It’s no secret that the 2024-25 season has not been kind to the Recent York Rangers. For the primary time in years, the Blueshirts are on the skin looking in for a playoff berth with just over a month left within the season.
And as The Athletic’s Arthur Staple speculated shortly after the NHL trade deadline, the roster could look quite a bit different next 12 months — no matter how the last 18 regular-season games go.
“The in-season work is completed. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to do. Actually, for the Rangers to return to the team they’ve been the last three years — two Eastern Conference finals, determined buyers on the deadline — the work probably gets harder for [general manager Chris] Drury,” Staple wrote.
The hockey insider continued: “For any form of flexibility, the campaign Drury began last June with the waiving of Barclay Goodrow has to proceed. It means renewing that November text to see if anyone wants [Chris] Kreider, whose season has been compromised by quite a lot of injuries. Failing to seek out a trade might mean considering a buyout.
“It means seeing if Mika Zibanejad, despite his rejuvenated play since JT Miller arrived, can be willing to waive his no-move clause to seek out a brand new home — and finding a team to tackle five more years of that buyout-proof contract.”
Kreider has two years remaining on his contract with a $6.5 million cap hit, while Zibanejad carries an $8.5 million AAV through 2029-30 together with a full no-movement clause.
It would definitely be interesting if Drury moved on from two of an important pieces of the core in Kreider and Zibanejad over the summer. But for the 31-27-6 Rangers, it’s clear that something needs to vary, especially as management shall be strapped tight to the salary cap ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Rangers battling for his or her playoff lives as stretch run heats up
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Because it stands, Recent York is just two points back of the Ottawa Senators for the ultimate wildcard berth within the Eastern Conference, and 6 back of the Recent Jersey Devils for third place within the Metropolitan Division.
But after a return to form within the month of February, the group is struggling yet again; the Rangers have lost three games in a row, including a few crushing defeats to the Sens and Columbus Blue Jackets over the weekend.
It is going to take a herculean effort for this team to sneak in during the last 18 games, and Kreider and Zibanejad are going to be critical pieces of that quest.
With the conference continuing to be a logjam — there are six playoff-hopeful teams all inside five points within the standings — the probably scenario is that Recent York misses the postseason for the primary time since 2020-21.
If that happens, it is likely to be time for Drury to contemplate a retool, and that could lead on to some of heart and soul forwards in Kreider and Zibanejad getting a change of scenery.
Recent York will proceed the playoff push over a three-game road trip that begins against the Jets in Winnipeg on Tuesday and continues in Minnesota on Thursday and Columbus on Saturday night.
