Chris Drury’s Rangers have become the laughing stock of the East.
The Rangers’ GM traded Artemi Panarin to the Kings Wednesday afternoon for an underwhelming prospect and two mid round draft picks. It was reported that Panarin had identified LA as his preferred destination, and the Rangers had to take what they could get in a zero leverage situation.
With that, the franchise leader in points per game leaves town after the better part of seven seasons in New York, averaging 1.26 PPG. That’s more than Jagr, Messier, and Gretzky during their stints in New York.
This doesn’t signal the end of an era. The era you might think just ended had already ended over a year ago. Chris Drury decided after the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals that he would systematically dismantle the team he inherited, and build a new one that suits his vision. The process of gutting the team to the studs started last season with moves that saw Kreider, Chytil, Kakko, Lindgren, and Trouba all dealt throughout the season, and the first domino fell in the prior summer, when Barclay Goodrow was claimed by the Sharks.
With Panarin gone, the last domino likely to fall is Vincent Trocheck, and perhaps Braden Schneider. With those two gone, the entire core group that made the two conference final runs in three years will be gone, save for Zibanejad, Lafreniere, Fox, and Shesterkin. After the trade deadline, all that will be left to look forward to is the Draft. After the draft, and two full seasons of tearing it all down as painfully slowly as possible, garnering minimal returns, we will hopefully get an idea of what Chris Drury’s vision for this organization actually is.
It’s not irrational to have zero trust in the Rangers ability to draft or develop, so fans have every right to be skeptical about the direction of the team, the use of the word “retool,” and the lack of any impact roster players coming to the team in any trades to this point.
Acquired from LA in the Panarin trade was Liam Greentree, the top prospect in a barren LA prospect pipeline. Greentree was the 26th pick in the 2024 draft and is yet to turn pro. After being one of the top offensive producers of the OHL for the previous two seasons, Greentree has seemed to regress this season in a less competitive OHL, as many top OHL players have left to play in the NCAA. After posting 119 points in 64 games last season, he currently has 45 points in 34 games to date on the campaign with the Windsor Spitfires.
If there’s ever been a time to play the kids it’s now. There’s nothing to lose in playing Brett Berard every night. Brendan Brisson should play his first game as a Ranger. Adam Sykora, Dylan Roobroeck, Jaroslav Chmelar, let’s see them all. Why not? We can’t get any worse than last in the East.
All this movement today came prior to breaking news just hours ago on Wednesday night that top 2026 draft prospect Gavin Mckenna faces felony assault charges following an altercation at Penn State College. Information is still sparse about the details, so I won’t speculate. That certainly could change the outlook of the draft board for the Rangers this summer though.
It’s gonna be a long few months to end the season in New York, but at least we have Olympic Hockey this month. If Trocheck is still a Ranger by then he will be representing the team at the games alongside Miller for the US, and Zibanejad will be representing Sweden amidst a prolific scoring campaign, he’s been one of the only bright spots this season.
Let’s go USA, and let’s hope for better days at the Garden sooner rather than later.