#new-york-rangers

#new-york-rangers

When talking about New York Rangers history, you cannot ignore the many incredible goalies throughout the team's history. None were better in their careers than Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist did just about everything a goalie could do in their careers except for completing the ultimate task: winning the Stanley Cup. It seems Igor Shesterkin is suffering the same fate as his predecessor as well, with the Rangers being a complete train wreck in front of him.

The New York Islanders and Rangers shocked the hockey world this week when they agreed to a trade. The Islanders acquired Carson Soucy from the Rangers in exchange for a third-round pick. It was the first time in 2010 that the two traded, and only the fourth time in history. It appears that Mathieu Darche and Chris Drury do not have the same hesitation about trading with each other as previous regimes.

Ondrej Palat scored in his team debut, and the New York Islanders ran roughshod over the crosstown rival Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. Palat also recorded an assist just over 24 hours after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils for Max Tysplakov. Simon Holmstrom posted a goal and two assists, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his third goal in the last two games in a two-point effort.

The Rangers won a game. And they deserved to win the game. It's so nice to see wins every now and then, even if we do want the best odds possible at a top pick. The young guns played extremely well as Jonathan Quick rebounded after a rough 5 games. The icing on the cake was Matthew Robertson's game winner, showcasing a new trick as he drove the net in overtime and slid the puck between Joonas Korpisalo's legs for the win.

It is a chore to watch the Rangers this season. The game was over a minute into the game as Macklin Celebrini scored a power play goal after Mika Zibanejad took a rare penalty in the opening minute. It was a rare misstep by Zibanejad this season, as he's still the best Rangers forward this season. After carrying the entire offense in January, an off night is ok, but the rest of the team continued to take game nights off.

The New York Rangers are embarking on their second iteration of a letter-inspired retool-let's be honest, rebuild is more apt-and much like the last time, veterans on expiring contracts or valuable contracts must beware. The Rangers-Chris Drury-made it very clear in the letter that the goal is not to tear apart the team. The logical assumption is that the majority of players under the age of, say, 27, will remain on the roster past the trade deadline, but I argue that everyone should be on the table, and both Braden Schneider and Will Cuylle should be traded.

As the Olympic roster freeze nears, more and more players are rumored to be available. One that caught our attention was Shane Wright in Seatlle, who would be the perfect Rangers trade target. Seattle is rumored to be dangling Wright in exchange for a "legitimate top six threat," which the Rangers just so happen to have available right now. As Chris Drury wants the Rangers to become younger and faster, it's hard to find a more perfect Rangers trade target

What started out as a great looking game quickly turned into a dominating performance by Anaheim, who feasted all night on the Rangers in transition and off turnovers. The shorthanded Rangers were exposed, with Anaheim taking advantage of Braden Schneider on the top pair and Spencer Martin in net. No one likes losses, but the Rangers tank rolled on with a regulation loss to a team that was behind them in the standings just one week ago.

Over the weekend, general manager Chris Drury confirmed what everyone already knew: The Rangers are going to sell leading up to the NHL's March 6 trade deadline. That makes the likes of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere available. But this isn't a full-scale rebuild. The organizational pieces like goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox have Drury using the term re-tool, which still is not what Sullivan was expecting to walk into when he took the Blueshirts' job in the offseason.

When Chris Drury made the trade last season for JT Miller to re-join the New York Rangers, the logic was simple, if mildly flawed. Miller is a fiery personality who doesn't accept losing, and the Rangers were doing plenty of losing. Additionally, Miller came at the cost of an oft-injured third line center, a bottom pair defenseman, and a first round draft pick.

While most fans, myself included, are hoping for a real Rangers rebuild, I have zero faith in Chris Drury to actually execute things properly and get this team back on track. Everything Drury has done since he helped twist the knife in the back of Jeff Gorton and usurp power at MSG has led the Rangers down a bad road towards a rebuild. It starts off with the Pavel Buchnevich trade and then only continued to spiral.

I came into this season with an open mind. Mike Sullivan has the ability to take a very mediocre team and make it better. I expected the Rangers to rebound and make the playoffs due to a weak conference, even if this was viewed as a transition season. But there's a bleak Rangers future, and it's something very few of us anticipated. The Rangers weren't supposed to be this bad, even in a transition year.

The Rangers have recalled forward Brennan Othmann again. To make space, Anton Blidh was returned to the AHL. Othmann was reassigned on New Year's Day after the first wave of 2026 injuries that included Noah Laba and Conor Sheary. His reassignment then was due to bonuses in his contract making it impossible to keep him on the roster and still be cap compliant.

They are not a team. They are a collection of individuals. When you watch other teams around the league, their players do not act like the Rangers players do. Leaders taking unsportsmanlike penalties instead of back checking, not skating hard to loose pucks with an empty net, and the overall mopey attitude once down a goal are all unique to the Rangers.

Live From the Blue Seats is back at it tonight after the Buffalo game, returning to our normal schedule after shifting things around during the holidays. Rob, Dave, and Producer JL will talk the Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin injuries, what it means for the short term, how it impacts their plans the rest of the season, and how the Rangers should approach the next month or so before the Olympics.