How the Rangers’ 2024-25 Season Fell Apart

After a 25-24-5 start to the 2017-18 season, on Feb. 8, 2018, Gorton and team president Glen Sather sent out a letter to the fanbase. In their letter, they announced that the Rangers were beginning a rebuild focused on acquiring young, skilled, and character-driven players. They acknowledged the team’s past successes since 2005 but emphasized that the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup had not been met. While warning that familiar players might be moved, they promised transparency and reaffirmed their commitment to building a future contender.

At the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, the Rangers finished 34-39-9, last in the Metropolitan Division. They missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season and fired head coach Alain Vigneault. The Rangers moved down one slot from the eighth pick to the ninth pick in the draft lottery but had three picks in the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The ninth pick was their own. They received the 22nd pick in a trade with the Senators, sending pick 26, which they had received from the Boston Bruins as part of the Rick Nash trade, and pick 48 to Ottawa. They also held pick 28, which they received from the Lightning in the trade that sent J.T. Miller and former captain Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay.

Building the Prospect Pool

At this point, the Rangers were following the letter. They had traded away some fan favorites, but they had received picks and prospects back. But this is where the story first turns.

With the ninth pick in the 2018 Draft, the Rangers selected Vitali Kravtsov. With pick 22, they selected K’Andre Miller. With pick 28, they selected Nils Lundkvist. The year prior, 2017, the Rangers also had two first-round picks in the NHL Entry Draft. They picked seventh, a pick received from the Arizona Coyotes for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta, and had their own 21st overall selection. With these two picks, they selected Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil.

After these two drafts, the Rangers had begun to build a prospect pool. They had center prospects in Chytil and Andersson, a winger in Kravtsov, and two offensive-minded defensemen in Miller and Lundkvist. In addition, they received Libor Hajek and Brett Howden from the Lightning as part of the McDonagh trade.

Lottery Luck and Big Signings

The Rangers then hired David Quinn as head coach in May of 2018 and got ready for the 2018-19 season. The Rangers finished that season 32-36-14, finishing second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. Mika Zibanejad had a breakout season, putting up 74 points in 82 games. Then, with a stroke of luck, the hockey gods gave the Rangers a gift. They moved up from the sixth pick to the second pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. With that pick, they drafted Kaapo Kakko, a highly touted, pro-ready winger from Finland.

On June 17, the Rangers traded Neal Pionk and the first-round pick they had received from the Winnipeg Jets in the Kevin Hayes deal back to the Jets for defenseman Trouba, whom they signed to the aforementioned eight-year contract. At the time, though, the deal was not viewed negatively. Then, on July 1, the Rangers got lucky again and signed Artemi Panarin to a seven-year deal, one he took less money on to join the Rangers instead of their rivals, the New York Islanders.

Things again were looking good for the rebuild. Andersson had played NHL games and had two solid seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Chytil had a good season in Hartford and then played the entirety of the 2018-19 season with the Rangers. Miller, Kravtsov, and Lundkvist were developing well. Now the Rangers had added a star winger in Panarin and a top prospect in Kakko.

The Shesterkin Era Begins

Going into the 2019-20 season, the Rangers’ rebuild looked like it was coming to an end. Gorton, in three years, with a mix of skill and some luck, had taken a team through a rebuild and come out the other side with a number one center in Zibanejad, whom he had gotten for an aging Derick Brassard and a seventh-round pick. He also got a second-round pick in that trade. He had a defenseman in Trouba coming off a 50-point season, multiple prospects who were developing in Andersson, Chytil, and Kravtsov, a star winger in Panarin coming off an 87-point season, and a hopeful future star in Kakko.

The Rangers finished the first half of the 2019-20 season 19-18-4. On Jan. 7, Igor Shesterkin made his debut in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. This began a hot streak for the Rangers, in which they went 18-10-1 over the next 29 games, pushing toward a playoff spot before the world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When COVID halted the season, winger Pavel Buchnevich was breaking out, Panarin and Zibanejad looked like superstars, newly acquired Adam Fox was having a fantastic rookie season, and Ryan Strome looked like a whole new player.

But the cracks began to show. They were overshadowed by the competitiveness and success of the team just three years after the rebuild letter was sent. Lias Andersson had one point in 17 games and never played another game for the Rangers. Howden and Hajek were not what fans or the organization had hoped they would be. Kakko had a terrible season.

As the situation regarding COVID improved into the summer, the NHL announced it was opting for an expanded playoff format. The Rangers qualified for it but were swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes. But then, the hockey gods looked down on Madison Square Garden again. They won the first pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. After the qualifying round ended, the NHL loaded eight ping pong balls into a random selector, and the Rangers’ ball was selected. With the first pick in the 2020 Draft, the Rangers selected Alexis Lafrenière.

High Hopes, Disappointing Results

The 2021 NHL season was a shortened one, and due to COVID, the divisions were restructured, and teams only played within their division. Fans, the organization, and owner James Dolan had high hopes. The Rangers went 27-23-6, finishing fifth in the East Division. It wasn’t a bad season, but it wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs. To make matters worse, Kakko showed no real improvement, and Lafrenière didn’t have a great rookie season. But there was one bright spot: Fox won the Norris Trophy.

