What isn’t going out the door with some of the soon-to-be-departing veterans is leadership. That element left the premises long ago.

The reasons for the Rangers’ shocking regression this season were many. Hence Laviolette being canned just one year after leading the Rangers to the Presidents’ Trophy.

But none was bigger than the leadership void among the players. It became painfully apparent throughout this season of discontent and will have to be addressed as the Rangers undergo significant changes during the summer.

The Rangers weren’t physical enough. They lacked speed and a sense of identity. They struggled or refused to play in straight lines and attack the net. They continually failed to commit to playing robust defense in front of star goaltender Igor Shesterkin. They tuned out their coach.

Related: Top Rangers coach candidates after Peter Laviolette fired following miserable season

Jacob Trouba, Barclay Goodrow departures left unfilled hole in Rangers dressing room

So much of that can be directly traced to a dressing room that lacked strong voices to set the tone and direction, and create a culture of accountability, for a talented team that drifted all season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years.

The messy and exhausting Jacob Trouba and Barclay Goodrow affairs last June created lasting effects beyond just the acrimony they initially caused; many players took exception to general manager Chris Drury’s ruthless disposal of the two veterans. It turns out that the moves did more than just create a sense of frustration with the front office that set the club on a bad path from the get-go. It’s clear now that the loss of Trouba, the captain, and Goodrow, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, left a vacuum of guidance and direction that was never filled.

Trouba wasn’t around anymore to fire his helmet at the bench and fire up his teammates, appealing to their sense of responsibility to each other. The Rangers couldn’t look to Goodrow, a pivotal figure in Tampa Bay’s back-to-back championship runs, to see how to react and perform when the going got tough.

It showed up over and over again. The Rangers were a terrible defensive team, their roster-wide failure to commit to shutting down plays in the neutral zone and preventing breakdowns in their own end were blatantly obvious in nearly every game. It was just as obvious that no one was calling out those failures or confronting the guilty parties.

Grit and desire were absent. The Rangers were utterly lacking in resilience, consistently unable to bounce back from giving up a goal, which often snowballed into multi-goals against sequences. In perhaps the most glaring evidence of absence of veteran stewardship, four players – three of them depth pieces – publicly torched the team over their playing time and usage. Apparently no one was counseled to keep grievances in-house.

When Calvin de Haan – a 33-year-old defenseman on his fifth team in four years who was a throw-in to the Ryan Lindgren trade in March – ripped the Rangers last week over being a healthy scratch for what turned out to be the final 20 games of the season, it was anything but new.

De Haan joined Kaapo Kakko, Jimmy Vesey and Zac Jones as Rangers who aired lengthy grievances to the media over their ice time – or in Kakko’s case, what he perceived as being scapegoated by being a healthy scratch – this season. Teams with strong leadership keep things like this behind closed doors.

Hearing these colorful phrases like “I’m rotting away” (Jones), “I’m kind of dying by being here” (Vesey), “It’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out” (Kakko) and finally, “It’s f —-d” (de Haan) shone poorly on Laviolette, Drury and, yes, the in-house leaders.

It seems inconceivable that had the 2024-25 Rangers been led by strong, accomplished star players who cultivated a clear sense of mission and responsibility to each other and the team, such incidents would have occurred.

Related: Return of J.T. Miller highlighted slew of Rangers trades during 2024-25 season

Rangers’ youth at risk from troubled team culture

Add in the parting comments of Trouba and Goodrow, and the acrimonious, unhealthy environment around the Rangers was hard to miss all season. As significant a role that played in helping to torpedo this season, the potential for it to be a much bigger problem looms.

That’s because a key facet of the Rangers expected retooling going into 2025-26 involves integrating and giving bigger roles to promising younger players. Perhaps unfortunately, some of those players started their apprenticeships this season, exposing them to the negative environment for which the 2024-25 Rangers will be remembered.

That’s not at all a healthy situation for kids who represent the Rangers future, as they try to learn how to become pros. Watching high-paid, accomplished veterans fail to bring maximum effort and responsibility to the ice night after night can’t be anything but corrosive for impressionable early 20-somethings and teenagers. The organization has to get this corrected, lest the negativity of last season stay with Brett Berard, Matt Rempe, Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, Adam Edstrom and others.

It would be unfair to place all of the blame on Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, but the fact remains that the trio of core forwards were exposed as anything but leaders this season. Each was an alternate captain; all were derelict in stepping up to demand more of themselves and their teammates when the season went sideways.

Kreider isn’t expected to be back and Zibanejad could also depart if Drury can work through his no-move clause. Panarin’s credibility took a big hit following news that he and MSG Sports settled a sexual assault accusation levied against him.

Drury is banking on a big part of the solution to the culture problem being already in-house. The GM didn’t acquire star center J.T. Miller in late January just for his skill set; the front office envisions Miller’s hard-nosed intensity and demanding ways rubbing off on the Rangers. That didn’t happen enough in Miller’s 32 games after the trade, but the expectation is that he will grow into one of the unquestioned leaders of the team in 2025-26.

The hope is also that Miller’s childhood friend and current teammate Vincent Trocheck continues to emerge as one of the tone-setters in what will be his fourth season on Broadway. Trocheck was the Rangers heartbeat in 2023-24, but like so many of his teammates this season, his impact and voice seemed muted. As with Miller, the Blueshirts want more of Trocheck’s fiery personality, not less.

