The Rangers are tied for the most road wins (nine) in the League with the Los Angeles Kings, and are one point behind them for most road points (20-19), The Blueshirts are 9-1-1 away from the Garden, and the Kings are 9-1-2 on the road.

Conversely, the Rangers are 1-7-1 on home ice, worst in the League, after wasting Jonathan Quick’s brilliant 40-save performance Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. New York was 0-6-1 at MSG before a 6-3 win over the Nashville Predators last Monday, the worst start on home ice in franchise history.

Count former Rangers general manager Neil Smith as someone who’s surprised by the stark home/road splits, but not about the extended struggles at the Garden.

“I can honestly say I could see that happening at Madison Square Garden because you know and I know how tough it can be in that building when things aren’t going well. It is a snake pit when things are not going well,” Smith told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast.

The architect of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion Rangers did add, “Now, it can turn positive on a dime and they’ll be cheering for you like crazy.” But his point is valid. It can get mighty ugly when the Rangers don’t perform well on home ice, and the Blueshirts Faithful let loose with their frustrations.

Smith knows firsthand. By the end of a massively disappointing 1992-93 season, even Mark Messier was booed off the ice in the Garden finale.

More than one former Rangers player in past years told this reporter that, when things are going well, there’s no better building to play in as a home team than Madison Square Garden. But when things are going poorly for the Rangers at home, it quickly becomes a massive impediment to actually play at MSG. The negative momentum is hard to break. Think of sliding down an icy mountain with a direct vertical plane.

This season, the Rangers were shut out in each of their first three home games, and five times total already. They’ve been held to one goal or fewer in seven of nine games at MSG, the lone exceptions being a 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks and their lone win against the Predators. They scored 13 goals on home ice so far this season.

“I can imagine those players were squeezing their sticks like probably putting fingerprint indentations in them, they were squeezing them so tight, trying to get a goal,” Smith shared. “And probably when they got on the road is when they [exhaled]. They relaxed because they were on the road and didn’t have that pressure over them that was going on at the Garden.”

Former GM unsure ‘what the Rangers are’ or if they’ll make playoffs this season

The Rangers have won six straight road games for the first time since 2019-20, when they won nine in a row. New York’s scored 38 goals on the road and owns a sizeable plus-17 goal differential, after a 2-1 shootout win Saturday in Columbus over the Blue Jackets.

Their defensive play and structure is typically solid, whether at home or on the road. But the Rangers remain much more consistent in all facets of their game away from MSG this season, and are far more effective offensively.

But the home/road splits cause serious concern about where the Rangers are headed this season.

“Jekyll and Hyde. I don’t know what the Rangers are. I can’t figure them out yet,” Smith said. “If somebody asked ‘Are they going to make the playoffs?’ I’d have to say ‘I don’t know. It depends which team shows up.’ So, we’re going to wait and see on that.”

A quarter of the way through the 2025-26 campaign, the Rangers are just outside the top eight in the Eastern Conference. But they need more consistency, and certainly more wins at home, because the East playoff race is jam-packed, with only two teams under NHL-.500.

The Rangers must keep up their strong road play this week, when they embark on a challenging three-game trip against the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Utah Mammoth. Each upcoming opponent has a better record than the Rangers, including the Avalanche (13-1-5), who sit atop the NHL standings.

Once December rolls around, the Rangers schedule gets home-heavy. They’ll play seven of their first 10 games next month at the Garden, which is a chance to turn things around, or could be doomsday for the Blueshirts.

But it’s not exactly that easy.

First off, Panarin’s current heater, nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past four games, was preceded by an exceptionally slow – -and concerning — start this season. He had seven points in 14 games before shaving his head for good luck.

“My confidence [is] OK now. “Better than before,” Panarin told the New York Post this week.

Artemi Panarin – New York Rangers (4) pic.twitter.com/hdGXInbwSU

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 11, 2025

Then there are reports that extension talks already fizzled this fall, with term and dollar value value unsurprisingly at the heart of the issues. Panarin reportedly is not planning on giving the Rangers a discount to stay on Broadway — and that stance was firm even when his production wasn’t there last month.

Another key issue is Panarin’s age. He’s 34, hitting that age when potential suitors might pause from making a heavy investment in him next summer.

All that said, former Rangers general manager Neil Smith is pretty sure that Panarin ultimately remains in New York after his current massive deal — seven years, $81.5 million — expires July 1. His reasoning is simple and based on history.

“I don’t think the Rangers will let him walk. They just don’t let star players walk,” Smith told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast.

Of course, much has changed in the 25 years since Smith was the Blueshirts’ top executive, mainly the implementation of the NHL salary cap. But the Rangers do love their stars, no doubt about that. And Panarin, their leading scorer each of the past six seasons and again with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) so far in 2025-26, is a big-time star.

So, there’s value to Smith’s insight. But he raises serious questions, as well.

