New York Rangers will win Stanley Cup before 1994 turns 30

The New York Rangers Stanley Cup drought will not reach 30 years.

If you are a New York Rangers fan right now, you are either excited or cautiously optimistic about the future. Excited because the team is on the upswing and the future is bright, yet cautiously optimistic because you have been down this road many times over the past few decades with the Rangers not winning the ultimate prize.

On the 26th year anniversary of their 1994 Stanley Cup title, I will explain how the Rangers won’t make it to the 30th anniversary without hoisting another Stanley Cup.

This past season, we have seen Artemi Panarin worth every penny of the $11.6 million he earned this year in the first year of his seven-year, $81.5 million deal signed last offseason. Mika Zibanejad has emerged as a true number one center in the NHL, an all situational elite star not seen at that position wearing Broadway Blue since Mark Messier.

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Ryan Strome and Anthony DeAngelo get closer to reaching the potential that made them first-round picks in their respective entry drafts. And we have seen the next generation of solidified great goaltending for this organization with the stellar play of Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev.

The duo is ready to take the Rangers into the next decade of exceptional goaltending carrying the torch of future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist.

Also, seeing bright futures with 2018 second overall pick Kaapo Kakko, surprising rookie star Adam Fox, and Filip Chytil, just to name a few, has to be encouraging for Rangers fans.

The nucleus to build a strong foundation for a Stanley Cup-winning franchise is in place. The Rangers have gone through a complete makeover from their shot-blocking first defensive and strong goaltending scheme with little offensive production that led them to a Stanley Cup appearance in 2014, two Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2012 and 2015, as well as the President’s Trophy in 2015.

The current Rangers unit is built with more exciting offensive productivity from their top 2 lines, a collection of offensive defensemen that can outlet pass the puck up the ice faster from anywhere in the rink and with young, rock-solid goaltending that can withstand a lot of shots a game.

Now, the Rangers are still growing into an elite form. The transition away from icon Henrik Lundqvist has become a sad situation for both himself and the Blueshirts. Also, the fact giving up 40+ shots on goal a game through the defensive and forward corp every night isn’t a sustainable way to succeed in the NHL, especially in the playoffs.

The young promising stars are still developing, as the bottom six forward depth still isn’t enough to contend consistently yet. As a franchise that is still in rebuilding mode, the foundation to get to the next level of constant contender is there.

Even with their success this season, the Rangers currently have a budding farm system with first-round picks K’andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist climbing through the ranks. Libor Hájek and Yegor Rykov add on to a deep up and coming defensive unit.

The Rangers are in a position to build a defense where they will be able to keep the best chemistry pairings once they are developed with the options of packaging the excess through trades to fill other needs, strengthening the forward corps and whatever other needs arise.

Offensive defensemen have tremendous value in the trade market and can fetch huge returns. One example is the Rangers have two first-round draft picks in the upcoming 2020 draft, obtaining a first-round draft pick for Brady Skjei this past deadline.

After the 2020-21 season, the Rangers will be set up with the salary cap flexibility to excel to the next level if they play their cards right. According to Capfriendly.com, the Rangers will have a combined $25 million in cap space available from the expired contacts of Brendan Smith, long-time Rangers stalwarts Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal, the largest dead money hit from the Kevin Shattenkirk buyout, and the completed term of the retained money from trading Ryan Spooner.

No telling what the salary cap ceiling will be that offseason, especially in light of all the lost revenue from the novel coronavirus, but there is a lot that can be done with that extra space to add the missing pieces and complete the transition back to elite Stanley Cup contender.

A lot of decisions will be made between now and through the 2021-2022 season. Decisions will have to be made on RFAs Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo, and Alexandar Georgiev this coming offseason. RFAs Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Lindgren, Filip Chytil, and Igor Shesterkin after the 2020-21 season.

Of course, a lot of unforeseeable variables can and will happen before June 14th, 2024. Jeff Gorton has proven to be a top-notch general manager. When he took over as the general manager of the New York Rangers, he inherited a team with a quickly closing Stanley Cup window, a shallow prospect pool, and a complex, suffocating salary cap situation.

Through dealing popular players such as former captain Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Derick Brassard, he has created an exciting new team on the NHL level with a deep talent pipeline coming up the ranks.

Gorton also hired head coach David Quinn, who has gotten the most of the rebuilding rosters put in front of him. His willingness to bench anyone no matter the star stature or size of the contract through his short time has gained respect throughout the locker room. Improving talent throughout the roster slots in his system only promises better results.

Strong signs of a winning culture being built at Madison Square Garden that only promises to get stronger in the coming seasons. The evidence and resources are there to trust that Gorton and Quinn will complete the organization’s transition back to an elite NHL team.

The Rangers will become a true Cup contender that will be able to beat any other team in its path and will win at least one Stanley Cup title before the 1994 Stanley Cup title turns 30.