It’s been increasingly hard to put into words how disappointing this season has been for the Rangers. At this point, they’re playing out the string with five games remaining. On a special night when Sam Rosen and John Davidson will reunite one last time thanks to the NHL On TNT having the good sense to have them do a game together, the Rangers take on the Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

At least we’ll get to hear and see Sam and JD team up. Outside of that, there’s nothing to get excited about. If you’ve followed this team, then you know how messed up things have been. Even J.T. Miller couldn’t prevent the inevitable from happening. It was apparent as far back as December that the Rangers would go from Presidents’ Trophy winners to failing to qualify for the postseason. You could probably pin it on Chris Drury for the mistimed memo that made both Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider available before Thanksgiving. It created a domino effect. Storm clouds hung over the team from that point on.

Drury desperately attempted to remake the roster by subtracting Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil. It produced mixed results, with Will Borgen and Miller having positive impacts. Unfortunately, the malaise known as Rangeritis also affected both Borgen and Miller. Even Igor Shesterkin can’t escape it. He’s gone from a former Vezina winner to a mere mortal. The defensive system they play under assistant coach Phil Housley hasn’t helped. How many instances have we seen opponents left wide open for goals due to players failing to make switches in coverage? The man-to-man defense has been abysmal. Head coach Peter Laviolette never made any changes.

If you’re still trying to understand how we got to this point, it’s quite simple. The Rangers haven’t shown any real desire to play with more consistency and urgency needed to make the playoffs. Instead, they’ve fallen apart due to many established players underperforming. I refuse to use the word stars when discussing this miserable team that’s embarrassed the jersey. Not even Artemi Panarin escapes criticism. For all the offense he’s provided since March, he also looked tuned out during the winter.

The main culprits have been Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. Only Kreider has been punished by the selective Laviolette, who’s refused to make an example of Lafreniere for his many failures since getting a significant raise at the start of next season. When Lafreniere received a misconduct in a miserable loss to the Lightning, he never missed a single shift. Two goals over the last 25 games and three over a longer stretch sum up his lackluster effort, which has been on full display in the lack of hustle back on defense. For a former consensus top pick, he sure leaves a lot to be desired. Does he even care? How did he go from a breakout season in 2023-24 to this? Is Lafreniere channeling Alexandre Daigle?

As for Zibanejad, he had a nice run while shifting to the right side to play with Miller when he was quite productive. When Laviolette decided to move him back to center the third line in hope of more offense, Zibanejad reverted back to the form that made him one of the league’s most disappointing players. He might not even reach 20 goals. Zibanejad entered Wednesday with 17 goals and a team worst minus-22 rating. At least he had the good fortune of a puck bouncing off him for a rare power-play goal against the Lightning on Monday.

In what really proved to be a do or die game, the Rangers got shut out by the Devils 4-0 this past Saturday. A Zibanejad miscue led to a Jesper Bratt shorthanded goal in the second period. With the top unit again getting nothing done, Zibanejad made a bad read with both Miller and Kreider caught behind the net. That allowed Nico Hischier and Bratt to come out on a two-on-one against Adam Fox, who couldn’t prevent Hischier’s pass from hitting Bratt to make it 2-0. It was the third shorthanded goal they allowed in four games. Two days later, Brandon Hagel came close to making four shorthanded goals in five games, but his shot hit the crossbar.

In the 5-1 loss to the Lightning, it was the penalty kill that got victimized. The explosive Bolts power play struck three times. A lack of discipline led to Nikita Kucherov power-play goal and a pair from Brayden Point. For once, the Rangers didn’t play poorly at even strength. They outshot the Lightning by a healthy margin. However, Andrei Vasilevskiy was on top of his game finishing with 38 saves.

While they continued to lose in bad fashion, the Canadiens have all but wrapped up the second wild card. They deserve a lot of credit for how well they’ve played during the final stretch. Most impressively, they swept a home-and-home series with the Panthers. Nick Suzuki rescued them late in regulation and then got the overtime winner last week at Bell Centre in the rematch. Suzuki has become a star for the Habs. Along with Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson, who really deserves to win the Calder, they’ve carried them to a six-game winning streak. Sam Montembeault has made the clutch saves in five of the six wins. When they defeated the Red Wings 4-1 yesterday, Josh Anderson got the winner. He and Brendan Gallagher have delivered in the clutch.

Unlike the Rangers, who can’t seem to be bothered, the Canadiens play with a lot of heart, determination, and grit. That’s why they’re in position to clinch. They’ve separated themselves from the pack of pretenders, which includes the Rangers, Red Wings, Islanders, and Blue Jackets all tied in points (79) with time running out. Somehow, the Sabres are only three points behind. They’ve played the best out of everyone, scoring goals and having won five in a row. To put into perspective how bad a season it’s been for the Rangers, they haven’t had a three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19. They’ve earned their trip to the golf course.

