New York Rangers: Too good too soon?

The suspension of the NHL season came just when the New York Rangers were back in playoff contention.  In only two years the rebuild looks to be over and the team is ready to compete.  The  question is did it happen too soon?

It was pretty courageous for Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton to pen that letter to the fans, announcing the rebuild. What’s important to note is that there was no time frame laid out. The goal was simple, they said their “plans will be guided by our singular commitment: ensuring we are building the foundation for our next Stanley Cup contender.”

When they sent the letter on February 8, 2018, the common assumption was that it would take years, as many as three or four, for the team to become that next Stanley Cup contender.  Now, two years later, the Rangers have moved from rebuild to retool and it appears that they believe they have built that foundation and are ready to compete.

The question is are the Rangers moving too fast?  Should they have been content to view this season as a year of growth and experimentation with the playoffs a dream.  Should another high lottery pick have been the goal, along with the opportunity to give their young players a chance to play tough minutes with better players?  Sure, it would have meant another year of missing the playoffs, but in the long run would the team have benefited?

One of the issues with running an NHL team is the need to make money.  The single easiest way to boost revenue is to make the playoffs.  Ticket sales, concessions and advertising revenue from the playoffs have to be considered gravy.   That has to factor into every decision the front office makes and the temptation to go for the gravy must be pretty tempting, especially at a company where the other big property, the New York Knicks,  is going to miss the playoffs as well.

John Davidson was already talking the “rebuild is over” talk when he got the job.  He called it a “retooling” as opposed to a rebuild.  The fact is, despite the signing of Artemi Panarin and the trade for Jacob Trouba, the team is still very young, too young.  Take 38-year old Henrik Lundqvist out of the mix and the team’s average age is 24.7 years.  To expect a team with five rookies to make hay in the playoffs is expecting an awful lot.

The ultimate irony would be if the season never resumes.  That would mean missing the playoffs as well of the benefits of a deadline sell-off.  On the other hand, there has been talk of of a 24 team playoff that would enable all of the playoff contenders to get a chance at the brass ring and that means a post-season for the Blueshirts. We won’t know what is to come for weeks.