“Should they let him walk is another question. Are they ever going to win with him? That’s another question,” Smith offered. “But will they re-sign him and he does not walk away? I think they do. That would be my bet, that they do re-sign him.”

Rangers, Artemi Panarin willing to move slowly with free agency looming

One of the major rubs against Panarin is that he doesn’t produce at nearly the same rate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Though he does have a pair of iconic overtime goals from New York’s runs to the 2022 and 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, Panarin has 21 goals and 61 points in 71 career postseason games with the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Chicago Blackhawks.

Panarin averages better than a point per game (1.15), with 886 points in 770 regular-season games.

Matt Larkin from Daily Faceoff weighed in on the Panarin topic and is most concerned about declining play moving forward for the top-line wing, who’s coming off a four-point game in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

“And from Rangers GM Chris Drury’s perspective, would it be risky to re-sign a declining Panarin?,” Larking wrote. “It might make more sense to cash him out for a major haul approaching the 2026 Trade Deadline.”

For those counting, that’s four months until the trade deadline. Four months to determine a next step with Panarin.

The free-agent market is thinning next offseason. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Kiril Kaprizov, Martin Necas, and Kyle Connor are among the stars who re-signed with their current teams already. That leaves Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings and Panarin as the clear top two players available next summer. Even approaching his age-35 season, the dollars could be there for Panarin.

By all accounts, both Panarin and Rangers GM Chris Drury are willing to let this play out. Neither is panicking nor in a rush to make a decision one way or the other.

For now, each side is thrilled that the Breadman regained his scoring touch and that the Rangers (9-7-2) collectively are finding their footing after tough first month of the season, that included five shutout defeats on home ice.

“Besides the stellar job that Larry did covering the New York Rangers, what few people know is that he and I would meet on occasion and he would give me his unabashed opinion on how the franchise was doing and what we needed to do to win,” Dolan told The New York Post, for whom Brooks covered the NHL for nearly four decades.

“This never appeared in any of his columns, but I found his advice to be invaluable and will miss it dearly.”

That’s the level of respect Brooks had within the hockey world. As many said since news broke of his passing, you may not have liked him; you may not have agreed with him; but you always read what Brooks wrote.

Statement from the New York Rangers on the passing of Hall of Fame writer Larry Brooks. pic.twitter.com/RfQiG3gUJA

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 13, 2025

But Dolan seemed to take it a step further, seeking out Brooks for his opinions and thoughts, ones not shared in his printed Rangers articles or weekly Slap Shots column in the Post.

Former Rangers general manager Neil Smith believes these meetings were mutually beneficial.

“What it speaks to me is the amount of respect that Jim Dolan had for Larry Brooks and the fact that he wanted him on his side,” Smith told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast. “Now, does that mean Larry was going to write all positive things about Jim and his club? No. But it was strategically smart to make sure that you were friendly with the guy that’s got the most say in the city about your franchise.

“I do believe there was a respect there; but I do believe that the respect really came from [Dolan thinking] this guy is a big-time influencer — meaning Larry Brooks — so I had better get to know him and see how he thinks and see if he’s got anything I can glean to do better with my club.”

Former Rangers GM Neil Smith among those who got past ‘horrible battles’ with Larry Brooks

Tributes poured in for the Hockey Hall of Famer, who was enshrined with the Class of 2018 when he won the Elmer Ferguson Award “in recognition of distinguished members of the hockey-writing profession whose words have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.”

Throughout my career he was always there, asking questions. I had many conversations with Larry Brooks, almost daily about my game, the Rangers and the game as a whole. I respected his knowledge a ton. Thank you Larry for your commitment to the game, you will be missed. RIP🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/2u9nA5orEu

— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) November 13, 2025

Though unsurprising that someone like Henrik Lundqvist, who had a solid professional relationship with Brooks, publicly stated that he “respected his knowledge a ton” and commended Brooks for his “commitment to the game,” it said much about the man that former Rangers Sean Avery and Tony DeAngelo had such positive things to say.

“Very sad to hear about the passing of Larry Brooks,” DeAngelo posted on X. “Nobody did the job like him. His opinions were strong but he was always willing to say them to your face & let you have your say back. Him & I became closer over the years talking frequently about hockey. Will miss those talks , always appreciated his perspective on things.”

As for Smith, he and Brooks crossed paths for several years, though Brooks didn’t join the Rangers beat at the Post until after the Blueshirts won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Brooks didn’t give Smith much leeway over the ensuing years just because he was the Cup-winning GM.

“I had horrible battles with Larry,” said Smith, who was fired as Rangers general manager after the 1999-2000 season. “I called him some names I’m not very proud of today. But it was all in the course of doing my job and him in the course of doing his job. When that job was over, you didn’t hate the guy, you didn’t dislike the person … but if you were man enough, you could separate the two things, the person from the role he had to play.”

