Amid the struggles they have had this season, general manager Chris Drury sent out a letter to the fans saying the New York Rangers are heading into a retooling of the roster. This means that some of the veterans and even some of the younger players might not be here after the next few weeks and months. While it is good for Drury to acknowledge that this team, as currently constructed, isn’t good enough, this letter should have been sent out last season. With all the struggles and moves made last season, it would have made more sense for this “retool” to be announced last year as opposed to this year.
The Letter Should Have Gone Out When Jacob Trouba Was Traded
Many might not remember this, but the Rangers actually started fairly well last season, going 12-4-1. It wasn’t until two losses in late November to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers that the train started to fall off the tracks. It was after those losses that Drury sent out a memo to the 31 other general managers saying he was open for business and specifically named Chris Kreider and captain Jacob Trouba as two players he wanted to trade. This did not sit well with the players in the locker room, and from that point on, the season was basically over, and the moves began to be made.
Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in early December, and it was at this point that the letter that came out this season should have been released. When a team that just won the Presidents’ Trophy and went to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final trades its captain less than six months later, that should be the number one sign they are heading in a different direction. If the letter had been sent out at the time of this trade, it would have made the struggles of last season easier to bear, and maybe Drury would not have made some of the moves that he did in the months to follow.
Could This Team Look Different Had The Letter Been Sent Out Last Year?
If Drury had realized earlier that the Rangers were not built to be Stanley Cup contenders, how different would they look today? One player who might not be here right now is current captain J.T. Miller, as he was brought in last season from the Vancouver Canucks. Drury had liked Miller for a while now, and he brought him in to be a player who could shake up the locker room, but also be a player who helped the team push for the playoffs last season, even though they were struggling. Would Miller be here right now if the team had gone into a retooling phase last season?
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Another move that was made on the same day as the Trouba trade was the extension of Igor Shesterkin. He became the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, making $11.5 million per season. Shesterkin has been a key player for the Rangers for so many years now, but if the team were going in a different direction, maybe Drury would have looked to trade him rather than give him an extension, knowing they were going to be in flux for the next few seasons. While Shesterkin is an important player for the team, he could have brought back some big assets in a trade if they moved on from him last season.
Would Certain Players Still Be Here Had This Letter Gone Out Last Year?
The point of going through this retool now is to help the Rangers get younger players onto the roster that can help impact the team sooner rather than later. While a player like Kreider was likely getting traded due to his age and poor performance, Drury traded three younger players over the course of last season who could have had an impact on the team today. Those three players are Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, and K’Andre Miller. While many will argue that they would never have grown into the players the Rangers wanted them to be, they are still better than some of the players the team is using right now, and they would help make this roster more balanced.
Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Chytil was traded to Vancouver last season as part of the Miller trade, and if the retool started last year and Miller wasn’t brought in, he could still be here. Kakko was traded to Seattle in mid-December last season in exchange for Will Borgen, and Miller (K’Andre) was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes last offseason. If they were still here, they could’ve been part of the future of this team alongside players like Will Cuylle, Gabe Perreault, and Noah Laba. They were instead traded away because Drury wanted to bring in other players or thought they would never reach their potential in New York. Maybe he was right, but only time will tell if moving on from these players was the right move.
This retooling of the roster is necessary for the Rangers to become better in the future, but maybe all of this could have started over a year ago. Had Drury realized that this team was flawed and wasn’t a J.T. Miller away from being a Stanley Cup contender, this process could have been started earlier, and maybe the Rangers would be in a better place today than they are now. Sending out the letter was the right move, but it came one year too late.