While Trouba’s five-plus seasons with the Rangers were generally disappointing, he was undoubtedly their leader. It’s possible that Drury overlooked that aspect of Trouba’s presence when he shed his contract, and perhaps did the same when it came to Goodrow. The key now is “fixing the room,” so to speak, with new leaders theoretically coming forward while key subtractions are made with an eye on moving out from under the dark cloud that followed the team all season.

Miller’s relentless focus and perfectionism rubbed some of his Vancouver Canucks teammates the wrong way by the end, leading to his trade back to the team with which he started his NHL career. The Rangers, though, require all of that and more as they attempt to transform what has become an unsuccessful approach to being a contending team. Ditto for Trocheck, whose intangibles and style personify what the Rangers must become.

Miller has flashed his amazing physical gifts and tantalizing skill set off and on since former general manager Jeff Gorton traded up four spots in the 2018 NHL Draft to select the University of Wisconsin product No. 22 overall. Miller never played in the minors, making his debut in the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season and playing 53 games. He’s now 343 games — and counting — deep into his NHL career.

In that time, fans, media and perhaps the front office have often viewed him as a top pair defenseman-in-waiting. Miller’s size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), strength, mobility and supposedly untapped offensive potential surely are tantalizing, as is his play. Sometimes.

Related: Rangers coach provides positive Igor Shesterkin update for games after 4 Nations break

K’Andre Miller hasn’t reached elite status – and might never do so

Miller, of course, has yet to cooperate with that narrative. He took a step back after a 43-point 2022-23 season, compiling 30 points last season and struggling with his play and life off the ice — stepping away from the team briefly for what was termed “personal reasons.” He later courageously opened up about his battles with mental health.

It was more of the same early in 2024-25, with Miller being unable to maintain consistency and sometimes making costly gaffes, even as he also turned in games that again evoked the potential promise of a star blueliner waiting to get out. He has a disappointing 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 49 games this season.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, time has all but run out on their evaluation period of this polarizing player. Miller’s two-year, $7.7 million bridge contract expires this summer, making him a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The Rangers can either tie up the 25-year-old for the long haul at fair value or trade him.

The choice shouldn’t be difficult. Parting with Miller would leave a massive void on the left side of the top four, one that could start to resemble the sinkhole at top-six right wing that has forced the team to spend resources at the trade deadline to fill it for three years now. With their entire left side facing uncertainty — Ryan Lindgren seems likely to be traded or leave as a UFA this summer, and Zac Jones and Urho Vaakanainen project as third-pair players at best — the loss of Miller’s durable, consistent presence seems all but unthinkable.

The caveat here is that the Rangers should at least attempt to pay Miller for what he is now, as opposed to what they think he could become. There’s a good chance that Miller’s ceiling is that of a solid, minutes-eating, second-pair defenseman rather than a Victor Hedman clone-to-be. The Blueshirts would have to be fully aware of what they’re buying, which could be a player who never fully puts all of his considerable talents together.

Miller’s camp is sure to disagree with such an assessment of his value. Agent Ian Pulver — who also represents jilted ex-Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow — can point to Miller’s analytics this season as evidence of his indispensability. Through the season’s first 28 games, Miller posted an expected goal share of 50.0 — respectably breaking even, with the Rangers also getting outscored 27-21 with him on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

Since Dec. 20, though, Miller has posted an individual 69.2 expected goal share over 21 games covering 72 minutes, with the Blueshirts outchancing opponents 43-24 and 19-5 in the high-danger category. That date represents the first game for Miller’s new defense partner, Will Borgen, in a Rangers sweater. Much has made of how Miller has settled down since the arrival of the former Seattle Kraken, who signed a five-year extension not long after being acquired in the Kaapo Kakko trade.

Borgen has posted a 46.8 expected goal share in 84 minutes without Miller since arriving, strongly illustrating that it’s Miller who has carried the partnership. The duo has a combined 48.2 expected goal share in 332:36.

Related: Rangers assign disgruntled, seldom-used defenseman to AHL Hartford on conditioning stint

Polarizing play of K’Andre Miller will make this a complex contract negotiation

Ultimately, this negotiation jumps out as a textbook instance of the need for healthy compromise. The Rangers will be in a serious spot without Miller’s contributions next season and going forward. At the same time, Miller’s representatives lack any sort of irrefutable evidence that he’s an emerging star. He’s yet to fashion a dominant season, and there is simply too much up-and-down in his game to label him as a top-pair force who should be paid accordingly.

Will an honest and well-intentioned back-and-forth happen? Pulver and his team recognize there’s a danger in agreeing to, say, six years at $6.5 million per, given Miller’s package of obviously elite abilities. Should the defenseman actually fulfill his considerable potential, the agent knows he will have sold off a No. 1 or No. 2 D-man at a discount — especially with the confirmation that the salary cap will rise at a significant rate over the next three seasons, and likely into the future.

Pulver is also aware that asking for Hedman or Quinn Hughes money — about $8 million per for both players — isn’t supported by his client’s body of work. The Rangers will still hold leverage and control for two more seasons, given that Miller will be an RFA, albeit one with arbitration rights that neither side wants him to exercise.

