TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Rangers’ fall has been fast and dramatic. Since Nov. 21, they have traded their captain, traded their 2019 No. 2 pick, healthy scratched their longest-tenured player and had a fourth-line forward get suspended eight games. Oh, and they’ve also gone 3-14-0.
After a few days off for the league’s holiday break, the Rangers are back in action Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Returning too are the questions surrounding the team.
Here are six of the biggest ones.
Can they weather a difficult schedule?
Eight of New York’s first nine games coming out of the holiday break are against teams currently in playoff position by point percentage. Three of the Rangers’ upcoming opponents — the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights — are among the top-four teams in the entire league, and they also have a date with the reigning champion Florida Panthers. According to Tankathon, the Rangers have the second-toughest remaining schedule in the league, in part because of their upcoming gauntlet. If they play like they did going into the break, they could be well out of the playoff race by mid-January.
The Rangers’ position would’ve been hard to believe a couple months ago. It could also mean more personnel changes are coming. Multiple players noted recently that the only way to keep the team together is to win games. That’s going to be harder to do with more difficult opponents.
Is a Kreider trade looming?
Deserved or not, scratching Chris Kreider — the longest-tenured player on the team — was a massive statement by the Rangers. The decision, paired with general manager Chris Drury’s open-for-business memo that mentioned Kreider by name, casts doubt over the 33-year-old’s future with the organization.
Trading Kreider, who has only 12 points in 30 games this season, won’t be simple. He has a 15-team no-trade list, so he’ll have at least some control in the situation. Plus plenty of other clubs have limited cap space. Kreider’s $6.5 million cap hit is reasonable given his production in recent years, but it might not be feasible for other teams to fit during the season.
And then there’s the question of the winger’s back. The Rangers might have designated Kreider a healthy scratch, but he publicly detailed back spasms he experienced earlier in the season. He has looked like he’s been laboring at points. A player in his mid-30s with declining numbers and a hurt back might not fetch the level of return the Rangers would want for a franchise pillar.
Can Zibanejad rebound?
Mika Zibanejad’s recent struggles are no secret. He has only seven points over the team’s past 17 games and a minus-14 rating. Zibanejad has a full no-movement clause and a buyout-proof contract that goes through 2029-30. Even if he never again is the 91-point scorer he was in 2022-23, it’s vital for the Rangers to get him back to being a responsible two-way player who can contribute offensively. Whether or not he can will have long-term impacts on the club.
Does Laviolette make it through the season?
Indications are the Rangers don’t want to make a change behind the bench, but with a downturn like the Rangers have taken, it’s hard to consider Peter Laviolette safe.
“I’ve been in this a long time,” Laviolette said before a recent game in Nashville when asked about his job security. “There’s always those conversations, wherever you go, especially if you’ve been in it a long time. My real concern, main concern, is getting a win tonight, getting back on track, getting back into the playoff race. Those are the things we need to control and stay focused on. I think that should be priority for everybody, really.”
Even if the coach hasn’t been perfect, New York’s problems are deeper than just him. But plenty of coaches have lost their jobs before when they weren’t the primary person at fault.
Coach Peter Laviolette hasn’t been able to pull the Rangers out of their rapid descent. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Are they full-blown deadline sellers?
If New York is fully out of the playoff race, Drury will have no choice but to see what he can get for pending free agents on the roster. The Rangers won’t bring back a ton in trades unless they move a high-upside player like K’Andre Miller, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, but they can replenish some mid-round picks they’ve traded away in recent years. Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, Will Borgen and maybe Jimmy Vesey could appeal to playoff clubs.
Does Perreault debut?
Rangers top prospect Gabe Perreault, a 2023 first-round pick, is a sophomore at Boston College, where he has 23 points in 16 games. He’s expected to turn pro after this season. The latest Boston College could play is April 12 in the NCAA championship. The Rangers have two regular-season games after that, so if they want Perreault to get a taste of the NHL this season, they can make it happen.
(Top photo of Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