Clearly, former Rangers coach John Tortorella felt the same way. He and Brooks had many arguments during Tortorella’s tenure behind the Blueshirts bench from 2009-13 — including a very well-known public scrap that almost got physical. But, as reported in the New York Post, Tortorella reached out to Brooks in his final days upon hearing how ill the longtime reporter was.

Relationships are complicated. And that was the case with Brooks and those he reported on and covered over the years. In the end, there was respect..

Miller signed an eight-year, $60 million contract, worth $7.5 million annually, after the Hurricanes acquired him in a July 1 trade with the Rangers. Defenseman Scott Morrow and two 2026 draft picks — a conditional first-rounder and a second-round selection — were acquired by the Rangers in return for the skilled, yet inconsistent 25-year-old.

On his recent NHL Wraparound podcast, Smith sounded incredulous about Miller’s expensive deal when speaking with guest Elliotte Friedman.

“But my goodness, Elliotte, these guys, like I’ve seen K Andre Miller play since he got there (in New York),” Smith ranted. “If he’s a $7 million defenseman, you know, I’m a $10 million podcaster.”

He may have been born and raised in Ontario, but Smith was straight out of New York with that dose of sarcasm.

Friedman, the NHL insider with Sportsnet, was more diplomatic with his take. He pointed out that three RFA defensemen — Miller, Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson — “benefitted from being free at the right time, and there just wasn’t a lot of players available.”

Bouchard signed a whopping four-year, $42 million extension ($10.5 million AAV) to remain with the Edmonton Oilers last week. And Dobson, a year removed from becoming an unrestricted free agent, let it be known he had no plan to sign with the Islanders long term. So, the Islanders traded Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens for a pair of first-round draft picks and forward Emil Heineman, and Montreal then inked the defenseman to an eight-year, $76 million deal worth $9.5 million annually.

With those prices, it can be argued that Miller was a bargain, though you certainly can’t convince Smith of that. However, even though Smith’s the only one with a Stanley Cup championship on his resume, the opinion that matters most is that of Eric Tulsky, the Hurricanes GM.

“It’s a big price to pay, but we think he’s a great fit for our system,” Tulsky explained. “You hear me talk a lot about how hard our scouting department works to identify players who will fit. He was one of them.”

Related: Rangers GM ‘above board … very professional’ handling K’Andre Miller trade: agent

Neil Smith raised important question about Rangers deal with Vladislav Gavrikov

There was one other topic that got Smith riled up on the podcast he co-hosts with Vic Morren.

Tampering.

In reviewing how quickly deals get done immediately after the 12 Noon ET start of free agency on July 1, Smith was again incredulius.

“So I want to ask you and talk to you about another thing that that just drives me nuts,” Smith said Friedman. “Maybe you can explain this to me too, and that is tampering. And you know, [Mitch] Marner, come on, there had to be tampering by Vegas on Marner, and I got to say that, unless Chris Drury is an absolute magician, and he’s like the Evelyn Wood of negotiating — how did he get a deal done in an hour and 15 minutes with Gavrikov?”

To be fair, Smith’s far from the first person to question the ethics and bending of the rules when it comes to NHL free agency. But, again, Friedman had a rational take, at least as far as the Rangers deal with Gavrikov was concerned.

“So, this is another great question,” he said. “But one of the reasons I think the Rangers were able to do Gavrikov so quickly, is I think they were working on a sign and trade with the [Los Angeles] Kings. Now, obviously that didn’t happen, but you know, there’s something for you. I do think a sign and trade nearly happened, so that Gavrikov could get that eighth year.”

Of course, if the sides were working on a sign and trade, there would’ve been interaction allowed between the Rangers and Gavrikov. So, Drury and Co. would know exactly what could work on July 1 even though the early sign and trade fell through.

Ultimately, Gavrikov signed quickly after free agency started, agreeing to a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Rangers, worth $7 million per season. Though the 29-year-old is older than Miller, Bouchard and Dobson, his deal very likely could end up as the best bargain of the day, though time will tell how it looks down the road once Gavrikov plays into his 30s.

They were the first team to accomplish this ignominious feat in 1992-93, and the most recent to do so this past season.

Each of those seasons went up in flames after beginning with such promise, much of it fueled by finishing with the best regular-season record in the NHL the year before. There are many similarities, including locker-room dissension, stunningly poor play on the ice and a furious fan base that often ushered their beloved Rangers off the ice at Madison Square Garden in a shower of boos.

According to Neil Smith, who was the general manager of that 1992-93 Rangers team, the biggest similarity was the inability of each coach to get his team back on track amid much dysfunction.

“The coach lost the team. That was the same for both teams,” Smith told Forever Blueshirts in a recent exclusive phone conversation.