The Rangers need Miller, even if his occasional dips in performance prove to be a career-long characteristic and not something he’ll definitely outgrow. It’s also in Miller’s interest to work out a deal with the team that drafted him, given his comfort level with a defense partner who might be paving the way for him to reach another level. Then there’s the possibility that Miller is Adam Fox’s partner-in-waiting on the top pair.

Can the sides come to an agreement, either during the season or this summer? It might come down to whether team and player are able to partially accept each other’s viewpoint on who Miller is, and what he might become. The Rangers might not get him for purely second-pair cash, and Miller also won’t get paid as a top player at his position.

The Rangers’ remaining 27 regular-season games should go a long way toward determining which version of Miller the club will be dealing with as it decides whether to make a long-term commitment to keep him on Broadway.

As the Rangers sink deeper into a shocking malaise, a narrative has emerged, one that’s been endlessly repeated in hockey circles: The Rangers’ falloff from last season was almost a foregone conclusion, because Laviolette’s outstanding NHL career behind the bench has been marked by regression during his second season with other teams. It’s been offered up so frequently since the Rangers slide from 12-4-1 to 15-15-1, in fact, that the idea seems to have become gospel.

The problem is that said narrative is almost completely false, and in fact, something close to the opposite has occurred at least a good portion of the time.

Related: Rangers trade rumors: ‘Uncomfortable’ handling of Mika Zibanejad to what end?

Rangers woes in Peter Laviolette’s 2nd season are anomaly

Laviolette has led six teams across his 23-year NHL coaching career. Before this season, only one other team he’s coached has suffered a noticeable backslide in his second season – the New York Islanders, who gave Laviolette his first coaching job in 2001-02. The Islanders totaled 96 points that season before dropping to 83 in Year 2, leading to an unceremonious firing by general manager Mike Milbury.

Prior to the current disaster unfolding at Madison Square Garden, though — one that clearly runs so much deeper than who’s standing behind the bench — that supposed “pattern” exists only as an exception. Laviolette replaced the fired Paul Maurice with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003-04 and posted a 20-22-6 mark in his 52 games. However, in 2005-06 (that was the next season because 2004-05 was canceled due to a lockout), the Hurricanes piled up 112 points and delivered Laviolette his one Stanley Cup championship.

After being fired 25 games into his fifth season with Carolina — and ironically being replaced by Maurice — Laviolette was brought in to replace John Stevens with the Philadelphia Flyers in December 2009. He posted a 28-24-5 mark across his 57 games and authored a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Flyers lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Related: 3 Rangers takeaways after another loss to last-place foe

Philadelphia didn’t get as far in Laviolette’s second season, falling in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that club was 47-23-12 and had 106 points.

Laviolette moved on to the Nashville Predators for the 2014-15 season and led them to 104 points. While the Preds weren’t as good in the regular season in 2015-16 under Laviolette, they were only slightly worse with 96. That group also went farther in the postseason, reaching the Western Conference quarterfinals a year after losing in the first round.

Even in Laviolette’s shorter stint in charge of the Washington Capitals that began with the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, his team delivered strong results in Year 2. The Caps had an excellent first season with Laviolette in charge, posting a 36-15-5 record over the 56-game slate before falling to the Boston Bruins in five games in the first round of the playoffs. There was no dropoff in the second season, though, when Washington had 100 points before losing again in its first-round playoff series, this time to the Florida Panthers.

Rangers issues run deeper than coaching

That’s three of Laviolette’s six teams that reached the 100-point mark in his second season. Yet the idea that the 60-year-old represents a quick-fix, one-season proposition has been constantly thrown into analyses of the Rangers problems, an incorrect assertion that apparently isn’t being researched, just regurgitated in an attempt to at least partially explain the shocking demise.

Perhaps the story is based in part on Laviolette’s truncated first seasons with the Hurricanes and Flyers, when he guided a rebuilding Carolina roster to a solid result in 2003-04, and then pushed all the right buttons as Philadelphia surged to the Cup Final in 2009-10. However, Laviolette has for the most part experienced equal or greater levels of success in his second seasons, not less.

What’s happening with Laviolette’s current team has no doubt left him completely vexed, especially in the stunning current 3-11-0 stretch. There seems little question that acrimony between general manager Chris Drury and the players over his handling of the Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba departures is playing a major part in the dark mood and bad feelings swirling around this roster – and it appears to have left the coach with few answers, and perhaps relatively little control, since he tries to fix a situation that might not have that much to do with his methods.

Remember, the Rangers established franchise records with 55 wins and 114 points last season, won the Presidents’ Trophy and reached the Eastern Conference Final.

But the current mess is real, and it’s probably early in the process of how it will shake out, with more personnel moves sure to come that may or may not solve a complex problem. Yet the repeated insinuation that the Rangers highly-accomplished, Stanley Cup-winning coach is to blame because of a nonexistent trend of Year 2 regression, obscures the real issues here and does a disservice to Laviolette.

Now, if the argument is that Laviolette’s message is no longer being received by the players, or that his systems are lacking, for example, then that’s fair game to land him on the chopping block. But not the aforementioned false narrative.

