Just three years after winning the President’s Trophy, the New York Rangers are an unwatchable mess. How did they get here, though?
It’s easy to see why they’re bad now. The Rangers surrender shots on goal during 5-on-5 play at a higher rate than any other team except for the Islanders. At the same time, the Rangers rank 20th in the NHL at generating their own shots.
They’ve given up 40 or more shots on goal in 13 separate games already this season. Meanwhile, the Rangers have held their opponents below 30 shots on goal only 15 times. The 17-18 Rangers have turned chasing the play into an art form.
The only surprising fact about this team is that they’re somehow only a few points out of a playoff spot. If not for a resurgent Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers would hold one of the NHL’s five worst records.
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Diminishing returns
When the Rangers made the Cup Final in 2014, their opponents averaged 29.4 shots on goal per game. That solid, but unspectacular rate put the Rangers 15th in the league. A year later they nearly mirrored those numbers, surrendering 29.5 per game and ranking 14th overall.
The defense started falling apart after 14-15, though. They slipped to 30.4 shots against (18th), recovered slightly to 30.1 against (14th), and then collapsed to this year’s 33.8 mark (29th).
As New York’s defense went from average to awful, their offense went from elite to sub-par. The 13-14 Rangers ranked second in the NHL by averaging 33.2 shots per game. A year later they fired off 31.5 per game, good for sixth.
In the three years since that pinnacle, they’ve managed 28.5 (26th), 29.7 (22nd), and 31.1 (20th). These dual declines tell a simple story. Alain Vigneault’s system doesn’t work anymore.
While Ranger rosters during Vigneault’s tenure have undergone major turnover, they have always used the same style. Vigneault’s teams want to play an up-tempo, offense-first game, and rely on elite goaltending to clean up any mistakes.
Teams of recent vintage have proven less able to execute this game plan, creating fewer scoring chances and making more mistakes. As the Rangers dropped from contention to bubble status to a non-playoff team, Vigneault has never changed his system. The 17-18 Rangers have a flawed roster, but Vigneault’s style exacerbates those weaknesses.
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Front office mistakes
Jeff Gorton and his predecessor Glen Sather are hardly blameless in New York’s descent into ineptitude. Sather laid the earliest seeds for the Rangers’ fall before they even reached the 2014 Cup Final. In February 2014, Sather inked defender Dan Girardi to a six-year, $33 million contract extension.
At the time, Girardi was a few months from turning 30. He was also already declining, a drop-off which would only accelerate in the coming years.
Of equal importance, Girardi’s extension spelled the end of Anton Stralman’s time as a Ranger. Sather let Stralman walk after the 13-14 season, costing the Rangers an elite, shot suppressing defenseman.
Stralman’s absence forced the Rangers to pay heavily in a trade for Keith Yandle before the 2015 deadline. Yandle’s addition allowed New York to briefly tread water as a contender.
Much like with Stralman, the Rangers lost Yandle in the summer of 2016 thanks to the unwise extension given to a declining defender. The Rangers actually signed Marc Staal to a six-year, $34.2 million extension a few months before they even acquired Yandle. Why did they give up so many assets for Yandle when they knew they couldn’t afford him in the first place?
Jeff Gorton made another puzzling move last summer when he traded Derek Stepan, New York’s best two-way center, for Tony DeAngelo and a draft pick. While they used that pick to select Lias Andersson, who could become a Stepan-like player, the trade created a void. The Rangers didn’t even attempt to replace Stepan, unless David Desharnais counts.
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Watching it burn
Obviously, other factors play a role as well. The onslaught of injuries to key players like Chris Kreider and Kevin Shattenkirk does not help. Vigneault’s tendency to favor band-aid veterans like Nick Holden and Steven Kampfer over younger players remains maddening.
Whatever anyone thinks of the talent or lack of talent on this roster, they’ve consistently failed to defend and skate hard as a team. Blame must fall on the coaching staff for allowing the Rangers to sleepwalk their way through the schedule.
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With the Rangers reportedly headed for a fire sale at the end of the month, I have only one question. Can I light the match?