Each of those Rangers squads was led by a veteran coach, not new to ironing out issues with his teams, but unable to do so in these instances. Roger Neilson, who ultimately coached 1,000 games for eight teams in the NHL and is 35th all-time with 460 coaching victories, was behind the Rangers bench in that fateful 1992-93 season. Peter Laviolette, who coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006 and is seventh in NHL history with 846 wins, was the Rangers coach in 2024-25.

The circumstances were not exactly the same for these respected coaches. Neilson faced a player uprising led by captain Mark Messier, who believed the Rangers could not win a Stanley Cup championship with the quirky, defensive-minded coach. Laviolette was handed a mess — no pun intended — when his GM, Chris Drury, upset the players with his heavy-handed approach in handling the departures of several respected veterans, including captain Jacob Trouba.

“With our team, we had some injuries and had some problems in the locker room, and Roger wasn’t able to straighten those things out to get the team back going as it could. He wasn’t able to get ‘Mess’ and the rest of them to come to come back together as a team,” Smith explained. “So, I think that’s a similarity to Laviolette, whose team imploded and he wasn’t able to get them to come back together sufficiently to make the playoffs. That’s a similarity to our situation.”

When Smith mentions “some injuries,” he’s primarily referring to a pair of serious injuries sustained by Brian Leetch, who was coming off winning the Norris Trophy as the top NHL defenseman in 1991-92. Leetch missed significant time with a shoulder injury; and then just when it appeared he was hitting stride late in the season, he broke his ankle in an off-ice incident.

The 2024-25 Rangers didn’t have that same injury misfortune to blame their disappointing season on.

“The one thing from last year that startled me was there was so much self-inflicted wounds on that team,” Smith shared. “Right from the start of the summer with Trouba, then they expected him to come to training camp and still lead the team … [Barclay] Goodrow, they got rid of him in a way that was distasteful to the players. Whether you feel sorry for them or not, and I know they’re making all the money, the players are like ‘if they do that to him, who knows what they’ll do to me.’

“That was the worst stuff because that was all friendly fire. That put the team into a funk where during that slide (4-15-0 from mid-November through December), they were completely disillusioned. They looked like mummies out there.”

Related: NHL insider says Rangers ‘testing the market’ for K’Andre Miller in latest trade rumor

Neil Smith ‘couldn’t do nothing’ after Rangers took massive step back in 1992-93

The Rangers were 34-39 with 11 ties in the 84-game schedule in 1992-93. They finished last in the six-team Patrick Division with 79 points, 10th out of 12 teams in the Eastern Conference.

Less than a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, the Rangers fired Neilson during the 1992-93 campaign. Ron Smith replaced Neilson and was unable to turn things around in 44 games as coach (15-22 with seven ties).

“You couldn’t do nothing (as general manager),” Smith explained. “Mess had the locker room. And if he said ‘we’re never going to win with this guy’ then we had no chance. When I realized that — and remember this is happening to me for the first time — I had no choice but to changes coaches. I certainly wasn’t getting rid of Mess. And it was tough, I was loyal to Roger … but I believed in Mess.”

Smith admitted he was “petrified” of his losing his job and understood the Rangers had to reverse course in 1993-94 or he was in big trouble. Smith hired Mike Keenan to coach the team shortly after that disastrous season ended, added Steve Larmer early next season to a star-studded roster, and the Rangers course corrected in a major way.

They again won the Presidents’ Trophy in 1993-94, made a flurry of key trades ahead of the deadline and went on to win the Stanley Cup that spring, their first championship in 54 years.

“I knew that I couldn’t have another year like ’92-’93, there was no way I could’ve survived that, that much disappointment,” Smith said. “That’s the worst thing you can do as a manager, and that’s disappoint people. Everybody thinks you’ve got a great team and you shit the bed. Look what’s going on in Toronto right now because everybody’s expectations were so high.”

Related: Examining alternatives if Rangers don’t trade Chris Kreider this offseason

Neil Smith shares biggest difference between current Rangers and 1992-93 squad

Smith believes the biggest difference in these Rangers teams separated by three decades is the roster itself. That 1992-93 team was stocked with Stanley Cup winners and leaders like Messier, Kevin Lowe, Esa Tikkanen, and Jeff Beukeboom. Along with some great homegrown talent, that Rangers team, in Smith’s opinion, was built to bounce back in 1993-94.

“Even players like Brian Leetch. They had an edge to them,” the former GM remembered.

Not so with this current roster. The core is not made up of proven winners, and instead has a soft reputation, especially the deeper they’ve gone in prior postseason appearances. There’s not much of an “edge” with this group, one that was 39-36-7 and finished six points out of a playoff spot in the East.

That is what makes Smith skeptical about New York’s championship aspirations moving forward, even after Mike Sullivan — a two-time Stanley Cup winner — was hired as coach when Laviolette was fired.

“In some ways I really feel sorry for them because I don’t know how to dig yourself out of this,” Smith said. “I don’t know that Mike alone covers all the holes they have right now. They’re gonna have to do some work, find some guys who want to go north-south and not east-west.”

