3 NY Rangers players who surprised us in an unforgettable 2023-24 season
The NY Rangers snagged the Presidents’ Trophy to cap off an unforgettable season, and one they hope to end with a Stanley Cup this time around.
The New York Rangers showed us that they were the NHL’s best team in 2023-24, winning the Presidents’ Trophy and setting the stage for what could be a deep playoff run. But the Presidents’ Trophy has a “cursed” history recently, and you have to go back to the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks for the last time a team “swept” the regular season and the postseason.
Even worse, we have seen all but one team in the ensuing years even play beyond the Second Round, but luckily for Rangers fans, we all know who that team was - the 2014-15 squad. So, although the so-called “regular season champions,” in a manner of speaking, haven’t fared well, the Blueshirts can be that team to break the curse.
One reason comes from the fact that some of their best players enjoyed either surprisingly elite performances all season or regained their elite ways later on. And we will talk about those three players today, but not before we make one honorable mention.
NY Rangers won Presidents’ Trophy thanks to some surprising performances
Jonathan Quick is one player who deserves recognition since, for a while, he didn’t look like he would regain form in his age-38 season. But that wasn’t the case, as Quick became one of the league’s best backup goaltenders, and perhaps the best backup in the Eastern Conference, ending the year with a 0.911 save percentage, a 2.62 GAA, two shutouts, plus a more than respectable 18-6-2 record.
Overall, you couldn’t ask for much more out of Quick, and he will continue to serve the backup role in the NHL Playoffs as a sound insurance policy for starter Igor Shesterkin. Now that we got the honorable mention out there, which three Rangers players were the biggest surprises in 2023-24?