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NHL executive shoots down Rangers playoff chances.
The New York Rangers were a massive disappointment last season.
Two years ago, the Rangers won the President’s Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL team with the best regular-season record. Yet, this past season – with a very similar roster – everything fell apart as the Rangers failed to make the playoffs.
In the offseason, New York didn’t do much. Their big move was signing shutdown defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and trading away K’Andre Miller. Although the move makes them a better defensive team, one NHL executive spoke to The Athletic and doesn’t think the Rangers are a playoff team.
“I don’t know how just the one signing (in Gavrikov) is going to make them back to contending for the division,” the executive said. “That’s their challenge.”
The Rangers finished last season with a record of 39-36-7 and were in 11th place in the East and 6 points out of a playoff spot.
Although New York did hire Mike Sullivan to be their coach, the NHL executive doesn’t like the Rangers’ chances to make the playoffs this season.
The Rangers have odds of -200 to make the playoffs, which implies a 66.7% chance.
Rangers Confident They’ll Make The Playoffs
New York was a massive disappointment last season, but the Rangers are confident they will make the playoffs next year.
Despite missing the playoffs last season, the Rangers gave general manager Chris Drury a multi-year contract extension. CEO James Dolan said that he had confidence the Rangers would be back in the postseason next year. He also liked what Drury was building.
“I am pleased that Chris will continue to lead the Rangers hockey operations in his role as president and general manager,” Dolan said in a statement. “Over his tenure, Chris has shown passion for the Rangers, relentless work ethic and a tireless pursuit of excellence. While we are all disappointed in what transpired this past season, I am confident in his ability to guide this organization to success.”
Meanwhile, Drury believes he will lead the Rangers back to the playoffs and help them win their first Stanley Cup since 1994.
“As I said when I began in this role nearly four years ago, there isn’t a more special organization in hockey, and I look forward to continuing our work this offseason to help us reach our goals for next season and in the coming years,” Drury said.
The Rangers saw Chris Kreider, Arthur Kaliyev, Calvin de Haan, Miller, and Zac Jones all leave this offseason. New York, meanwhile, only added Gavrikov, Scott Morrow, and Taylor Raddysh.
Scouts Believe Rangers Should Pair Gavrikov With Fox
New York made the bold move to sign Gavrikov this offseason, and he could be on the top-pair with Adam Fox.
Gavrikov is a shutdown defenseman, while Fox is an offensive defenseman. So, a scout for an Eastern Conference team believes it would make sense to pair them together.
“I could definitely see them being used as a pair together,” the scout said to The Athletic. “Gavrikov is a bigger guy, really good at breaking up plays, good stick. Fox is way more of that new school offensive puck-mover. Their playing styles are different and they’re built completely differently physically. Maybe the differences can complement each other.”
Meanwhile, a Western Confernece scout believes Gavrikov would be a safety net for Fox to take more risks.
“More than anything, he’s a safety valve that lets Fox have more risk in his game,” a scout said.
Ultimately, the Rangers and Sullivan will have some intriguing lineup decisions to make.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton
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