Recently, I was rewatching The Dark Knight with my son, who like many grade-school boys is discovering the superhero movies of our youth. I hadn’t seen the film in years and had almost forgotten Harvey Dent’s great quote: “The night is darkest just before the dawn, and I promise you, the dawn is coming.” That line, which is actually lifted from a 17th-century proverb by historian Thomas Fuller, really stuck with me. We can apply this to our New York Rangers season analysis through the halfway mark.

It also made me think about the Rangers season so far. Despite their struggles, this group feels much closer to a team on the verge of competing than one that needs a full rebuild.

Predictably, there’s been a lot of negativity around the team lately. I think the media and preseason coverage inaccurately pegged this group as ready to get back to chasing a Cup this year simply because of a coaching change. That was never realistic. The reality is that the Rangers have been retooling for the past two seasons, and teams in that phase rarely flip a switch midstream.

For the past year and a half, I’ve said the Rangers needed a reset, not a rebuild. The priorities were clear: hire a coach who would bring accountability & zone defense, sign a 1LD, and rebuild the core. Two of those three boxes have been checked. The last one is still a work in progress.

I’m not trying to counter the toxic negativity with blind optimism, but I do believe that moving on from Kreider, Kakko, Trouba, Lindgren, Chytil, and K’Andre Miller in favor of JT, Gavrikov, Laba, Perreault, Borgen, and more minutes for Cuylle are the right moves for both the short and long term. That said, there’s still more work to be done.

As much as I love Panarin, he’s going to get more money, more term, or both from someone this summer, and it can’t be us, especially at age 35. And while I appreciate Zibanejad’s bounce-back season, he’s still not worth his cap hit, and we all know he’s unlikely to be a dominant postseason force.

So where does that leave us?

Unless the Rangers go on an absolute heater and division rivals lose key players during the Olympics, this season is really an audit. That’s not what fans want to hear, but it’s what makes the most sense in the near term.

The goal should be to set the team up to compete for a Cup in 2027 and beyond. In my view, they’re on that path. What they need is to trade some of the surplus playmaking for a true top-tier sniper. Whether that happens at the deadline or over the summer doesn’t matter. I also don’t care if that sniper is a proven veteran or a young, emerging one.

The reality is that the Rangers are now among the top teams in the league at preventing high-danger scoring chances. Last year, they were near the bottom. If that kind of turnaround can happen in one season on one end of the ice, there’s no reason it can’t happen on the other.

Getting there will require some real “hockey trades”. Panarin could bring back meaningful assets. Mika could do the same if he’s willing to waive his no-move clause this summer. And if the organization believes it can get fair value or better for Schneider or Lafreniere, why not explore it?

The meal may not be fully cooked yet, but the ingredients are there. The spine of this team is strong. When JT Miller is healthy, he’s a top-tier forward. Vincent Trocheck is giving the Rangers legitimate 2C production at a major discount. Laba looks like the 3C they’ve desperately needed, and Sam Carrick is exactly the kind of 4C you can win with.

On the back end, Fox and Gavrikov are one of the best pairs in the league. Borgen has stabilized the second pair and has looked excellent in a zone-based system. Schneider is more than capable in a second-pair role, while Soucy and Robertson are solid third-pair defensemen for now. The real question marks are on the wing, and those are easier problems to solve.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about pretending everything is perfect or ignoring the flaws that still exist. It’s about recognizing direction and progress. From a broader New York Rangers season analysis, the progress on defense alone shows how much this team has gained. They finally look like a team building toward something sustainable rather than clinging to nostalgia. If management stays disciplined and resists the urge to chase shortcuts, this group has a real chance to turn the corner the right way.

Patience won’t be easy, but it’s far more likely to pay off than an axe swing at Drury. That would be a decision only born out of panic. Hold fast Rangers fans.

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