The New York Rangers have a big offseason ahead of them, and there is a sense that last season's misfortune may have been a fluke. The expectation is that the 2025-26 season will be a much better experience for all of those involved.
The reason for the big turnaround could be attributed to the newly acquired head coach, Mike Sullivan, who returns to New York after a decade in Pittsburgh. With that said, can he turn things around so greatly that he could be nominated for the best award possible for a coach?
Turn this thing around?
Sullivan enters a 'funny' Rangers team and a fan base that is yearning for success. I say 'funny' because the identity that was once so concrete and absolute is now filled with indecision and a lack of leadership. That has to be the first order of business: re-establishing the group of players that will lead this team. That does not mean naming a new captain or switching around the alternates, but the emphasis should be on naming one or two who are the head of the pack.
That leadership group will look different with Chris Kreider gone to Anaheim and the possibility of Mika Zibanejad moving on as well at some point this summer. That leaves Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, and J.T. Miller up for that role. Not a bad group. But it's still a bit different than the Presidents' Trophy squad a few years ago.
Presidents' Trophy core is still there.
Speaking of that magical 2023-24 team, the core that won the most games in the regular season that year is still with the Blueshirts. Those leaders mentioned above are still here; Alexis Lafrenière is here, and Igor Shesterkin is here. The Rangers are still a playoff team if they can pull it together.
Enter Sullivan, who has a pedigree of coming in and taking a team to the promised land right off the jump. He achieved this feat both in Boston in 2003-04 and, more notably, in Pittsburgh in 2015-16, winning the first of two consecutive Stanley Cups. He is the perfect man for this job and probably the only coach available on the market to fix this 'mess.'
If he can do the improbable and bring this franchise back to life, Jack Adams votes should come flying in at the end of next season. There can be stiff competition if Florida is once again dominant or if Winnipeg can repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners. Still, the Rangers have a whole different setback to overcome.