New York Rangers: Building an Identity
The New York Rangers have a rich history with one of the most passionate followings in the sport. Despite the lack of a postseason spot the past two seasons and ripping apart their roster, the Rangers are seriously working to construct their path to another Stanley Cup
This 2019-2020 season, the New York Rangers entered with a clear purpose. Before the suspension of play, New York fans saw a team that was sly, relentless and exciting. While this season’s expectation did not include hoisting the Stanley Cup, the Rangers needed to establish chemistry and situate all pieces of the puzzle before they can gear up to have a satisfactory Cup run.
Since head coach, David Quinn, who is only in his sophomore year as a National Hockey League coach, joined the organization he has had a crystal clear vision for the team. “Fast, physical, relentless.” Since his introduction to the team, which was a strategic move as Quinn was the former coach of Boston University’s hockey team, he has been shaping the team to cultivate accountability, reliability, and wins, no matter how you get them.
“Fast, physical, relentless.” – David Quinn
Quinn brings a special set of skills to this young team and places emphasis on capitalizing the talent in New York. Back in the summer of 2018, he set his sights on speed, pressure, and puck possession. After a rough few seasons, Quinn wanted to come in and transform this team into a group that is quite difficult to play against– and we are beginning to see that take shape.
For any fan who followed the Blueshirts this season, there may be a few games that stand out. Perhaps in late November, with the gutsy win over the Montreal Canadiens when the Rangers overcame a four goal deficit to make it 6-5 in the final frame. Even the redemption victory (and shut out) over the Vegas Golden Knights after a brutal loss a few days earlier in December. Then there’s the sheer fact the Rangers completed a seasonal sweep of fellow Divisional rivals, the solid Carolina Hurricanes.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding this season’s closure, the New York Rangers have shown glimmers of being the team they are envisioned to be. New York fans should be excited about these upcoming seasons and being a force in the league once again. While no one should consider this roster to be set in stone, the talent and the direction of the organization are promising indicators of what is to come.
The 2020-2021 season
Housed in the Metropolitan Division, which is arguably the most competitive Division in the league, the Rangers face a few added obstacles in their current push. The club is approaching a 26-year anniversary since they claimed the Cup and the game of hockey has greatly evolved in that Cup-less span.
Since the 1993-94 season when the Rangers won the ultimate prize in hockey, the team has missed the postseason ten times, been eliminated in the first round four times, sent home in round two six times, and failed to advance in the Conference Finals three times. Throughout these years, it’s been an agonizing ride for fans since that famed year, the fear of another 54 year drought (or longer) may linger with some.
Although next season shouldn’t carry expectations of a Cup, it should propel the club another step in the right direction. With veteran forward and lifelong Ranger, Chris Kreider secured for the next seven seasons teamed with red hot Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, the Rangers have their core of seasoned talent solidified. It just comes down to focusing on the kids now.
There have been many Rangers kids who have stolen the spotlight this season and as any Rangers fan knows, the team likes to keep it interesting. It’s an exciting time to be a Rangers fan, they’ve nearly completed a whole roster renovation in under three seasons. Their vision of a Cup seems to be renewed.
Although they had been playing as a more competent group of individuals, there should be no reason to rush the development. As mentioned with the locked-down veteran core, the next couple seasons should still have the “test drive” mentality in place. If the team can advance into the playoffs, that’s great. The kids will learn insurmountably from their playoff experience, but that shouldn’t be the immediate goal to avoid rushing assets.
The organization has put themselves in a great position for success, they just need the stars to align, but it can’t happen overnight.
It’s different in New York
There’s a different expectation with New York teams across the world of sports. New York City metropolitan area fans expect the best of the best– they want a level of excellence exceeding that of any opponent. They want a successful but classy organization that takes advantage of their resources and is ahead of the curve.
New York fans demand a front office that is intelligent and innovative. They demand a team that performs against the worst team as if it’s the championship game. More than any other city, perhaps, New York simply demands the best. Anything less is not going to cut it.
