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Five years after 'The Letter,' Rangers rebuild a roaring success
The New York Rangers shake hands after defeating the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden. Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Five years after 'The Letter,' Rangers rebuild a roaring success

By Josh Kestenbaum  |  Last updated 2/9/23

Five years ago, on Feb. 8, 2018, the New York Rangers released a correspondence to their fans announcing a rebuild. This came to be called “The Letter” by the Rangers faithful.

Now, half a decade later, it is clear that The Letter – and what followed – was a success.

In the immediate aftermath of The Letter, the Rangers trimmed their roster by shipping out many important pieces from playoff runs. At the 2018 trade deadline, New York traded its captain, defenseman Ryan McDonagh, as well as forwards Rick Nash and J.T. Miller.

The next season saw fan-favorite forward Mats Zuccarello dealt to Dallas and forward Kevin Hayes to Winnipeg.

In the 2020 offseason, the last and largest dominoes of the teardown fell. The Rangers sent defenseman Marc Staal, who was drafted by New York in 2005 and had played 892 games for the Blueshirts, to Detroit. The team bought out star goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the franchise leader in games played, wins and shutouts.

Like all well-executed rebuilds, the Rangers were collecting important assets while sending out key roster players. 

The trade that sent Nash to Boston brought in defenseman Ryan Lindgren and a pick that would be used to trade up to select defenseman K’Andre Miller, both of whom are key top-four pieces on New York's blue line.

McDonagh and Miller were dealt to Tampa Bay for a package that included a first-round pick that was used to draft defenseman Nils Lundkvist. The Rangers have since flipped Lundkvist for another first-rounder this year.

In the 2019 offseason, New York brought in three pivotal members of their current roster: star forward Artemi Panarin and defensemen Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox. Panarin has scored over a point per game for the Rangers and finished third in MVP voting in his first season. Trouba is now the captain and Fox already has one Norris Trophy on his resume and is poised to possibly add another one this season.

The Rangers have also hit with their own draft picks and gotten a bit lucky. 

New York selected forward Vitali Kravtsov ninth overall in 2018. The ping pong balls bounced the Rangers’ way in 2019 and 2020, giving New York the second and first overall picks.

New York selected forward Kaapo Kakko in 2019 and forward Alexis Lafrenière in 2020. Defenseman Brayden Schneider was also taken in the first round in 2020.

Kakko and Lafrenière are now playing on a line with 2017 first-round pick Filip Chytil and are blossoming and making a huge impact.

Kravtsov is having a hard time cracking the lineup but has explosive potential and Schneider is playing solid minutes on New York’s bottom pairing.

The way the New York Rangers look in 2022-23 is largely built by how the organization acted in the aftermath of The Letter.

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