But that doesn’t mean Smith doesn’t see better days ahead for the Rangers. He just sees more limitations with this group than his team.

“I don’t think they’re going to miss the playoffs next year. I think Mike Sullivan with [Mika] Zibanejad and [Chris] Kreider and especially [Igor] Shesterkin, they’re a playoff team,” he explained. “How good can they be on top of being a playoff team? I don’t know how they go back to being a contending team with the roster the way it is. Will they make the playoffs? Yeah, I don’t know how you miss the playoffs with those players unless you have a year like this which is an aberration. But I don’t see them being a contender next year. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they’ll do something in the summer that will make them a contender. I don’t see it.”

Smith rode the rollercoaster that Drury now finds himself sitting in the front seat. And he has some simple advice for the current Rangers GM.

“Chris can’t have another year like this year or I’m sure his zip code will change. You’ve got to learn from things. I learned from things every year I was doing it. So, learn from things and do better the next year.”

“I did some unpopular things. even before ’94, in an effort to make the team better,” Smith explained. “But I never hid from the media. I never hid from the players. If you wanted an answer, you could just ask me the question, I was always available to everybody.

“So, therefore, I was given a pass on a lot of stuff I did.”

Historically, Smith will always receive a pass or benefit of the doubt for his mistakes — especially those made in the seasons following 1993-94 — because he oversaw the only Rangers championship in the past 85 years.

But his take is intriguing because he was speaking about in the moment not historically, looking back in hindsight. Smith was always available to the media, talking hockey, explaining his decisions, thinking and mindset, or sometimes just shooting the shit.

I never believed Smith did it to curry favor with the press, of which I was a young member at the time. Neil was just being Neil. Outgoing, friendly, open, engaging. He was human, relatable. Not a robot.

He’s right; one of the benefits is that he wasn’t skewered, for example, when the Rangers failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1992-93 after winning the Presidents’ Trophy the season before (sound familiar?). Smith was scrutinized, but treated fairly. He wasn’t skewered.

In a broader scope, his comment Thursday made me think about my early days in the media, when reporters routinely chatted up players pregame outside locker rooms and then would sit down with Smith or another executive for dinner before the puck dropped on that game. This is how long-standing relationships and trust were built. Trust was built on both sides.

These days? Not so much. There’s limited access to players — I mean, forget about handing a blow torch to a player as he worked on a stick and chatted with you in the bowels of Madison Square Garden 30 minutes before warmups anymore. Those days were real. But they’re in the past.

I get it, social media plays a role in why that changed. Perhaps the big-time money invested in players changed dynamics, too. But these days, it feels like most every team — certainly the Rangers — want to own the message, control the relationships (such as they are) between players and media. Good luck standing off to the side to have a casual conversation with a player, even on a practice day, without a PR person hovering about or letting you know that’s enough, the player needs to go now.

And the GM? Chris Drury looks so pained and says very little of substance in his very rare media sessions. I guess it could be worse. You could be a Knicks beat reporter and hear from Leon Rose, well, never.

Things are just different now. I’d argue, not better. But let’s leave it as different. And thanks to Neil, a respected friend more than 30 years after we first met, for sending me down this path with a simple open assessment and comment the other day.

LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to our videos, including the Rink Rap podcast, at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

Former team president John Davidson explained why he believes the Rangers will bounce back next season and “make some noise.”

Will Cuylle is heating up at the World Championships. The Rangers forward scored goals in consecutive games for Canada and had a two-point outing on Thursday.

ICYMI: We handed Chris Drury his report card, and it wasn’t pretty. But why didn’t the Rangers GM receive a failing grade?

New York Post ($$): Mollie Walker has a detailed feature today about why Mike Sullivan’s been an “elite leader” throughout his coaching journey.

The Athletic ($$): Arthur Staple has a fun read about what an ideal Rangers offseason looks like, as well as a nightmare scenario.

NHL news and rumors

NHL.com: It’s on to the Eastern Conference Final for the Carolina Hurricanes, who knocked out the Washington Capitals in five games, playing a stifling brand of defense.

Sportsnaut: But not so fast in the Western Conference, where the Winnipeg Jets saved their season and staved off elimination with a 4-0 shutout win in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars.

TSN: Back in the Eastern Conference, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said he doesn’t expect injured goalie Anthony Stolarz will be available for Game 6 against the Florida Panthers on Friday in South Florida. That leaves Joseph Woll — coming off a subpar Game 5 loss — in net trying to keep Toronto’s season afloat.

Daily Faceoff: New Jersey Devils coach Sheldon Keefe is back home for the summer in Ontario and said “I feel myself invested in what’s happening” with his former team, the Maple Leafs, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

TSN: New Los Angeles Kings general manager Ken Holland confirmed that Jim Hiller will remain the team’s coach next season.

Sportsnaut: Here’s a breakdown of the top defensemen available in NHL free agency this offseason, including Aaron Ekblad of the Panthers.

