The New York Rangers are the NHL's main character of the moment.
General manager Chris Drury traded captain Jacob Trouba and agreed to terms with superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin on a record-breaking contract in a matter of hours last Friday. Trouba, swapped for another defenseman in Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick, has since debuted for the Ducks, and Shesterkin's eight-year, $92-million extension's been finalized.
Meanwhile, Senators owner Michael Andlauer on Monday accused New York of "soft tampering" in relation to the Rangers' reported interest in acquiring Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk. (New York called the accusation "irresponsible.")
The Rangers, led by veteran bench boss Peter Laviolette, are a star-studded team hanging on to a playoff spot as of Tuesday morning. They've lost eight of their past 10 games by a combined score of 29-40, with five of those losses coming against non-playoff teams.
Let's get into the drama surrounding this Original Six team.
What's gone wrong this year?
The first thing worth noting is that Drury - president and GM since May 2021 - brought back basically the same group that won the President's Trophy and two playoff series. Only the edges of the roster were tweaked in the offseason.
The 14-12-1 Rangers currently hold an East wild card spot and the league's 17th-best points percentage. Metropolitan Division rivals Washington, Carolina, and New Jersey, plus the Atlantic's Florida and Toronto, are showing themselves to be superior squads. New York's peer group includes Boston and Tampa Bay - three clubs tracking for the postseason, yes, but also quick playoff exits. At least that's the feeling at the schedule's one-third mark.
The 2024-25 Rangers are slightly worse offensively and appreciably worse defensively than the 2023-24 Rangers. The offense ranks in the top half of the league in shots on goal, shot attempts, slot shots, inner-slot shots, and offensive-zone possession time, according to Sportlogiq. The defense bleeds scoring chances, leading to bottom-five rankings in the same five categories.
Here's a high-level comparison:
This year's team has been undisciplined (31st in penalty-minute differential) and mediocre at mounting comebacks (3-10-1 record when allowing first goal).
"It could be fatigue, could be mental, could be anything - but regardless, it's unacceptable," Laviolette told reporters after New York looked flat in Monday's 2-1 loss to the rebuilding Blackhawks, according to USA Today's Vince Z. Mercogliano. "We've got to be better than that. You're not going to win hockey games if we can't execute."
At the individual level, top-six veterans Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have performed well below their lofty standards, contributing a combined 31 points in 51 man-games. Strong goaltending from Shesterkin and backup Jonathan Quick, along with winger Will Cuylle's breakout season, count as major bright spots.
Which players are next to go?
ESPN's Emily Kaplan mentioned four trade chips on last Friday's Rangers-Penguins broadcast - forwards Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider, and Reilly Smith, as well as defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Each guy's situation is unique.
Kakko, 23, is playing some of the best hockey of his six-year career. The two-way winger is fourth on the team in five-on-five points (12) despite playing third-line minutes. He's a pending restricted free agent making just $2.4 million. Kakko was drafted second overall in 2019 by former GM Jeff Gorton.
All 31 teams have surely, at minimum, talked internally about acquiring Kakko.
Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger, is a former 50-goal scorer having a down year (10 goals, one assist in 24 games). But the power forward continues to make a home in and around the opposition's crease and was recently named to the U.S. 4 Nations Face-Off team. Kreider, 33, is under contract through the 2026-27 season at $6.5 million per year and owns a 15-team no-trade clause. That contract was inked in 2020 with Gorton in charge.
Sizeable cap hit, medium term, middling production, over 30, trade protection - while Kreider's an attractive player, pulling off a trade won't be an easy task.
Lindgren at one point appeared locked in as Adam Fox's long-term partner on defense. Multiple injuries, troubling underlying numbers, an arbitration filing, and a one-year contract later, Lindgren's tenure is nearing its end. It'll be mildly shocking if the pending unrestricted free agent isn't moved by the trade deadline. Teams desperate for a "warrior" type will gladly glaze over his flaws.
Smith, traded to the Rangers on the opening day of 2024 free agency, was recently scratched amid a 10-game goalless drought. It was a tough scene for a respected veteran brought in to provide depth scoring. Smith's another classic rental. Some contender will swap a middling pick for the pending UFA.
Lindgren and Smith make $4.5 million and $3.75 million, respectively. Those aren't bargains but salaries low enough for Drury to avoid retaining salary.
What's the big-picture plan?
Speaking of avoiding retention, Drury sending Trouba's full freight to Anaheim without a sweetener and getting an NHLer and pick in return was pure magic.
Trouba was once a second-pair defenseman who could lay a thunderous hit one moment and move the puck crisply the next. The 2024 eye test and underlying numbers suggest he's slower than ever, better suited for third-pair duty, and unquestionably overpaid at $8 million through the 2025-26 season.
Not every GM operates the way Drury - who has an air of mystery to him - operates. Not every GM is comfortable forcing a captain to lift his previously negotiated trade protection seven months after placing another veteran, forward Barclay Goodrow, on waivers en route to playing for the lowly Sharks.
But a few GMs aren't afraid to be cutthroat - including Stanley Cup winners Kelly McCrimmon (Vegas) and Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay). This is business.
"It's my job, and 31 other GMs' jobs, to try and do everything we can to help our team," Drury told reporters Saturday on a Zoom call. "There's things at our disposal in the CBA. I'm not trying to mess with players. I have a ton of respect for Barclay and, certainly ... for Jacob. I'm just trying to do the best I can to move the team forward and make changes that I think are necessary."
It's hard to guess what falls under the "necessary" header.
The most onerous contract Drury inherited from Gorton was Trouba's, and the worst contract in the early days of his own tenure was Goodrow's. It's fair to label them "necessary." But what else qualifies here?
What does Drury truly think of the core, which is built mainly of players originally acquired by his predecessor? Does Drury believe the Rangers are too reliant on a brilliant power play and Shesterkin's world-class goaltending? Does all of this trade noise come down to Drury wanting to retool to chase a Cup in a different way in the final year-and-a-half of Artemi Panarin's deal?
New York currently has $7.1 million in cap space and, if the roster goes unchanged between now and the March 7 deadline, that open space will grow to a whopping $21.9 million, according to PuckPedia. The club has assets to flip in first-round picks for the foreseeable future and a solid prospect pool.
Put another way, Drury has the flexibility to be bold - soon or closer to March.
"We certainly are not opposed to making more changes," he told reporters. "But big picture, with that said, the team's been through a lot the last couple weeks, and certainly this week. We’d like to let the dust settle a little bit."
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).