New York Rangers fans are in the midst of the dog days of August, and right now is all about winding down the clock of what's been another very long offseason after missing the playoffs yet again. In September the Rangers will start another journey looking to snap a drought that's been ongoing since 1994. New York had a busy summer with some moves that should make the team better, but the general public still doesn't like the franchise's long-term outlook. The Athletic received nearly 20,000 responses in a recent survey, and the Rangers were on a shortlist of teams most likely to continue disappointing their fans.
The general public doesn't like the Rangers' future outlook
While the Rangers didn't have the worst overall odds, they still received enough votes to be included in The Athletic's bar chart.
The Athletic asked fans: Which team are you most confident will NOT win a Stanley Cup before 2036? 🤔 👀 pic.twitter.com/E9C9ARpvOH
— NHL Forum (@NHLxForum) August 8, 2026
Reasons why pessimism is justified
In all honesty, it isn't that surprising to see the Rangers ranked here based on the fact they missed the playoffs two years in a row. They also have a pretty volatile roster that lacks star power at center, a promising wing core that needs to prove their abilities, a defense that should be good but is still pretty new, and Igor Shesterkin in net who will turn 31 in December.
They are also three years removed from a Presidents' Trophy winning season, and last year they announced their intentions to retool through the Letter 2.0. Artemi Panarin was the team's most productive offensive player, and he was traded for an underwhelming return.
There are many different ways the Rangers could figure it out this season and make the playoffs, but making the playoffs (≠) winning the Stanley Cup. When looking at the Rangers, there are a lot of "if's", and the volume of those could play a role in why people feel the team is doomed for the next decade.
Some of these include: what if Adam Fox gets hurts again, what if Pavel Dorofeyev struggles without Jack Eichel, what if J.T. Miller is truly washed, what if Alexis Lafrenière's end to season was a mirage, what if Gabe Perreault is just OK, what if Mike Sullivan isn't the guy the Rangers truly need, and so on. In fairness, every team in the NHL has their own fair share of "if's". And pointing out the Rangers situation isn't about being all doom and gloom, rather, it is being realistic.
The organization doesn't have the most exciting prospect pool, and most of the team's top players are at a point in their career that you'd describe as their prime or the tail end of their prime. When you consider how poorly the team has played, the lack of elite prospects, and the uncertainty regarding how good their young forward could be, it stands to reason that the public isn't backing them to snap their drought.
Reasons to be hopeful
Even with all of that said, history has shown that sometimes a team just needs to make the playoffs, and then anything can happen. And to that point, as many "if's" as there are, you can look at things through the opposite lens of them working out just as easily. This is not to assign a percentage likelihood to each example, but not everything should go as poorly as it has the previous two seasons. If that continues for a third season... then the Rangers truly have a problem.
With that being said, Shesterkin has been tough as nails in the playoffs for the Rangers, and any series he's available to play is one the Rangers have a great chance to win. Fox was limited to 55 games this past season, but he was absolutely sensational when he was on the ice for the Rangers.
Lafrenière still needs to prove that he can be a top scorer in the league, but the fact that he was playing his best hockey outside of Panarin's shadow should quell some of the fears fans have about his abilities. Perreault is about to start his sophomore season, and that he played as well as he did as a rookie on a really bad team should be inspiring.
There's reasons to be skeptical of Dorofeyev, but he showed up when it mattered most in the playoffs. To completely tie his success to Eichel or other players on the Golden Knights sells him extremely short. Fans should be cautious, but he's still a very talented and exciting young player.
Alberts Smits was drafted at No. 5 overall, and he could end up being exactly what the team needed on defense. He drew rave reviews playing against older and stronger compeititon internationally, especially at the Olympics, and having him as someone who can eventually carry the load with Fox will make the Rangers better.
That's why they play the games
The Rangers drought will continue to feel insurmountable the longer it goes, but droughts eventually snap. The New York Knicks are proof positive of that. Now that's an organization people felt was truly destined to wallow in mediocrity forever.
The Rangers enter the season looking to prove a lot of people wrong, and getting off a hot start is critical. The moves made should certainly raise the floor at a minimum, and it should be pretty apparent early whether or not those same moves will have raised their ceiling as well.
The roster starting this season looks to be better than the one that started last year. Things can look good on paper, but that's why they play the games.
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