New Jersey Hockey Now: James Nichols examines whether the Devils should consider reuniting Keefe with the top UFA on the market this summer, Mitchell Marner, who he coached in Toronto.

WATCH: Andrei Svechnikov scores the series-winning goal late in the third period of Game 5 for the Hurricanes against the Capitals.

But there is one trade among all others that Neil Smith regrets making the most.

On March 14, 1996, just days before the NHL Trade Deadline and two years after helping the Rangers win their only Stanley Cup championship since 1940, Smith engineered a massive deal with the Los Angeles Kings that he recenlty told Forever Blueshirts “was a disaster.”

The Rangers acquired Marty McSorley, Jari Jurri and Shane Churla from the Kings in exchange for Ray Ferraro, Mattias Norstrom, Ian Laperriere, Nathan LaFayette and a fourth-round pick in the 1997 draft.

“That was a disaster,” Smith said on the Rink Rap podcast. “I can explain why we did it and I can explain it to myself but it’s still one of those ones where even though you can explain it, you’re the guy that did it. So, it’s not like you can weasel out of the blame.”

Seeking toughness and grit, the Rangers targeted McSorley, then 32, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers, who provided protection for Wayne Gretzky both with the Oilers and Kings. That McSorley was friends with respected Rangers veterans Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe didn’t hurt either.

Churla was another rugged player, who two years before totaled 333 penalty minutes with the Dallas Stars.

And Kurri was a five-time Cup winner, well on his way to 601 NHL goals and a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The problem in 1996 was that Kurri was turning 36, still a solid two-way player but no longer the superstar he’d been earlier in his career.

“Mark and Kevin Lowe were telling me that in ’95 Philadelphia manhandled us in four straight, the year after we won the Stanley Cup, with [Eric] Lindros and the Legion of Doom. So, ‘we’ve got to get tougher. We’ve got to get Marty,'” Smith explained. “So, I was like ‘OK if that’s what you think you need.’ And Colin Campbell was the coach and I knew he would love Jari Kurri because Kurri was such an all-around great defensive player, still had some offensive touch, but really a disciplined player. He was a Steve Larmer type of guy.

“So, I made that deal.”

And regretted it for years to come, for multiple reasons.

McSorley played all of nine games with the Rangers and was minus-6 with 21 penalty minutes after the trade. He was a complete non-factor in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that spring, appearing in four of 11 games. The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five that spring.

“Neither team was a big, physical team,” Smith said of the miscalculation. “It wasn’t because of toughness that we lost (in the playoffs) because they weren’t so tough.”

Kurri had one goal and five points in 14 regular-season games. He perked up in the postseason with three goals and eight points in 11 games. But he was not a difference maker and was gone by the start of the next season, as was McSorley. Churla grinded out one more season in New York before retiring.

But that’s only half of the story.

Related: Neil Smith believes Rangers ‘set up’ to land playoff spot, but there’s a catch

Neil Smith laments 1996 trade that backfired on Rangers: ‘I do regret that one’

Norstrom, 24 at the time of the trade and struggling to land a regular role on the Rangers defense corps, played 12 seasons for the Kings and was their captain from 2001-07. Laperriere went on to play over 1,000 games through the 2009-10 season for several NHL teams as a feisty pest of a forward. Ferraro, a veteran center had 25 goals in 65 games with the Rangers before the trade and played six more seasons in the NHL.

“The coaches weren’t playing Norstrom, he was sitting out most of the time,” Smith recalled. “I loved Laperriere the way he played game. And Ray Ferraro, we had signed him in the summer and to be honest there were some people on the ice that thought Ray wasn’t the greatest contributor on the team.

“So, we put that deal together and in hindsight it didn’t work out. So, I do regret that one.”

Interestingly, the Rangers went on a nice run the following year in the 1997 playoffs, after signing Wayne Gretzky the previous summer. They knocked off old friend John Vanbiesbrouck and the Florida Panthers in five games in the first round and then took out the New Jersey Devils in five the second round.

Then, Smith’s worst fear came true, albeit a year later than expected. The Rangers played the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final and lost to Lindros and the Legion of Doom in five games.

Of course, there can only be one winner, and that’s Canada, still the team to beat in best-on-best international play. And it was Connor McDavid with his signature moment on the big stage that capped a simply terrific night for the sport when he scored 8:18 into overtime, lifting Canada to a thrilling 3-2 victory.

The tournament was amazing theater filled with great hockey by the best players in the world. It’s a tasty appetizer for the NHL as the League prepares to participate in the 2026 Milan Olympics.

Now, it’s time to turn the page. Quickly. And get back to the stretch run of the NHL season, where there’s a pretty wild chase for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers know all about that, sitting 11th in the East, three points out of the second wild card.

But there’s a stiff price to be paid from the 4 Nations Face-Off.

