New York Rangers: 5 personnel decisions that must be made before the draft

We are currently just over halfway through the 2017-2018 hockey season. The New York Rangers have a lot of decisions to make if they want to regain their contending status.

It appears that the window for Stanley Cup contention has shut for the New York Rangers. After years of regressing following their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014, they are not currently in a playoff spot. Recently, they have struggled to get wins against beatable teams such as the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes. A team that struggles to win against last place teams has no business playing playoff hockey.

And so begins the end of an era. The team can no longer get away with Henrik Lundqvist bailing them out every game. The team needs star power, both on the offensive end and the defensive end. If their wish is to contend annually, like the Chicago Blackhawks did for so many years, they need to completely rip up the core we have grown to know and love.

It has been reported that the team intends on selling at the trade deadline. They also stated that they were not against trading members of the core players such as Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh. The good news is the Rangers’ front office sees the writing on the wall. The bad news is the Rangers are going to have to be bad before they’re good.