It's time for the Rangers to embrace a rebuild

That begs the question of effort and chemistry, something it’s clear the Rangers lack. In their last outing against Seattle, Braden Schneider laid out a monster hit to set off the counter attack. The issue? He laid out his own captain, J.T. Miller, sending the Kraken up the ice.

Sure, injuries have hardly helped matters, but the Rangers simply can’t bury the biscuit. Mika Zibanejad has experienced a somewhat resurgent campaign, leading the team with 18 goals, yet their second leading point scorer is on pace for only 73 points. Artemi Panarin, who just recorded his 600^th point in blue, remains a point-per-game player, but he's 34 years old and in the final year of his contract. His play style is also more appropriate for a contender than a struggling side like the Rangers, where his stellar playmaking is too often wasted. Despite both holding no movement clauses, it would behoove Drury to convince his long serving veterans that it’s high-time to shake hands and walk away.

They’re considered culture setters, but this cannot be the culture that New York was expecting from Miller and Vincent Trocheck. Miller has said all of the right things, but injuries and poor form have seen him play career worst hockey. Trocheck, Miller’s childhood friend, has perhaps been the Rangers best skater this season, scoring at close to a career best clip (27 points in 33 games) and maintaining his always excellent work over the dot. That said, he – like Panarin - hasn’t been able to elevate the games of those around him. He, Miller and Zibanejad are all 32 years old. Drury should be selling while they still hold value.

Former No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere is the perfect Rangers avatar. He was brilliant in the Winter Classic, yet in four subsequent appearances, the inconsistent 24-year-old is pointless, with just three shots on goal while posting a putrid -7. He’s earning close to $7.5 million; if Drury can find anyone to take that albatross off his books, he should bite their hand off.

It’s not just floundering players that Drury should look to move. Why keep hold of Shesterkin or Adam Fox? ‘Shesty’ is a superstar, has often stood on his head for his floundering teammates and is in the prime of his career. He doesn’t deserve this drivel and surely doesn’t deserve a rebuild.

Neither does Fox. As per usual, Fox is playing solid defense and scoring at close to a point per game. Still only 27 years old, he remains one of the best blueliners in the world. He would demand a war-chest of picks and young assets should Drury choose to shop him.

What the Rangers are doing isn’t working. It’s time to see what they have in Schneider, Gabe Perrault, Noah Laba, Scott Morrow, Brennan Othmann, Adam Edstrom, Dylan Garrand et al. It’s time for Drury to rebuild. If James Dolan will let him.