That playoff race could be somewhat compromised, as could the long-term chances for serious Stanley Cup contenders. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reported Thursday night that there were many players grinding through the 4 Nations Final with injuries that could keep them out of the lineup with their respective NHL teams moving forward.

We already know about Matthew Tkachuk, who was unable to finish the championship game with an unspecified injury. Auston Matthews was playing through an upper-body injury. Brady Tkachuk had a lower-body issue. Then there’s Charlie McAvoy, who’s possibly out the rest of the season following a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery for an infection. Shea Theodore is week to week after he was hurt in the first game of the tournament.

How about Vincent Trocheck of the Rangers? He appeared to injure his hand/wrist in the 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday. Trocheck played against Canada but was largely ineffective. The tell-tale sign could be that he only took four face-offs — his specialty — and lost each one Thursday. He logged just 10 minutes of ice time.

Let’s see where it all settles when the four Rangers from Team USA rejoin their NHL teammates in Buffalo. The Rangers resume their season Saturday in Buffalo against the Sabres with a quick follow Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

As coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday, “It comes at you fast.” Twenty-seven games may sound like a lot, but they’ll be gone before you know it — and the Rangers hope to be among the eight teams still standing in the East when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in April.

Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

After the morning skate Thursday, President Trump spoke with Team USA and wished them well in their game against Canada. Rangers forward J.T. Miller was among those thrilled to hear from the President of the United States.

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said prior to the game that the 4 Nations Face-Off championship contest was “the biggest game I’ve been a part of.”

Back in New York, Igor Shesterkin participated in an entire practice and should be good to go for the Rangers this weekend after sustaining an upper-body injury Feb. 7.

The Rink Rap podcast is posted with this week’s special guest, former Rangers general manager Neil Smith. You can watch the entire interview on YouTube or listen to the audio here.

NHL news

Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game and was named MVP of the tournament after pacing all skaters with four goals in four games.

There could have been a different result in that 4 Nations final if not for the brilliant play of Canada goalie Jordan Binnington, who made three sensational saves against Matthews and one on Brady Tkachuk in overtime, when he stopped all six shots he faced before McDavid’s heroics.

Canada forward Brad Marchand, one of the all-time pests in NHL history, called out the Tkachuk brothers postgame for shooting their mouths off to the media prior to the championship clash — “they got a little bit ahead of themselves.”

The Calgary Flames placed defenseman Tyson Barrie on waivers.

Max Pacioretty is likely out this weekend for the Toronto Maple Leafs after tweaking something in practice Wednesday.

Mikko Rantanen just may be the most attractive player available on the free-agent market this offseason. Here’s a breakdown from the former Carolina Hurricanes capologist as to what his next deal could look like.

Frank Seravalli reports that teams aren’t breaking down the Chicago Blackhawks door to trade for expensive defenseman Seth Jones, despite Chicago’s desire to move him.

With Ryan Pulock set to return from injury this weekend, the Islanders placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers.

It’s the Final that the NHL wanted all along. And it comes in hot, five days after Team USA won a thrilling and engaging 3-1 prelim game against Canada in Montreal last Saturday.

We’ll see if there’s a spot for Chris Kreider in the U.S. lineup. But Adam Fox, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck will represent the Rangers on Team USA, in what should be an intense contest in front of a pro-U.S. crowd Thursday.

And back in New York, the Rangers will ramp up their practice intensity, two days out from returning to game action against the Buffalo Sabres.

Let’s see if Igor Shesterkin will take part in the full practice or not. That could give us insight as to to whether he’ll start Saturday or remain sidelined with an upper-body injury.

Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

New York Rangers news

Our Rangers notebook included Igor Shesterkin participating in part of practice and Peter Laviolette not shedding light on Brennan Othmann receiving NHL opportunity any time soon.

Former Rangers general manager Neil Smith told Forever Blueshirts that he’s confident the Blueshirts will make the playoffs this season, but explained why he doesn’t believe they’ll go very far this spring.

Speaking of Neil Smith, he joined the Rink Rap podcast this week to discuss the current state of the Rangers, the NHL Trade Deadline, and the 4 Nations Face-Off. He also shared a bunch of stories, including which trade he’d like a mulligan on from his tenure as Rangers GM.

J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider shared their takes on the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between the United States and Canada.

John Kreiser hands out report cards for each of the six Rangers players who participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off, ahead of the championship game Thursday.

NHL news

Mike Lange, one of the true legends of NHL broadcasters and a true friend of Forever Blueshirts, died Wednesday at 76. Lange called each of the five Stanley Cup championships for the Pittsburgh Penguins over his distinguished 46-year career.

Seth Jones said he has not requested a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks, but the defenseman has discussed the possibility with general manager Kyle Davidson.

