The Latest York Rangers find themselves buried in last place within the Eastern Conference because the season moves well into the second half. The Rangers didn’t make the playoffs last 12 months they usually are a great distance from contending for a spot in the highest eight of the Eastern Conference this season. Consequently, team president and general manager Chris Drury sent a letter to the team’s fans saying the Rangers will likely be “retooling” in an effort to present the team a greater probability to win in the longer term.
Head coach Mike Sullivan was hired after the conclusion of last 12 months’s disappointing season. The Rangers had jettisoned previous head coach Peter Laviolette with the hope that a brand new voice could provide the inspiration to show things around. That has not happened, because the Rangers went into their Saturday afternoon game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 20-22-6 record.
The Rangers have lost 5 games in a row and own a 2-6-2 mark of their last 10 games. They suffered a shocking 10-2 defeat January 10 at Boston and an 8-4 home defeat to the struggling Ottawa Senators followed. Drury sent the letter to the fans after the loss to the Senators.
Rangers will try and trade established veterans
Sullivan understands that the team will likely be seeking to trade some established stars with a view to gain young and talented players in addition to future prospects.
“It’s probably a reasonably common sensical statement to suggest that if you don’t meet expectations otherwise you haven’t got success, then change is inevitable in pro sports,” Sullivan said, per NHL.com. “We’re all human beings. All of us understand the business. All of us understand the sport.”
Drury has already spoken to Artemi Panarin, and told him that a future contract with the Rangers is just not going to be offered and the team will make every effort to trade him. After scoring a goal in the primary period of Saturday’s game at Philadelphia, Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 points.