Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
We saw certain flaws with this New York Rangers roster rear their heads last playoffs: lack of depth scoring down the lineup, and some defensive holes. But there was nothing truly damning.
Management tried to address this during the offseason by trying to trade captain Jacob Trouba.
The problem? They gave him a contract with so much control that he could turn down plenty of potential destinations, and his expensive contract wasn’t in high demand with so many competitive teams so close to the salary cap.
So, the vibes of your captain on a failed trading block aren’t great headed into the season.
The start was fine. Igor Shesterkin was great to begin his contract year, Alexis Lafreniere continued to break out, and the team was winning. Then suddenly, it felt like the wind was knocked out of them entirely.
They weren’t scoring, they were collapsing when they did, and reports started surfacing about trading Trouba and veteran Chris Kreider. That didn’t appear to motivate anyone, so Trouba is now with the Ducks in return for Urho Vaakanainen, while Kreider is still on the team and the Rangers are still struggling badly.
They are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games, including a recent loss to the league-worst Blackhawks. They are 14-12-1 overall and currently out of a playoff position.
It’s hard to know where they go from here, but maybe publicly putting two leaders on the trade block and sort of sitting back wasn’t the right move.