Here’s a breakdown of top defensemen who could be dealt prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

Brock Boeser spoke with reporters and said there’s no update on contract talks with the Vancouver Canucks nor a possible trade ahead of the deadline.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are hopeful that captain Boone Jenner will be cleared to play his first game of the season Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks after missing the first five months following shoulder surgery. The Blue Jackets could also get top goal scorer Kirill Marchenko and defenseman Dante Fabbro back from injuries, as well.

Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry looks set to return to the lineup Saturday against the St. Louis Blues after missing eight games with an upper-body injury.

Former Rangers center Alex Wennberg declared himself healthy and ready to return for the San Jose Sharks when they play the Calgary Flames on Sunday. He missed the past four games with an upper-body injury.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin said that he has no plans of playing in Russia once his NHL career ends (his contract runs through 2025-26). He said he plans to retire as a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Brett Pesce of the New Jersey Devils and Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres were invited to Boston by Team USA as possible replacement players if the U.S. falls below the minimum amount of eligible players due to injury or illness for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against Canada.

The United States expects each of its three banged up forwards — Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk — to play Thursday against Canada in the 4 Nations Final.

Kevin Weekes reported that the NHL recently met with a group looking to bring an NHL expansion franchise to New Orleans.

Speaking on the RINK RAP podcast, Smith told Forever Blueshirts that the Rangers are undoubtedly a “better team” after trading for Miller a couple weeks ago, but they’re not quite a serious Stanley Cup contender even with the rugged and talented center in the lineup.

“In my opinion, they are going to take the eighth spot (in the Eastern Conference). If I have to predict, I think the Rangers do make the playoffs in the eighth spot,” Smith said. “But I don’t see them as a team that’s going to be able to accomplish a heckuva lot in the playoffs this year. I think their accomplishment is going to be making the playoffs, but I do think they will. I think they’re set up to make it.”

When pushed why he thought the Rangers were good enough to get in but not good enough to make a run, especially if goalie Igor Shesterkin finds his A game down the stretch, Smith remained firm.

“I don’t see it,” Smith replied. “Yeah Shesterkin can win a round by himself, he’s that good. … When he’s on his game, and we’ve all seen it, he’s incredible. …But I don’t see them [having sustained success] once it gets into the grind of those better teams in the East.”

Part of Smith’s reasoning is that, even with Miller, the Rangers are too much of a fancy finesse team. To that end, he believes current Rangers GM Chris Drury needs to “tweak what they are” even more before the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline.

“I think the J.T. Miller [trade] starts that. But I think they go too much east-west and not enough north-south, meaning they do not attack the net as much as they try to get into the zone and play more side to side,” Smith explained. “Quite honestly, I don’t think [Artemi] Panarin’s playoff performances have been great compared to his regular season and that’s because playoffs aren’t his kind of game. … I don’t know if you can live with [Mika] Zibanejad playing the way he plays and Panarin playing the way he plays, and Adam Fox being a smaller really talented offensive defenseman — but he’s not big, not Brian Leetch size.

“I think to get through the playoffs, you’re going to have to more [Vincent] Trochecks and more J.T. Millers. And quite honestly, I don’t think it’d be bad to have a [Jacob] Trouba in there. … The one thing Trouba did for that team was you never knew when he was going to lay somebody out.”

Related: Ryan Lindgren decision, Rangers options on defense ahead of NHL Trade Deadline

Neil Smith believes Rangers will have less pressure on them this season if they make playoffs

The Rangers are 11th in the Eastern Conference and three points out of the second wild card, despite a miserable 4-15-0 stretch in November and December. They’ve made up a lot of ground but still have several teams to pass in the final 27 games to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs a fourth consecutive season.

Smith believes the Ottawa Senators are good enough and have a favorable-enough schedule to maintain their hold on the top wild card in the East. The Detroit Red Wings currently are the second wild card, with the Rangers, Islanders, Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets in the mix.

Despite a bunch of ‘self-inflicted wounds” and “friendly fire” contributing to their on- and off-ice issues this season, the Rangers should make the playoffs ahead of those other teams, more so now that Miller was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks.

“One of the things the Rangers will have going for them for the first time in a number of years is there’s not going to be much downside to their playoffs because they’re not expected to do anything,” Smith explained. “Right now, everybody is only worried about will they make the playoffs. If they get in, there’ll be fan fare for having just gotten in and then there’ll be no downside. … They won’t have the pressure on them that they normally have.”

This is true. Last season, they won the Presidents’ Trophy and were heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 30 years, since Smith was running the show back in 1994. In 2022-23, they were expected to make a run after reaching the conference Final the prior spring.

And the pressure was on to begin this season after falling two wins shy of a Stanley Cup Final appearance. But a disastrous start this season tempered expectations big time. The trade for Miller may have raised expectations but not to crazy levels.

Now, Smith is like the rest of us. Waiting to see if Drury has another major move up his sleeve ahead of the deadline.

“His team is in a better spot now than it was. He did a good job.”

Subscribe to the RINK RAP podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page.