The New York Rangers state of the union 2019

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, will give his State of the Union address on the evening of February 5th, it’s time to reflect on the state of the New York Rangers.

No, there won’t be a further reference to politics of any kind, relax. But, using the traditional Presidential speech as a launching point, it’s an appropriate time as any to give an overview of how the New York Rangers’ organization operated in the past year and what the goals for the upcoming calendar year are.

Following a disappointing 2017-2018 season that left the organization wondering what went wrong, it required a full-scale overhaul. The team entered last season with the expectation of once again being in the mix to contend for a Stanley Cup, instead a potent combination of age, injuries and talent depreciation left the Rangers in the lottery.

The team fell so flat last year that it was out of the mix in January and was a seller at the trade deadline for the first time in more than a decade. In addition, former head coach Alain Vigneault was fired and David Quinn of Boston University was hired to usher in the new era of Rangers hockey.

The Rangers drafted three times in the first round of last year’s draft and set the organization up for the future. However, there was still a season to play and it left Quinn with one of the least talented Rangers’ teams in this millennia.

With little to no expectations, Quinn has pushed the right buttons with Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. Outside of the three forwards, Henrik Lundqvist and the potential of Filip Chytil there’s little to be excited for on a nightly basis.

But, as we turn towards the next calendar year, there are certain objectives on the horizon.

Savor the ride

Part of the reward of being a fan stems from being there in the bad times. Being there at the ground level to watch young players find who they are as teenagers and in their early 20s is what being a fan is all about.

There will come a time when Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist will be NHL regulars, however, part of the fun is checking in on their various stages of development while they’re still becoming who they’re going to be. Having so much invested in developmental hockey keeps the emphasis off of wins and losses.

In all likelihood, the Rangers’ tenures of Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello will end in 20 days. Instead of going insane over possible returns from other teams, appreciate what they’ve put into the organization and their respective roles in the team’s successes this decade. Without Hayes and Zuccarello, New York is a drastically different team and one that is not as competitive.

Most importantly, appreciate Lundqvist lacing up his skates. There are a finite number of games left with number 30 between the pipes for the Rangers. At age 36, soon to be 37, the Swede is a future Hall of Famer and the best player in the history of the franchise. Every day that passes is one day closer to a post-Lundqvist era that people fail to realize the challenges of.

Have a little fun

For goodness sakes, the only people who were talking about the Rangers as a potential playoff team was those from within. Sure, Quinn and the team gave everyone a nice adrenaline rush in November when the Rangers rattled off nine wins in 11 games, but that was an awfully long time ago.

This season was supposed to be about Quinn establishing a vision and culture for the team while grooming trade assets as well as identifying players for the future. For the sake of the actual health of the organization, wins and losses are not an accurate measure of progress. Instead, it’s ice time, points and possession.

The Rangers’ previous two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings are a perfect example. The Rangers ended up with one of a possible four points in the most exciting way possible. This type of result, competitive games in which the team plays hard but ultimately does not win are exactly what it needs.

So, every time that Sam Rosen or Joe Micheletti mention on the MSG network broadcast that the Rangers need to start picking up points if they want to stay in the race, take it with a grain of salt.

Stop being so hostile

Discourse being eroded to the point people can’t espouse their views without being attacked is not an issue unique to the sport’s world, but the problem still persists. Every now and then, people need to take a need breath to keep things in perspective.

Not everyone has the same opinion on Pavel Buchnevich’s long term future with the Rangers’ organization and that’s perfectly fine. Not everyone is worried about Lias Andersson’s long term future even though he’s taking longer than expected to break into the NHL.

There once was a time where people were allowed to have different opinions and it would result in productive discourse. Now, when people question the views of someone else, they call them “Breitbart,” as an insult to question their legitimacy and intelligence.

The Rangers have a long way to go in 2019, but with plenty of time to work things out, there is hope on the horizon. Every day that goes by is one day closer to a return to postseason play, it’s just a matter of getting there.