For about two years now, the message on this site has been that the 2021-2022 season will be the first season we see the Rangers in true contention. The logic behind the message was sound. The cap hits of seemingly unmovable contracts (Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, Brendan Smith) would be off the books. The high talent kids would hit their stride, and the front office would be able to fill in the gaps along the way.
While the details have changed significantly since that message started, the overall conclusion hasn’t changed. The narrative has been that the Rangers have accelerated the rebuild with a few moves and some luck, but has that truly changed anything?
Accelerating the rebuild
The rebuild was “accelerated” when the Rangers won the draft lottery in 2019 and were able to select Kaapo Kakko. That was compounded by the Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox trades, and the Artemi Panarin signing. These three gave the Rangers something every rebuild needs:
- An elite game breaking forward
- A corner stone defenseman
- A pair of high potential rookies
That was followed up this offseason by yet again winning the draft lottery and selecting Alexis Lafreniere. The Rangers, fresh off a surprising 2019-2020 season which had a number of career years, had to re-sign some key players. In doing so, they were able to shed Marc Staal’s contract and buyout Henrik Lundqvist’s contract.
It’s easy to see how the rebuild could be viewed as accelerated. The Rangers now had a trio of high potential players that weren’t in the organization 18 months prior. These were NHL ready kids to go along with the career seasons from the top half of the roster. In theory, everything was set.
Limiting factors
Time and cap space are always factors in a rebuild. The Rangers had neither, partially their own doing and partially out of their control. COVID limited adjustment times for not just Kakko and Lafreniere, but guys like Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren as well.
Igor Shesterkin this year has solidified himself as the #1 goalie going forward, but that was still an unknown heading into the season. The defense, at the opening of the season, was considered an area to watch. Tony DeAngelo was going to have to repeat his 2019-2020 season, with Lindgren and K’Andre Miller showing they can be relied upon in big roles.
While cap space played a role in bringing in additional talent to take the roster to the next level, it was truly just time. Outside of adding Lafreniere this season, the Rangers brought back the same roster with additional questions. If anything, 2021 was a transition season, handing the reins to the next generation of Rangers leaders.
Another note: The expansion draft played a role in when to sign and/or trade for players with contracts. The drama on the team didn’t help either.
What’s next?
The 2021 offseason is a big one for the Rangers if they are to be in true contention in 2021-2022. They have a ton of cap space to sign a big name to a short term deal, as their cap crunch doesn’t really begin until 2023-2024 when Lafreniere and Miller need new deals. That would be on top of all the other kids and Mika Zibanejad needing new deals prior, plus the flat cap.
Next year the Rangers benefit from another year under all the current crop of kids’ belts. Plus they get another rookie or two in Vitali Kravtsov, Nils Lundkvist, Braden Schneider, Matthew Robertson, etc. There are so many kids with high potential coming, that there aren’t even enough roster spots for them.
This is also the offseason to add a legitimate player to their depth, as again they have the cap space and the assets to do so. Is it Jack Eichel? Maybe. Is it someone else? Probably.
The Rangers did the hardest part: They added top level talent from within their own system (and Panarin). Now it’s about filling in the gaps with the right players to make a run. The 2021-2022 season looks to be the first year of true contention for the Rangers, assuming they do things right this offseason.
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