Firing him over the collapse would unfairly scapegoat Laviolette and add to an actually real, developing trend that claimed his two immediate predecessors: Locker-room rebellions that have resulted in the organization cycling through three coaches in five seasons.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re done making moves, general manager Chris Drury told reporters Saturday.

“We certainly are not opposed to making more changes,” Drury explained. “But big picture, with that said, the team’s been through a lot the last couple weeks, and certainly this week. We’d like to let the dust settle a little bit.”

Drury, who is in Providence this weekend scouting 2022 fourth-round pick Noah Laba, a junior at Colorado College, wants to see how his team adjusts to the departure of Trouba — and if rookie Victor Mancini can fill at least some of the void on the blue line.

Additionally, with recent additions like Vaakanainen on defense and Brett Berard up front, Drury may take some time to see how his team adjusts and if it the moves will help the Rangers get out of their 2-6-0 slump.

But with significant extra salary-cap space after trading Trouba and his $8 million AAV through next season for a defenseman who makes $1.1 million, Drury likely will look to add a significant piece at some point before the NHL Trade Deadline in March. That could be another defenseman or perhaps a top-six forward. But it feels like a significant move is all but sure to happen.

Related: What’s next for Rangers after Jacob Trouba trade

Rangers GM focuses on moving forward

Drury also made no apologies for how the Trouba trade went down, as well as addressing the waiving of Barclay Goodrow over the summer. Goodrow, like Trouba, had no-trade protection in his contract and would not agree to be dealt; instead, the Rangers put him on waivers in June and he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks — a move he was less than pleased with.

“It’s my job, and 31 other GMs’ jobs, to try and do everything we can to help our team,” Drury said. “There’s things at our disposal in the (collective bargaining agreement). I’m not trying to mess with players.”

Drury reiterated that he has the utmost respect for both Trouba and Goodrow, but maintained it was all business in each case, nothing personal. The GM did not comment on Trouba’s comments about how he was displeased that his trade situation became so public and his frustration regarding the entire situation over the summer and during the past week.

However, when it comes to the timing surrounding the Trouba trade and the signing of goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a massive contract extension Saturday, Drury said that it was all coincidence.

“They just kind of happened to come together at the same time, in the same week. There was no effort to have it done together or have us move on from Jacob, and then now we could sign ‘Shesty,'” he explained.

News broke Friday afternoon that the 28-year-old goalie had agreed to an eight-year $92 million extension, although the deal wasn’t finalized or announced until Saturday — and the Rangers didn’t disclose financial terms.

With Friday’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the future looks momentarily brighter for the Blueshirts; however, it’s obvious that there’s still work to be done. With home games against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon and the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night, the Rangers have a chance to pick up points against teams they are expected to beat, but they’re still looking up at three teams in the race for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

While the craziness of Friday is still at the forefront of people’s minds, it seems that Drury is going to take a little time before making any more moves. But if the Rangers continue playing poorly, the GM might push up his timeline to make more moves in hopes of reviving their season.

That’s because, as a serious championship contender, each roster decision the Rangers make is important. There’s a “Does this move bring us closer to winning the Stanley Cup?” component to signing Carrick, or trading for Reilly Smith, or elevating Zac Jones into a regular role.

With the Rangers pushing up against the salary cap — and with large paydays in line for Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller before the 2025-26 season — there’s a financial component to each and every roster decision, as well.

But with Carrick, who agreed to an affordable three-year, $3 million contract with the Rangers, there’s also the fact he’s replacing a popular player in the lineup, one who’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner and was a key piece in New York’s leadership group the past three seasons.

However, coach Peter Laviolette appears to be good with Carrick replacing Barclay Goodrow as fourth-line center this season.

“It’s tough losing Barclay, but we replaced him with a character person that bangs bodies, will hit and fight for his teammates, chip in some offense and play some good defense,” Laviolette told NHL.com recently.

And the 32-year-old will do so for much less per season than Goodrow, who still has three years at $3.64 million annually remaining on his deal. That’s not insignificant. But he will have big skates to fill after Goodrow was claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks in June.

Remember, Goodrow was a big part of the Rangers terrific penalty kill, a favorite of his teammates and a player who elevated his game significantly in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring six goals in 16 postseason games this past spring.

“That’s a friend for life, a guy that you expected to be suiting up with again,” Rangers forward Chris Kreider explained at the Shoulder Check Showcase charity event for mental health awareness in July.

Related: Rangers veterans lament departure of ‘friend for life’ Barclay Goodrow

New Rangers center Sam Carrick has big skates to fill

Though he doesn’t have the championship pedigree that Goodrow does, Carrick is a solid bottom-six player, who can also help the penalty kill. He also has a career 50.7 percent face-off winning percentage, including 51.0 percent with the Anaheim Ducks in 61 games last season and 63.1 percent over 16 games after being acquired by the Edmonton Oilers.

As Laviolette stated, Carrick is a physical player, too. He’s a solid 6-foot, 200-pounder who racked up an NHL career-high 102 penalty minutes last season, 12th most in the NHL. A fourth-line featuring Carrick, Matt Rempe and Jimmy Vesey should provide the Rangers with an important physical presence this season.

“He brings some grit, sandpaper, face-offs, some physicality,” Laviolette noted.

