The Positives And Negatives Of The New York Rangers Season

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The 2017-18 season has been a wild one for the New York Rangers. Now that the club has been officially been eliminated from the postseason for the first time since the 2009-10 season, it’s worth taking a look back at the positives and negatives that took place this season and what to look forward to next October.

Positives

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Youth – Something the Rangers haven’t done for some time now is hit the reset button, and although people would argue that this should be a negative, it’s nice to see a plethora of young prospects getting their shot in the organization. After the fire sale that took place at the deadline, which will be touched on in the negatives, the Rangers have more promising prospects than ever before. And that’s something to look forward too.

Draft Picks – Going hand-and-hand with the prospects, draft picks are the main key to structuring a successful rebuild. As a Rangers fan, we’ve seen the team trade away first-round picks time and time again for a rental for the postseason, and it was nice to see the Rangers on the opposite side of a deal like that this year. The Rangers acquired two more first round picks for this year’s draft to go along with one of their own. That is a huge step forward and will only help them in the long run.

Loyalty – Through the highs and lows of the season, with familiar faces leaving left and right, the heart of this New York Rangers team wants no part of it. Henrik Lundqvist has been the backbone of this team since 2005, and that doesn’t seem likely to change through the rebuild. Whether you want the team to keep the netminder or not, because there are some who want him gone, there’s a certain feeling you get when your star player expresses his love for the team. Through all the chaos, Lundqvist has stated time and time again he wants to be in New York for the good, bad, and ugly. Knowing the King will be in net next year is a clear positive to take out of this season.

Negatives

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Familiar Faces Gone – On the flip side of what I just wrote in the positives about having tons of prospects and picks, seeing fan-favorites go is a weird feeling. When a club decides to sell, it opens the doors to positive and negative feedback from the fans, and this season had that more than ever. The Rangers traded away Ryan McDonagh, JT Miller, Rick Nash, and Michael Grabner. All of those guys have had success with the Blueshirts and to see them go for guys that for the most part have no NHL experience, it leaves an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

On Ice Performance – For a team that was competitive for so many years, watching the Rangers at their worst point, at least in recent memory, is devastating. The Rangers didn’t match-up with any team well it seemed like, and watching them get dominated game in and game out is not a fun sight to see. It’s scary when your team isn’t competitive, and that leads right into the last negative.

The Unknown – Nobody knows what the future holds for the Blueshirts. We all want the prospects to pan out, but that isn’t guaranteed. When you trade high-level NHL players for picks and prospects, even if the scouting is great, you never know what these players will turn into. The questions that the Rangers leave behind after this season is the biggest negative of the rebuild. Even though the rebuild is necessary, the path of the rebuild could be a shaky one, as we all hope the prospects and picks turn the Rangers into a competitive team in the years to come.

 

 

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