With the 2018-2019 regular season in the rearview for the New York Rangers (and the rest of the NHL), which players had the biggest increases in value? Who had the biggest drop-offs?
Once again, another New York Rangers season has come and gone. The playoffs are in full swing for a select few teams since the first round has just ended, while a long summer has started for another set of teams.
It’s been 15 years since the New York Rangers have failed to qualify for the postseason two years in a row. Since announcing a rebuild in February of 2018, the team has not been expected to compete for the Stanley Cup for a few years.
Their home record overall was 18-14-9. Their collective road record was 14-22-5.
A number of players reached milestones this year as well. In the first month of the season, Brett Howden had three; first NHL game (October fourth, 2018), first NHL goal (October sixth, 2018), and first NHL assist (October seventh, 2018).
Jesper Fast had one, earning his 100th NHL point on October seventh, 2018. Coach David Quinn had one as well, notching his first NHL win on October 11th, 2018.
Alexandar Georgiev had his first NHL shutout on November 21st, 2018, and Ryan Lindgren appeared in his first NHL game on the New York Rangers’ Pride Night on January 15th, 2019.
Finally, rookie Libor Hajek reached two milestones during the first week of March. He played in his first NHL game on March first, 2019, and scored his first NHL goal on March ninth, 2019.
Veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist set some records as per usual. He moved into eighth and seventh all-time in NHL wins on November fourth and 17th, earning his 435th and 438th career wins.
Additionally, “The King” secured his 445th and 446th career NHL wins, tying for sixth place and then moving into sole possession of sixth place in all-time wins. This happened on January 17th and 19th, respectively.
While this season was filled with many team-wide ups and downs, some individual players had memorable seasons as well. Who took the chance to improve, and whose value decreased throughout the 2018-2019 campaign?