In the final weeks of the season, the Islanders ended the Rangers’ playoff hopes with back-to-back shutout wins. In the next game, Tom Wilson flung Panarin to the ice. He was fined by the NHL Department of Player Safety (DoPS), but not suspended. Dolan vehemently disagreed with the decision and released a statement calling for the firing of DoPS head George Parros.

On May 5, just two days after the incident and within the same week as the brutal losses to the Islanders, Gorton and President John Davidson were fired. Assistant General Manager Chris Drury was promoted. The Rangers closed out the season 1-2-0. Shortly after, Quinn was relieved of his duties. The Rangers picked 16th in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and selected Brennan Othmann. They hired Gerard Gallant as head coach and began preparing for the 2021-22 season.

The Buchnevich Trade

That offseason, Drury made a move that remains one of the most debated among Rangers fans and analysts. He traded Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick. The deal was largely seen as an effort to create lineup space for Lafrenière and Kakko, though that opportunity never fully materialized. The Rangers have been searching for a consistent RW1 option ever since.

A Deep Run

In 2021-22, the Rangers finally broke back into the playoffs, finishing 52-24-6, good for second in the Metropolitan Division. But even in a season filled with success, the cracks remained. Trouba wasn’t living up to his contract. Kakko and Lafrenière were playing third-line minutes with no power-play time. They weren’t playing well, but they also weren’t being given real chances. Miller had a fantastic rookie season, but Lundkvist was struggling.

At the trade deadline, Drury added Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Justin Braun, and Tyler Motte. Braun replaced Patrik Nemeth, a failed signing by Drury. Copp, Vatrano, and Motte slotted in perfectly. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. After falling behind 3-1 in the series, they stormed back, coming from two goals down in Games 5 and 6, and winning the series when Panarin scored an overtime winner in Game 7.

They went on to beat the Carolina Hurricanes in a hard-fought seven-game series and advanced to face the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final. The Rangers won Games 1 and 2 at home. Then came Game 3. The Rangers were up 2-0 in the second period, just 90 minutes away from a 3-0 lead over the defending champions.

Then disaster struck. Trouba took three minor penalties. The Lightning scored on two of them, tying the game, and won in the final minute. The Rangers wouldn’t win another game in the series. It was one of the worst single-player performances in playoff history, and it ended the Rangers’ season.

Still, the 2021-22 campaign was a success.

Star Power, Early Exit

In 2022-23, the regular season was a formality. The Rangers finished 47-22-13, good for third in the Metropolitan Division. At the deadline, they brought in Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, and Niko Mikkola. On paper, this may have been the best Rangers team ever assembled. They looked primed to win the Stanley Cup.

They faced the New Jersey Devils in the first round. After winning the first two games 5-1 in Newark, it looked like the Rangers would cruise to the second round. Then came Game 3. The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second period, but the Devils tied it and won in overtime. The Devils had played an incredible game, and the Rangers a terrible one. But they were still up 2-1, had experience bouncing back, and the Devils were young.

It didn’t matter. The Devils won Game 4 by a score of 3-1 and shut out the Rangers in Game 5. The Rangers came back to win Game 6, but were shut out again in Game 7. It was another blown 2-0 lead in a playoff series.

Gallant was fired. He had been outcoached at every step by the Devils’ Lindy Ruff. Trouba’s first season as captain ended with a collapse. The Rangers began preparing for their next campaign.

Presidents’ Trophy and Another Missed Chance

They hired Peter Laviolette and bounced back, going 55-23-4 and winning the Presidents’ Trophy. They swept the Washington Capitals in the first round and beat the Hurricanes in six games, though if not for Kreider’s third-period heroics, they may have blown a 3-0 lead in that series. Then they went up 2-1 against the Florida Panthers. They did not win another game.

Another season ended. In Game 6, Trouba was at it again, hitting the wrong skater and allowing the Panthers to score their first goal. Another year, another heartbreak. It was clear that changes had to be considered.

The offseason began, and Drury looked to explore trade options for Trouba. The issue, Trouba’s no-movement clause. That clause was set to become a modified no-trade clause on July 1, which would have provided more flexibility. Still, a deal did not come together, and the Rangers entered free agency with limited cap space, missing out on targets like Jake Guentzel.

Hot Start, Sudden Shift

The Rangers accepted the challenge of running it back with much of the same group. They started hot. After six games, they were 5-0-1. After 17 games, they were 12-4-1. They were on track to return to the playoffs and make some noise.

The turning point came after a close loss to the Flames, followed by another defeat to the Oilers. Shortly after, Drury sent a memo to other general managers indicating the Rangers were open to discussions on several veterans, including Trouba and Kreider.

Trouba’s future had been in question since the offseason, but making such intentions public midseason, while the team was in a playoff position, carried risks. The Rangers lost their next three games. Five games later, Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. The Rangers won the game the night of the trade, but momentum didn’t return. At that point, they were 14-10-1, still competitive, but trending downward.

By the end of 2024, the Rangers were 16-19-1. Locker room frustration began to surface. Kakko was traded for Will Borgen. Zac Jones and Jimmy Vesey voiced concerns. Drury looked to shake things up by acquiring J.T. Miller for Chytil.

End of an Era

The Rangers rebounded in January and February, but the gap was too large. They finished the season 39-36-7, missing the playoffs.

Laviolette was relieved of his duties. Drury received an extension. Miller was traded. Kreider was traded.

And just like that, an era came to a close.