That's all she wrote. The New York Rangers will not be making it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as their 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night sealed their fate. A regulation loss has eliminated the Rangers.
It was going to happen eventually, and with it happening in the 72nd game of the season, now there is a 10-game tryout for a ton of up-and-coming prospects to get their chance. Now is time for evaluation and preperation, as all eyes shift toward the remaining games to not have much meaning.
It was a rough year
There is no denying that this has been a tough season for the Rangers. It was underwhelming, surrounded by incredible bad timing and bad decisions. Head coach Mike Sullivan tried his best to put out a competitive lineup, but the vibe around this team was not overly positive for much of the season.
Looking back, the real twist of the knife came when both Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Igor Shesterkin and Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox, both went to the injured reserve at the same time. That is just a nuke to your lineup, and it is really tough to try and win games when your two best players are in the press box.
A close second to that was the many record-setting performances this season. Well, the wrong records to have. The Rangers opened up the season without scoring a goal in the first three games at Madison Square Garden, setting an NHL record. And then, most recently, they were nearly the first team in NHL history to register a single-digit shot total in a full game against Ottawa, as they were awarded an extra shot on goal after the game was over to make it 10.
Of course, the Letter 2.0 signaled the unofficial end for this season. That directly resulted in the trade of Artemi Panarin to Los Angeles, and bringing back a solid prospect in Liam Greentree.
There was a lot that happened in 2025-26, and there is still a lot more to digest in the last 10 games. Will Gabe Perreault continue his ascension to greatness? Will Dylan Garand get a bulk of the starts going forward? Which pending free agents are playing as hard as they can to get a new, bigger deal this summer?
The silver lining in all of this... the Rangers' draft odds are looking decent as they hold down the No. 2 spot on the tankathon board. The loss against Toronto gives them a 13.5 percent chance of drafting No. 1 overall, and if they hold their spot the rest of the way, the worst they can draft is No. 4 overall.