Representing a city as great as New York City is not an easy task by any means. The minute someone pulls on that jersey or signs that contract they better know they are responsible for helping one of the most fanatic sports towns in the world. New York fans are often characterized as impatient, intense and maybe a little spoiled, but that’s the price you pay for the Big City. In the NHL, the fan expectation is elevated. As one of the Original Six teams in the NHL, the Rangers carry a higher honor.
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Of all the Originals, the six teams have collectively claimed the Cup 64 times. This amounts to more than half the Cups going to one of the six clubs since the league was founded in 1917. Out of the six, New York has earned the fewest number of Cups, despite their longevity in the league. Nonetheless, securing a Stanley Cup is one of the toughest accomplishments in sports, and the path to the Cup cannot be built overnight.
As Panarin’s arrival has reminded everyone this prior Free Agency period, it’s just different in New York. The franchise provides a draw that a player can start a “second career” in New York, reinvent your game, and become a New York legend. Just as Rangers icon Mark Messier stated, coming to New York has an appeal, the draw of representing New York is like no other. But he reminds us, representing New York is also an enormous challenge.
Similar to the timeframe of Messier’s addition to New York in 1991, the Rangers did not possess a leading goal-scorer at the point when Panarin arrived. With the season frozen, Panarin sits tied for third place in the whole league with 95 points in 69 games played. Although teammate Mika Zibanejad is fifth in the league for most goals at 41, Panarin trails with 32 in 13th place.
Despite being a different breed of player, there are multiple parallels with Messier and Panarin’s integration with the Rangers. Along with skill, they both provide leadership, which, in particular, is integral to this Ranger’s youth era. Since swapping his Blue Jackets sweater to become a Blueshirt, Panarin has surpassed multiple personal records. For a player of Panarin’s caliber to come to New York during this time and bring such individual success is impossible to go unnoticed.
The next few upcoming seasons
The ideal identity for the Rangers is to be a consistent force. As hockey fans are familiar, it’s not about how improved your team is, but how improved the other teams around you are as well. Being one of the top 10 teams of the league consistently will be a tough mission for the team, but it won’t be impossible.
The club showed a lot of punch this season, but too often their wins stemmed from pure guile. This statement isn’t to take away from the talent the Rangers have, the talent just needs to be developed further, and they have the time for such.
Another upside of Quinn’s philosophy is emphasis on defense. The Rangers have seen excellence from rookie defenseman, Adam Fox, and have seen applaudable improvement from Ryan Lindgren in his second year as a pro. If the Blueshirts can bolster their blueline with a shutdown defenseman or two these upcoming seasons, the final pieces of Quinn’s defense dream should be about complete.
The defense remains the weak link for the Rangers. They have some decisions to make and skills to advance, but this comes with time playing in the league. The Rangers also have a three goaltender situation that will need to reach a resolution eventually.
It’s been tough seeing the New York Rangers so low in the Metropolitan Division these past few years, but the franchise has the right parts to go far. New fans may not be familiar with having faith in this team on any given game night, but in these upcoming seasons, provided the young players are being developed tactfully, and a few more pieces are added, the Rangers can reside in the top of the standings.
Not only should the Rangers look for consistency, but they should aim to be a team that other clubs will dread playing. Quinn has this aspect of the game in his vision, but within the next few seasons the team needs to translate this into every game. While speed and skill are the top enviable qualities amongst teams, hard-nosed play needs to be valued as well.
While fans are split in their opinions towards General Manager, Jeff Gorton, there is no denying that he has flipped the franchise to create a catalyst. Gorton had to part ways with team leaders, career-long Rangers, and fan favorites, but these moves have allowed us to set the foundation.
Even more recent, Gorton was able to recover from an unfavorable Brady Skjei contract at the trade deadline this past February by handing him off to Carolina. All these changes add up and contribute to a greater long term result.
It’s time for the Rangers to be taken seriously as a force again, despite their young roster. It’s time for the team to prove what they can do night in and night out. It is going to take time, but it is going to be well worth it.
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