Carrick appeared in 10 playoff games for the Oilers this past spring, the first of his career, including Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. He won eight of 12 face-offs, was credited with two hits and picked up 12 penalty minutes near the end of the 4-1 defeat.

Though known more for his gritty play, Carrick did score 11 goals with the Ducks in 2021-22 and had 10 last season.

His addition to the Rangers lineup is no small thing. He and Smith are expected to be the only new forwards in the top 12 this season, unless a youngster like Brennan Othmann breaks through and earns a spot in training camp. And you can bet Carrick doesn’t want to disappoint the Rangers or do anything to disrupt the good thing they’ve got going.

The ruthless move drew a harsh reaction from Goodrow, who spent three seasons in New York as an alternate captain, as well as some of his teammates. New York Post NHL insider Larry Brooks also reported that many players were unhappy with how Drury handled the situation.

Also Read: 5 alternate jerseys the New York Rangers should bring back

Despite having the Sharks on his no-trade list, Goodrow now seems to be warming up to the idea of returning to San Jose.

“I think he’s kind of turned the page on New York now,” newly appointed Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told NHL.com recently. “He’s all bought in, and I’m excited because he’s a big piece of our team.”

Goodrow had a major dip in production during the 2023-24 season. As he posted just four goals and 12 points in 80 games after two straight seasons of 10-plus goals and 30-plus points. Nevertheless, Goodrow was a more than serviceable Ranger, playing vital minutes on the top penalty kill unit.

His value shined in what proved to be his final Rangers postseason. Scoring five goals in 16 games while shooting at a ridiculous 40 percent clip. The two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning enjoyed another iconic playoff moment, drawing a thunderous roar from the Madison Square Garden fans in Game 2 of the East Finals as his overtime goal evened the series with the Florida Panthers 1-1.

Despite his postseason production, Drury saw an opportunity to dump the final three years of his $3.6 million AAV contract, a hefty price to pay for a fourth-liner, giving way to an unceremonious end to Goodrow’s Blueshirt tenure.

“This is a business, and that’s part of life,” Warsofsky added. “And he’s responded great.”

Goodrow joins a Sharks team that finished dead last in the NHL with 47 points, finishing the year with the second-fewest goals and the most goals allowed in the League. That earned them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which they used to select Macklin Celebrini, the 2024 Hobey Baker Award winner and consensus best prospect in the draft class.

Related: Rangers veteran may land with Eastern Conference rival for 2024-25 season

Celebrini, along with last year’s No. 4 overall pick Will Smith, lead the charge of a new youth movement in San Jose. But they’ll also have some more veteran help than last year’s squad did, with Sharks GM Mike Grier bringing in the likes of Goodrow, Tyler Toffoli, and Cody Ceci.

Rangers vet Goodrow happy about San Jose reunion

Goodrow spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Sharks, signing an entry-level contract in 2014-15 after going undrafted. He had some solid seasons and memorably scored the Game 7 overtime goal in Round 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Capping off a huge comeback after trailing in both the game and the series 3-1.

It seems as if that familiarity has helped the 10-year veteran warm up to a return.

“He’s obviously been in San Jose before, and he knows some of the guys,” Warsofsky noted. “He and [captain Logan Couture] are really close so that helps. We talked for a while, and he’s in a good place, and he’s excited.”

Barclay Goodrow stats (2023-24): 80 games, 4 goals, 8 assists, -13 +/-

Goodrow spent all six years of his Sharks tenure alongside Couture and defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic while also playing at least one season with Mario Ferraro, Kevin Lablanc, Ryan Carpenter, and Nikolai Knyzhov.

The New York Rangers will play the San Jose Sharks twice this season. Goodrow will have a chance to get the last laugh when he returns to MSG for the first time on November 14th.

In fact, they haven’t reached the Cup Final since 2014, their lone appearance since their most recent Stanley Cup title 30 years ago in 1994. Of course, each of those precede his tenure as GM, but while Drury has built some competitive and successful rosters, he’s made a few critical mistakes that have prevented New York from reaching their peak.

As we’re currently in the midst of arguably his most important offseason to date, let’s take a look at his worst moves as general manager of the Rangers.

It’s way too early to tell with this current offseason so none of those transactions are on the table, but everything else since he took charge in June of 2021 is fair game.

Related: 5 best moves by Rangers GM Chris Drury

Worst moves by Chris Drury as Rangers GM

5. Acquiring Patrick Kane before 2023 trade deadline

Acquiring Patrick Kane was a dream come true for many Rangers fans and seemingly a no-brainer when the Rangers acquired the forward ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline. With the future Hall of Famer all but forcing his way to New York, all it took was a second and fourth-round pick, which made the move even more appealing.

Kane did not impress in the regular season (five goals, 12 points in 19 games), and although he’s not to blame for a first-round playoff exit to the New Jersey Devils, scoring a goal and six points in the seven-game series, the addition of the injured superstar only made things more complicated.

A hip injury that ultimately required surgery in the offseason greatly limited Kane’s effectiveness. While the name still carried plenty of cache, a visibly hampered Kane didn’t do much to move the Rangers in the direction of Stanley Cup contender.

Drury had already acquired a talented veteran scoring winger in Vladimir Tarasenko, so Kane was less of a need and more of an added bonus. Perhaps there’s something to the expression “too many chefs in the kitchen” because what resulted was a disjointed forward grouping that never truly found its footing.