Even with them essentially playing out the string, Laviolette decided to healthy scratch first round pick Gabriel Perreault. It took only three games for Perreault to go from a role in the top six to sitting out. The Rangers enter play with a tragic number of two. What’s the point of burning a year off Perreault’s ELC if he isn’t going to play? Meanwhile, other recent college players like Jimmy Snuggerud and Ryan Leonard aren’t sitting while playing for good teams headed to the postseason. Logic doesn’t seem to apply when it comes to the Rangers.

Some will wonder why it couldn’t be Kreider that sits. Laviolette healthy scratched him once earlier in the season. Or what about making an example of Lafreniere? Not with this coach. Even Trocheck has been underwhelming. He entered tonight with 52 points, which is way down from the 77 he posted while centering Panarin and Lafreniere last season. The trio were the best scoring line at five-on-five and largely responsible for the Rangers having a record-setting 55 wins and 114 points in 2023-24. It’s hard to believe that a year later, they were so ineffective that they were broken up. They were on for too many goals against, leading to the change.

Laviolette never considered sitting Zibanejad. Is that because he’s considered too fragile? Win or lose, he’s usually there to answer questions following games. It isn’t a criticism of him, but rather a question about his mental state. At 31, he shouldn’t look finished as an impact player. With the season drawing to a close, his numbers keep declining. Since putting up a career-high 91 points in 2022-23, he’s fallen off a cliff.

MENTAL MIKA

Year GP Goals Assists Points +/-

2022-23 82 39 52 91 25

2023-24 81 26 46 72 15

2024-25 77 17 35 52 -22

Zibanejad has an $8.5 million cap hit that doesn’t expire until 2030 with a full no-movement clause. If the Rangers decide to attempt to move him in the off-season, he’ll have to agree to waive it. When Drury acquired Miller from Vancouver, he waived his NMC to accept a deal to come to New York City.

The more likely player who could be gone is Kreider. A year ago, he was the toast of the town for recording a natural hat trick in the third period of Game 6 against the Hurricanes to send the Rangers to the Conference Finals. He scored 39 goals and posted a career-high 36 assists for a total of 75 points last season. At 33, it’s been a nightmare of a season with Kreider having only five assists to go with 20 goals in 63 games. At times, he’s looked mentally checked out. That could have to do with having his name muddied due to Drury.

Kreider’s also battled injuries which have limited his effectiveness. He tied Camille Henry’s franchise record for the most power-play goals (116) in Rangers history. Even in a down year, his four shorthanded goals lead the team, and the 20 goals rank third – trailing only Panarin (34) and Trocheck (23), who scored a shorthanded goal against the Flyers in the first period of tonight’s game. With a $6.5 million cap hit and two years left on his contract that includes a modified no-trade clause, it’s very likely that Kreider’s in the final stage of his Rangers career. He’s been used mostly on the fourth line while continuing to receive both power play and penalty killing time. Kreider will turn 34 on April 30.

By the weekend, the Rangers could be eliminated. If they lose to the Flyers, all the Canadiens need to do is earn one point over their final four games. The Habs magic number to clinch is three. It’s a far cry from where the Blueshirts were 12 months ago. That team had character and a lot of resolve. They were never out of a game. Too often, this year’s version has quit. The Lightning scored three goals over a 1:45 span in the first period to break open a scoreless game. At times, it’s looked like they’re going through the motions.

I still haven’t figured out what their identity is. We’re at game 78 and there isn’t one. Laviolette had the remarkable quote the other night that he doesn’t go into the locker room after games. Is that due to how tired he is of repeating the same things following losses? He’s been a very successful coach. Never has a team quit on him in the second year the way the Rangers have. Why should they get to choose another coach? It’s Gerard Gallant all over again. As much as I didn’t like him, he’s been proven right about one thing. You can have all the talent in the world. But without players who work and forecheck consistently, you won’t be successful.

This team has sucked the life out of me. There’s a reason why I’ve hardly posted anything over the last month. They lack passion and enthusiasm. Other teams have more excitement after goals. They don’t look dead on the bench. This is easily my most hated team out of all the years I’ve been following them. All things being fair, half the roster deserves to go with Laviolette. We know Drury isn’t going anywhere. If he even considers hiring another retread, I will stop watching. There needs to be a fresh voice who has a pulse. The roster needs to be overhauled. Whoever takes over, they better have the patience to play kids like Perreault, Brennan Othmann, and Brett Berard.

The 2024-25 New York Rangers deserve to rot.