The New York Rangers have been adamant about the fact that the organization is just retooling. The current roster turnover is by no means a rebuild.
All right, fair enough. The team is looking to turn on a dime after two tough playoff misses. The moves this summer certainly point towards a retool and not a rebuild. And that’s why the plan is now entering its “prove it” phase.
The Rangers added a high-end scorer in Pavel Dorofeyev and secondary scoring in Oliver Bjorkstrand. The club has also solidified its blueline with Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi. Heck, the club also brought in goaltending insurance with Joonas Korpisalo.
But the bottom line is that these moves, plus the incoming youth movement, have to pay off. While the Blueshirts might not come scorching out of the gate, the team has to prove it has the legs to remain in the playoff hunt all season long.
This discussion isn’t about a marginal improvement. It’s about demonstrating that the plan is ready to bear fruit. After all, it’s a retool. As such, the results have to be instantaneous. There’s no five-year waiting period or anything like that.
The moves have to pay off now. That’s what Chris Drury promised.
What if Rangers retool flops?
The time for speculation about moves and whatnot is drawing to a close. The organization could still make another move or two before the start of training camp. These moves could be around the fringes, aiming to deliver depth to the roster.
But the bottom line is that this core has to deliver. And if it doesn’t, madness could break out. Another start like last season would be the death knell for the retool. Starting the season with three shutouts at home could lead to intense pressure on the team to do something.
That something would have to be a massive sell-off leading to rebuild talk.
If there were another way the organization could have significantly transformed the roster, it would have done that, by now. But the fact is that options are extremely limited as we speak.
Everything would be better if the retool just works
Things would be so much better off if the retool just worked. A return to the playoffs would ease the demands from the Rangers’ fan base. Moreover, it would buy Drury some much-needed breathing room to make further improvements to the club.
Yes, the situation isn’t quite as simple as that. But seeing the moves pay off early in the season will do wonders to ease the overall pressure on the organization.
The alternative is much worse. It would be nothing short of a nightmare scenario for New York. So, there’s really no other way around. The moves have to work one way or another.
To be sure, the Rangers should be better next season. The moves have been substantial enough to lift the team from the bottom five in the league.
The major question mark will be whether the moves will be sufficient to turn the team back into a playoff contender.
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