Kane is not to fault for a disappointing first-round exit but, in retrospect, Drury should’ve stayed away from the injured superstar.

4. Signing Barclay Goodrow in 2021 offseason

One of Drury’s first moves as Rangers GM was signing Barclay Goodrow to a 6-year, $3.64 million AAV contract.

Fresh off helping the Tampa Bay Lightning to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 as part of a dynamic third line with Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman, Goodrow was a desirable target League-wide. But Drury overpaid to acquire his championship pedigree and veteran leadership, giving a hefty contract with a lot of term to a bottom-six role player.

Goodrow largely saw a fourth-line role as the center of New York’s top checking line. Despite getting top penalty kill minutes as well, Goodrow’s ATOI dipped from 16:43 in his first season down to 12:34 in 2024.

After back-to-back 10-plus goal, 30-plus point seasons with New York, his production fell off a cliff in 2024, when he scored just four goals and finished with 12 points in 80 games while recording a minus-13 rating. He proved to be a valuable asset in the postseason, though, when he scored six goals in this past spring’s run to the Eastern Conference Final, but it wasn’t enough to get the Rangers to the Cup in any of his three seasons.

His impact on the penalty kill and postseason should not be overlooked, but it’s overshadowed by his AAV that was simply too high for someone who only played a bottom-six role. The fact that Drury put him on waivers after his strong postseason is a telling indictment of the contract, and the GM was fortunate the San Jose Sharks claimed him and the final three years of that deal.

3. Trading for Jack Roslovic before 2024 deadline

Drury’s first trade deadline was a resounding success, but the next two have left something to be desired. After failing via the superstar route in 2023, Drury opted for a quieter trade deadline in 2024, trading for Alex Wennberg, Nic Petan, Chad Ruhwedel, and Jack Roslovic.

While Wennberg was ultimately a solid move to bolster depth down the middle, Roslovic was not the answer at wing that the Rangers were searching for.

Despite a very good record and a lead in the Metropolitan Division, the Rangers faced a familiar issue with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, who struggled to mesh at even strength with a medley of right wingers that included Kaapo Kakko, Blake Wheeler, and Jimmy Vesey.

Plenty of talented wingers switched hands at the deadline. Pittsburgh Penguins star Jake Guentzel was the headliner when he was shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes, but other enticing names like Tyler Toffoli, Anthony Mantha, and Anthony Duclair were available as well. The Rangers, though, acquired the enigmatic Roslovic, who’d scored more than 12 goals once in his career, right before the deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The speedy winger had just three goals and eight points in 19 regular-season games after the trade, all on the top line. After a hot start to his postseason, recording a point in each of his first five games, Roslovic’s production completely cratered. By the Eastern Conference Final, he was relegated to a fourth-line role.

Like Kane, he’s probably not the reason the Rangers fell in the postseason, but perhaps a stronger offensive winger could’ve helped turn the tide back in their favor. Drury only gave up a fourth-round pick, so the deal itself isn’t a disaster, but when there’s a Stanley Cup title in reach, it hurts to miss on a top-six add like that.

Roslovic is out the door already after signing a one-year contract with the Hurricanes this summer.

2. Signing Patrik Nemeth in 2021 offseason

Another one of the moves from his first offseason, Drury signed Patrik Nemeth to a 3-year, $2.5 million AAV deal with hopes he could be a reliable bottom-pairing defenseman.

Nemeth was 29 at the time and coming off a solid season splitting time with the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche, posting 10 points and a plus-5 rating. But Nemeth’s metrics took a deep dive as soon as he donned the Rangers uniform.

Nemeth recorded seven points and had a minus-9 rating through 63 games, grading out in the bottom one percent of all skaters in Evolving Hockey’s player charts.

With two years and $5 million still left on his contract, Drury attached a pair of second-round picks just to send him to the Arizona Coyotes and get his money off the books.

Nemeth’s lone season in New York was a disaster and the collateral of two second-round picks just to get rid of him easily makes this signing a complete failure.

1. Trading Pavel Buchnevich in 2021 offseason

The most maligned move of Drury’s tenure, unsurprisingly, is trading Pavel Buchnevich in the summer of 2021.

Buchnevich was due a significant raise as a restricted free agent, and the Rangers were tight against the salary cap. So, Drury opted to avoid a bigger payday for the then 25-year-old winger, tradsing him to the St. Louis Blues for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick.

Blais had a brutal knee injury, didn’t score a goal and had just nine points in the 54 games he played for the Rangers before ultimately getting shipped back to St. Louis in the Tarasenko trade in 2023. The second-rounder was flipped to the Winnipeg Jets for Andrew Copp, leaving the Rangers with no remnants from the trade, though Copp was a nice short-term add after the 2022 deadline.

If the lack of return wasn’t painful enough, Buchnevich has thrived since leaving New York, taking the leap that many fans envisioned he would.

After scoring 20 goals and 48 points in his last season as a Blueshirt, Buchnevich immediately made the step to elite winger, scoring an NHL career-high 30 goals and 78 points in his first season with the Blues. He’s kept up the production, posting 60-plus points and 25-plus goals in each of his first three seasons in St. Louis.

