The New York Rangers are not having the year they would have wanted in Mike Sullivan’s debut season. But that doesn’t mean the NHL should leave the club for dead at the side of the road.
According to Rangers owner James Dolan, the rest of the league should be wary of the Blueshirts.
During a rare interview on Monday, Dolan issued a stern warning to the rest of the NHL. The Athletic quoted Dolan as stating:
“Don’t give up on my team this year.”
The comments underscore the belief Dolan has in his club pulling together and going on a strong run.
There’s good reason to believe that could be the case. The Rangers’ win in the Winter Classic is a sign of just what the team can do. They blew out a no-show Florida Panthers team in their backyard.
That game encapsulates the comments Dolan made regarding the Rangers’ season:
“They play pretty well, and then they have these moments where things go bad. They find it hard to pull themselves up. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. They just have to learn to do it. They have to believe in themselves.”
While the bad times have been more frequent than fans and the media would like, the Rangers have managed to find ways to win. They’ve hung around the playoff race all season long. Fortunately, the apparent parity in the Eastern Conference has given struggling contenders like the Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and New Jersey Devils a chance to remain in the playoff mix.
Dolan gives Rangers’ GM a vote of confidence
One of the major takeaways from Dolan’s interview is the vote of confidence he gave Rangers GM Chris Drury. Dolan stated the following about his incumbent GM:
“Chris Drury is a winner and competitor. He can’t stand to lose.”
The firm pat on the back is a sign that no major changes will be forthcoming on Broadway. While the answer is certainly politically correct, there’s no sense in chucking Drury under the bus. There’s only so much Drury can do with the cap constraints befalling all NHL GMs.
Then again, much of the current situation is Drury’s doing. But there’s one significant justification in Drury’s favor. The Rangers’ 2023-24 Presidents’ Trophy season does not seem like an outlier. If anything, it seems like that’s the ceiling for this club. As such, the goal is to unlock the latent talent in the team.
That’s something Dolan underscored by stating:
“I think the team from last year didn’t really believe in themselves, and that made it hard.”
The situation led to Peter Laviolette’s dismissal. Thus, the Rangers organization is preaching patience. Dolan summed up this stance by concluding:
“You have to be patient.”
Patience, unfortunately, is not a luxury the team has. But the pieces are there for contention. So, it could just be a matter of time before the Rangers make good on their ceiling.