the Rangers?
As a long-time reporter, in the interest of objectivity I’m really not a partisan fan anymore. Nevertheless, as a native New Yorker who became a Ranger fanatic in 1957 and is now a transplant to New York South (Palm Beach County) it hurts to see what has happened to the Rangers, an Original Six and one of the most storied franchises in the NHL. In this centennial year it is sad that things spiraled downward only two seasons removed from being a serious Cup contender. It seems like when they lost the Conference Final against Florida in 2024 their fortunes began to spiral downward.
I was in the dressing room post-Game 6 when they were eliminated after dropping three straight one-goal games. It was one of the most somber post-game dressing rooms I ever witnessed. Perhaps the players anticipated what was to come next; a breakup of the core of the team, surrounded by controversy and unpleasantries. I’m not a Floridian. I’m a New Yorker living in Florida. This entire scenario hurts.
2. What went wrong since the Presidents' Trophy victory?
As the Lightning (2019), Panthers (2022), Bruins (2023) and Rangers (2024) have found out, winning the Presidents' Trophy is like the dreaded three-goal lead. No guarantee of success.
Stanley Cup hockey is not like the regular season. It’s less finesse and more grinding and wearing down your opponent. Goals come from the dirty areas.
For the Rangers it was the perfect negative storm. Everything backfired on them. Drury’s handling of the Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba departures cast a negative pall. Announcing that Chris Kreider can be had for the world to know is not what endears you to your players.
The Artemi Panarin situation is an unmitigated public relations disaster. To publicly humiliate your leading scorer for seven seasons will not endear you to anyone. New York is no longer a preferred destination.
With three coaches in his tenure, Drury obviously hasn’t picked the right one. Laviolette and Sullivan had their glory but can now be considered retreads who either can’t communicate the message or just don’t use their talent correctly. Or, on the other hand, are not being supplied with the right talent.
I point to Spencer Carbury and Ryan Warsofsky. These are young coaches who are doing a great job with Washington and San Jose, respectively.
Too late now for the Rangers. They are stuck with Drury and Sullivan for the foreseeable future with no outstanding prospects. Maybe they will get lucky with their two first-round draft picks this year.
3. What can they learn from the Panthers?
Bill Zito came on the scene as a relative unknown in team management circles. He had made his mark as an agent. He made bold moves by not retaining Andrew Brunette as coach after the Presidents' Trophy season. He saw something lacking with the team. Although Zito never said it in so many words, he probably copied the mantra allegedly attributable to Herb Brooks. “I don’t want the best players. I want the best team.”
The leading scorer in the first Cup year was Sam Reinhart who finished 12 th in the NHL. Reinhart led again in the second Cup year but finished 24 th in the NHL. This tells you something about the scoring balance of the team.
Zito added grit. His first move was trading for Patric Hornqvist who had a major impact on the culture of the team. One of his first free agent signings was Radko Gudas who added a level of toughness that the team didn’t have. In one of several controversial moves, he brought in Paul Maurice after the team won the Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22 but were swept by Tampa in the second playoff round. Maurice proved to be the perfect communicator with the ability to utilize his entire roster to their maximum. Players at every level were treated as equals and as integral parts of the team.
Zito made costly but ingenious trades for the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Seth Jones, Brad Marchand, etc. He found under the radar players like Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling. He resurrected the careers of veterans like Dmitry Kulikov, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nate Schmidt. He signed Niko Mikkola away from the Rangers. He has been an extremely effective defender.
It's probably too late for Drury to make great deals because he already established himself as not a great negotiator. When you say a product is for sale (Panarin, Kreider, etc.) it immediately diminishes the value.
My conclusion is that the Rangers’ faithful and corporate customers will always be there despite mediocrity and high prices. Here in Florida when the team was a bottom-feeder the stands were half-empty!