Despite Rangers fans longing for a return, Buchnevich won’t be going anywhere after signing a 6-year, $8 million AAV extension to stay with the Blues long term.

New York, meanwhile, has been left with a void at right wing that Drury has failed to fill outside of Frank Vatrano’s half-season in 2022. Even Vatrano wasn’t quite able to replicate the chemistry and production that Kreider, Zibanejad, and Buchnevich were able to develop.

This offseason’s trade for Reilly Smith marks the latest attempt to fill a gap that has lingered ever since Buchnevich’s departure. Drury’s made his share of missteps, but none quite compare to this.

Since then, they have added another Stanley Cup winner in Reilly Smith, who will look to fill the void as the top-line right wing.

While it surely doesn’t hurt that Smith is a former champion with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and proven playoff performer, the Rangers have gone down this route before, and it did not pan out how they envisioned. Just two seasons ago, the Rangers brought in three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane and 2019 (and now 2024) winner Vladimir Tarasenko.

It was widely believed that the two champions would help to get New York over the hump after falling short in the Eastern Conference Final the year before. The result, though, was a first-round postseason exit in seven games against the New Jersey Devils.

Looking at the recent Stanley Cup winners, the recipe for success may come from within, rather than going out and hunting past rings. In fact, Tarasenko was the only player on the Florida Panthers who had won a Stanley Cup prior to this season. So, in New York, that puts the onus on core players like Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider, who have yet to prove they can deliver a championship.

Take the 2021-22 Colorado Avalanche as another example. They had just two rings on their bench, courtesy of Andre Burakovsky in 2018 and Darren Helm in 2008. Still, they captured the ultimate prize, winning the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Other teams have been more loaded with past winners. Take the 2022-23 Vegas Golden Knights, for example. They had previous Cup winners Phil Kessel (2), Jonathan Quick (2), Alec Martinez (2), and Alex Pietrangelo (1), though only the latter two actually played in the 2023 Cup Final.

Related: Division rival believes Devils ready to compete with Rangers

Rangers won’t ever be able to replicate 1994 roster that included many Cup winners

More often than not, a championship-caliber team is built from within. In very rare cases, like that of the 1994 Rangers, a team can be pieced together from proven winners through trade and free agency. Players on that team totaled 28 rings before winning it all in 1994, bolstering the homegrown core of Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Alex Kovalev and Sergei Zubov with past champions like Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, Esa Tikkanen, Glenn Anderson and Greg Gilbert, among others.

“People talk about all the Oilers on that team. That didn’t happen by accident,” former Rangers general manager Neil Smith said on the NHL Wraparound podcast recently. “That was by design because they were available and they were winners. If you’ve got winners that are available, you’ve got to get them on your team, in my opinion.”

Current Rangers GM Chris Drury does not have the luxury of adding this many proven winners. It was a benefit that certainly helped push the 1994 team over the hump to end a 54-year championship drought, but one that is almost impossible to come by in today’s game, especially because of the salary cap.

“It just happened that I was fortunate enough that I was able to make the deals to bring first [Adam] Graves, then Messier came a month or two later, then Jeff Beukeboom, and then Esa Tikkanen and Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish and then Glenn Anderson at the deadline,” Smith explained. “Without every single one of those guys, we wouldn’t have one that Cup. You had all those guys in your room. As the manager, I had great confidence in the group, that they would get it done.”

After a quiet free agency for Drury, acquiring Smith in a trade with the Penguins was the best deal he could make. It brings in at least one championship ring to join the three from Jonathan Quick and one from coach Peter Laviolette.

However, the likely formula is that the Rangers are going to need to win from within. It is up to the current core to get New York over the hump. Zibanejad, Kreider, Panarin, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin. Those are the players who need to deliver, not past championship winners that are brought in at the trade deadline.

Adding Smith certainly helps, and replaces the championship experience lost in Goodrow. But that Rangers core built from within must find a way to do what other teams like, most recently, the Panthers have done to become Stanley Cup champions.

#NYR have agreed to terms with forward Sam Carrick on a three-year contract.

Welcome to New York, Sam! pic.twitter.com/DI5LhiGMcR

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2024

Carrick’s $1 million cap hit is far more digestible than the $3.6 million that Goodrow was making annually. With the Rangers needing all the salary relief they can get, dumping their alternate captain was a no-brainer, even despite his postseason success. But that doesn’t mean Carrick is necessarily the perfect long-term solution to center New York’s fourth line.

In fact, the analytics raise valid concerns about dressing Carrick when the postseason rolls around.

Of course, there’s no way around the fact that Goodrow had a poor regular season in 2023-24, and the analytics agree. He ranked in the sixth percentile overall and had a negative goals-above-replacement value (GAR) at both even-strength offense and even-strength defense (per Evolving Hockey).

In fact, Goodrow’s even-strength defense took a massive nosedive after his departure from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 and he never once posted a positive even-strength defensive rating in his three seasons with the Rangers.

However, he was an instrumental piece of the penalty kill, leading the top shorthanded unit on the League’s third-best penalty kill in 2023-24. Goodrow ranked seventh out of 824 skaters with 3.0 GAR shorthanded, placing him in the 99th percentile of all NHL players (per Evolving Hockey’s GAR tables).

