RangersTown: A place where promises are kept... and the future is bright

Midway through the 2017-2018 season, the New York Rangers front office wrote a letter to their loyal fan-base. The basic message behind this letter was this: we are rebuilding, not because our current team is so unskilled, but because we have the humility to admit it isn't young, fast (compared to the modern NHL), or talented enough to win the Stanley Cup. Decisions like this are challenging to come by in sports, and rarely ever admitted so bluntly to the main people supporting the revenue stream. It was unexpected, disappointing to some, and nerve-racking to others... but in the end, it was necessary. The Rangers promised this would not be years and years of futility, but rather a quick 180 where the team flips a lot of household names for immediate draft picks and prospects. Still, for a franchise that had tremendous success making the playoffs, but very little winning during it in recent history... not to mention a city that demands championships... the decision came with risk and uncertainty. Some doubted whether general manger Jeff Gorton was the right man to lead to rejuvenation. Others wondered how many years long-time fan favorite goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, had left in New York. The front-runners surely jumped ship, the unfaithful surely turned their backs, but the true Blueshirt supporters remained. In only a year and a half, we have already been rewarded, and the feeling is phenomenal.

NY Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton. Photo Credit: Newsday

Let's rewind to February, 2018. The Rangers had already dealt Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the Coyotes earlier this season, and playoff hopes were growing slim. Even if the Rangers made the playoffs, the fear of a first round trouncing hanged over all our heads, being that it had become commonplace in the previous couple seasons. Still, we believed (as the best fans always do, however foolish it may be), and then the letter came out. The playoff streak was not likely to continue, and Alain Vigneault's time in Manhattan seemed all but finished. Players like Nick Holden, Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, JT Miller, and captain Ryan McDonagh were traded shortly after. The Lightning trade was a bombshell that many struggled with, but when looked at with a clear mind, the return was MASSIVE. In those combined deals, the Rangers acquired prospects Yegor Rykov, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, and Ryan Lindgren as well as younger NHL players Vlad Namestnikov and Ryan Spooner (flipped for Ryan Strome later on), and a haul of draft picks (two 2018 1st's, a 2018 2nd and 3rd, a 2019 2nd, and a 2019 7th). It was hard to grasp the magnitude of these moves when they were first made, but now in July of 2019, the deals look masterful. When you consider that the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils have not won a championship after these trades, and most of the players the Rangers gave up excluding Ryan McDonagh are no longer even with the teams they were traded to, it looks like Jeff Gorton fleeced them all. Obviously with rental players, the risks are always large, I'm aware of that, so Gorton and the GM gaining prospects generally wins deals like this unless the other team writes their names on the Cup... but still you never know how good the prospects will be. From all reports, majority of the 2018 deadline gets will be solid NHL players. In 2019, the Rangers had less veterans to get rid of at the deadline, but did trade Mats Zuccarello (another fan favorite), Kevin Hayes, and Adam McQuaid. Adding another 1st and 2nd rounder in 2019, as well as a 4th and a 7th, and a 2020 3rd and 2022 4th has already begun to pay dividends.

Trade and sign acquisition Jacob Trouba, top class defenseman from Winnipeg. Photo Credit: NHL.com

For starters, the 1st rounder nabbed from Winnipeg for Kevin Hayes was sent right back (a complete waste for the Jets as they were bumped in the first round of the postseason) in a deal for Jacob Trouba, the Rangers new top defenseman. Trouba and Winnipeg couldn't figure out a contract, but he was happy to travel to New York. Similarly, highly talked-about prospect Adam Fox (defenseman out of Harvard) was uninterested in signing with the Carolina Hurricanes. Gorton jumped all over this situation too, making a deal to bring Fox to Madison Square Garden for future 2nd and 3rd rounders. Today, New York signed top free agent scorer Artemi Panarin to a seven year deal worth almost 82 million, he plays a role the current team was severely lacking. The job done by Jeff Gorton and former president of operations Glen Sather (whatever role he may have had in it before stepping down) was tremendous, and could be celebrated as one of the fastest rebuilds in recent sports history, on par with Cashman and the Yankees a few years ago, or Andy Reid's Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, should these players have the success that they are projected to.

