Rangers coach warns ‘there’s not always next step’ for Stanley Cup contenders
Just because the New York Rangers had so much success last season and have reached the Eastern Conference Final two of the past three years doesn’t mean it’s a given that they’ll keep climbing the ladder and win a Stanley Cup championship. Things in the NHL just aren’t that simple or linear.
That’s part of the message coach Peter Laviolette delivered at the start of training camp Wednesday.
“Every team would like to think there’s a next step, but there’s not always a next step,” Laviolette explained. “That’s why I think it’s really important to focus on the growth of a team, the work you put in daily, and we were really good at that last year. But this is a new year and a new team, and we need this group to focus on the work they need to put in daily.”
So, it’s far from a given that the Rangers will reach the Stanley Cup Final this season simply because they came so close a year ago. Nor because their core group remains intact and has achieved much success the past three seasons.
Sure, the Florida Panthers are a nice comparison. The won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22 but stumbled in the postseason. The following season, they reached the Stanley Cup Final, but lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. Then last season, they took that final step and won the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
The Rangers are on a similar path. But the end result is far from guaranteed, according to Laviolette.
“If you do enough good work through the course of the season, you can build a game and build a confidence that can take you into the playoffs and find success,” he said. “So, nobody knows exactly where it will sit at the end of the year. There’s a lot of work to be done by everybody.”
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Peter Laviolette says Rangers focused on ‘attacking each day’ not bigger picture
Laviolette received complete buy-in from the entire roster in his first season as Rangers coach. That meant more commitment to playing team defense and better structure through the neutral zone, among other things.
It also meant harder practices, more attention to details.
The results were positive. The Rangers set franchise records for most wins (55) and points (114) and won the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time. Then there was the 7-0 start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before falling two wins shy of a trip to the Cup Final.
To even approach that level of success with the same core group of players in 2024-25, Laviolette preaches focusing on the smaller picture — not the bigger one.
“We never talked about that (winning the Presidents’ Trophy). It’s not something written up on a board as a goal,” Laviolette explained. “The goal was always to have good days … try to become better as the year moved along. Try to win hockey games, as many as we could, but doing it on a very short-term basis of attacking each day and making the most of each day. Nothing will change from that (this season).”
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There’s a level of comfort between the coach and his team here in Year 2. Laviolette said he learned a lot about of good things about these players last season.
“What I learned is that they are a great group off the ice and they care about each other,” he said. “They work hard out on the ice and they’re competitors, they want to win.”
That all goes a long way. But none of it guarantees the Rangers will be able to take the next step and win the Stanley Cup this season. It’s a more complex than that. So, that’s why the Rangers go back to work here in training camp focused on short-term goals and success and not get head of themselves in the massive bigger picture.
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