On the other hand, shorthanded defense is Carrick’s worst metric, ranking 795th in GAR and 801st in xGAR on the penalty kill. That places him in the bottom three percent of all NHL skaters.

Sam Carrick, signed 3x$1M by NYR, is a physical forechecking depth forward. #NYR pic.twitter.com/1W09qKQrKN

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024

Carrick’s an upgrade at even strength over Goodrow, at least based on GAR, and actually ranked above average at even-strength defense. But it doesn’t appear he’ll be the perfect replacement for a Rangers’ penalty kill that took a massive leap this season, though he did score two shorthanded goals last season with the Ducks.

Perhaps Carrick will see less PK time than Goodrow and a younger player, such as Alexis Lafreniere or Filip Chytil, will be worked into the mix. If Jonny Brodzinski is in the lineup, he might get a look on the PK too. And Matt Rempe has said it’s a goal of his to one day be a regular on the PK unit.

Maybe some of Carrick’s poor metrics has to do with the team he played on, since he spent 61 games last season with the Ducks, who wound up with the third-worst record in the NHL. After totaling -6.8 GAR in Anaheim, Carrick produced positive metrics across the board in Edmonton and finished with 2.8 GAR in his 16 regular-season games with the Oilers.

Related: What we learned about Rangers through 1st week of NHL free agency

Could Sam Carrick have similar Rangers fate as Nick Bonino?

Carrick appeared in just 10 of Edmonton’s 25 postseason games, logging a team-low 85:55 minutes and appeared in just one of the seven Stanley Cup Final contests. He posted a minus-1 rating and was out-chanced by 16.

Despite debuting in 2014-15 as a 22-year-old, Carrick has only played 50-plus games three times in the NHL, doing so consecutively for the past three seasons. He’s appeared in just 240 games over an eight-year career as he readies for his age-32 season. A late bloomer perhaps.

While he has scored 10-plus goals in two of the past three seasons and could provide more in the way of even-strength offense than Goodrow did last season when he mustered four goals in 80 games, it’s no guarantee that Carrick is ensured a full season as New York’s fourth-line center.

The Rangers started last season with Nick Bonino and Tyler Pitlick on the fourth line, both of whom were placed on waivers in February after uninspiring play. Granted, Bonino and Pitlick were on one-year deals at the time, but Carrick’s low AAV would make it easy to dispose of the contract or stash in the American Hockey League if necessary.

Of course, that low AAV also makes Carrick extremely attractive the next three seasons. If he can give the Rangers consistent solid play, he’ll be a bargain at $1 million annually and help ease New York’s cap woes in coming years.

It’s worth noting that Bonino and Pitlick each posted stronger metrics the season prior to joining the Rangers than Carrick did entering the upcoming season.

One element Carrick is sure to bring is an element of toughness. He was 12th in the NHL with 102 penalty minutes last season, and has 316 PIM in 240 NHL games. A fourth line of Carrick, Rempe and, say, Adam Edstrom would be a handful for the opposition.

While the current expectation is for Carrick to start the season as the fourth-line center and a member of the penalty kill, the Blueshirts could be active once again before the trade deadline to bolster a roster with high expectations and compete for a Stanley Cup Championship.

It should come as no surprise if Carrick finds himself relegated to an inconsistent role down the stretch, not unlike the manner in which the Oilers elected to use him on their run to the Cup Final.

The Fourth Period is reporting it’s a three-year contract with an average annual value of $1 million.

That certainly is an affordable deal, especially since Goodrow would’ve cost $3.6 million annually, also for the next three seasons.

Carrick has 240 games of NHL experience with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. He has 53 points and 316 penalty minutes in that span, including NHL career highs in goals (11) and points (19) with the Ducks in 2021-22.

“He brings a hard element to our group,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury told reporters. “Our scouts had their eye on him for a while … He’s a natural center that brings some edge, some grit, certainly some toughness, as well, to our bottom six.”

The 32-year-old, who stands 6-feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, was traded by the Ducks to the Oilers ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline. He played in 10 postseason games this spring but none in the Stanley Cup Final, when the Oilers lost in seven games to the Florida Panthers.

Carrick combined for 10 goals and 16 points in 77 games with the Ducks and Oilers in 2023-24.

Related: 2024 NHL free agency live blog: latest Rangers news, rumors

Rangers’ options to replace Barclay Goodrow

Carrick is now the frontrunner to center the fourth line. But the Rangers do have other options to consider.

Jonny Brodzinski, who signed an affordable two-year contract extension last season, is the top internal candidate to battle Carrick for playing time, if the veteran is signed by the Rangers. Brodzinski is a favorite of coach Peter Laviolette, who appreciates his speed and two-way play.

Brodzinski is still in play for a fourth-line role or a spot as the 13th forward even with the Carrick signing. He started this past season with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League, where the 31-year-old was captain, and then scored an NHL career-high six goals and had 19 points in 57 games with the Rangers.

Jake Leschyshyn, who played the entire seasons in Hartford but has NHL experience with the Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights, is another fourth-line center option. And Adam Sykora could get a look in training camp, though the 19-year-old who played in Hartford this past season, appears to be more of an option down the road.

Carrick is one of two forwards added to the Rangers roster Monday. Reilly Smith was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for two draft picks.