Brand new Team President John Davidson helps bring over a familiar face from Columbus, key free agent acquisition Artemi Panarin. Photo Credit: Elite Sports NY

The changes haven't stopped at player personnel, they have come in the front office as well. Enter David Quinn, a youthful creative mind with a knack for mentoring younger players at Boston University as their head coach from 2013-2018. Vigneault's replacement was the opposite of him in every way. Alain was a stalwart of the league with mountain's of experience and success on his resume, but he wasn't great with prospects and he didn't seem too interested in a fresh start or a roster turnover. Quinn was an NHL rookie head coach, like many of his players, and he seemed to blend with them immediately as last year's team surprised most of the way, winning more games than expected. Quinn will have a lot more weapons next season, and even more the year after, I look for his coaching prowess to grow with this young core... the possibilities seem endless. As mentioned above, Glen Sather did step down as Team President. He is another tough man to fill the shoes of, with a career that is bursting with accolades, but Gorton didn't back down from this task either. This season, John Davidson, a former Ranger player who has already turned around two franchises in St. Louis and Columbus as President, will team with Gorton. To me, this team could not be in safer hands, as the Blues have just won a Stanley Cup (some of that due to the foundation set in place by Davidson), and the Blue Jackets are one of the more promising upstart teams in the league with a plethora of young talent. By the way, there's heavy speculation that he was a major factor in signing Panarin, which is an immediate impact from Davidson. The transition at President speaks to the new theme: the rebuild is almost over, now the focus shifts to championships.

2019 #2 overall Kaapo Kakko (Finland) dresses in Rangers gear for the first time. Photo Credit: NY Times

With any dynasty though, you need a face. Obviously the Rangers have a long way to go and much to prove before becoming a dynasty, but still a new fresh face is needed if you want to change the narrative. Henrik was the old face (still needed but no longer being built around), Trouba and Panarin are great fits but not homegrown, Mika Zibanjed has become a team leader but still wasn't drafted by us. Well in 2019, a little bit of luck gave us our missing piece. New York finished second in the NHL Draft Lottery (a major upgrade from their initial spot), landing us Kaapo Kakko (an elite Finnish prospect at the forward position that could be NHL ready as soon as this season). With only two definite studs (judged by analysts) in the 2019 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers were the big winners at one and two. Jack Hughes was selected ahead of Kakko, but Rangers Town was perfectly fine with either of the two, and honestly the game-ready winger might actually be the better fit for us. This year, we also drafted D Matthew Robertson, C Karl Henriksson, D Zachary Jones, D Hunter Skinner, RW Leevi Aaltonen, C Adam Edstrom, and RW Eric Ciccolini (none of which will suit up in blue anytime soon, but names to keep in the back of your head). The more relevant prospects besides Kakko, Fox, Hajek, Howden, Chytil, Andersson, Rykov, and Lindgren... all either playing already or mentioned above... include; LW Vitali Kravtsov (9th overall pick in 2018), D K'Andre Miller (22nd overall pick in 2018), D Nils Lundkvist (28th overall pick in 2018), RW Jake Elmer (a rising prospect acquired by the Rangers), G Igor Shestyorkin (2014 4th rounder and star goaltender for the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg), D Joey Keane (2018 3rd rounder), RW Tim Gettinger (2016 5th rounder), and more. The depth and potential has easily grown to become one of the best in the league, which is incredible being that the Rangers' farm system was a barren wasteland three seasons ago. With more familiar faces like Jimmy Vesey continuing to be sent packing and maybe one or two more smaller additions in store, the excitement level for Rangers hockey should be at its highest point since our last Cup appearance in 2014, and I for one am appreciative that this franchise made the decision to revamp this roster and do things the correct way. I never dreamed the results would be this quick, or this prosperous, but I just want to say thank you to all the the Rangers front office brass, Jeff Gorton chief among them... thank you. Finally, a team I root for that I can rely on, appreciate, and trust with my love and support as a fan. Now let's keep this momentum going, and for the love of God, let's get King Henrik's name on the Cup before he retires. LET'S GO RANGERS!