The New York Rangers might not be playing in the Stanley Cup Final, but they sure did have a great season. This year they finished second in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 52-24-6, they have a Vezina and Hart Trophy finalist in Igor Shesterkin and a finalist for the Jack Adams in head coach Gerard Gallant.
While the New York Rangers fell short of the Stanley Cup, this was not a disappointing season for the team.
The New York Rangers are a year removed from finishing fifth in the Metro with a record of 27-23-6/ While their season was not horrible, they were definitely still building to something better. Having their first season in the playoffs since 2017 go to the Conference Final is definitely a success story for the Rangers.
The Rangers are a young team. This team is filled with young stars like Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. The kid line from this past season was impressive, and they are only going to get better as time goes on for this team.
This Rangers squad reminds me a lot of the 2009 Chicago Blackhawks. Those Hawks lost in the Western Conference Final to the Detroit Red Wings, a team that had won the Cup the previous season and was one of the best around.
It was a great precursor for those Hawks to get some experience and play in some meaningful hockey games. That is exactly where this young Rangers squad is at and now they could be going on long runs every season.
This team does have a lot of questions this offseason though. Their lineup has a lot of players on expiring deals and only three of them are qualified for RFA status.
Next season the Rangers should be back better than ever and in the meantime, I think Rangers fans can feel alright knowing their squad didn’t lose 7-0 against the Colorado Avalanche in game two of the Stanley Cup Final.
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