Breakup day was today for the Rangers. There’s a lot to digest. Following a disappointing season that saw them fail to qualify for the postseason for the first time in four years, the players revealed a lot to reporters in the locker room.

Before we get to the interesting stuff, Calvin de Haan heaped some high praise on Igor Shesterkin. “He’s probably the best player on the team. Fuck, he’s good. I think we pissed away some good goaltending [this season].”

De Haan also expanded on his frustration last week over not playing after getting into three games following the trade from Colorado. “It might have just been a teleprompter answer, frankly, just welcome to the team, that kind of thing… They alluded to the fact that I was part of a trade for a Ranger who was a good Ranger for a long time. I was told I was going to part of the team moving forward and get an opportunity.”

Obviously, he was referring to Ryan Lindgren, who was part of a core that reached two Conference Finals and won a Presidents’ Trophy. De Haan was acquired along with Juuso Parssinen from the Avalanche in exchange for Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, and Hank Kempf on Mar. 1. The Rangers also received 2025 second and fourth round picks.

His transparency was refreshing compared to how buttoned up the organization is. There was a communication breakdown that contributed to the Rangers’ demise. Even Chris Drury acknowledged yesterday that communication is a priority following a chaotic season in which several players were unhappy about ice time and being scratched.

“I know for a fact Lavi is really big on communication and communicated to his players throughout his two years here. Where they stood and why they were out or why they were in or what their role was or wasn’t. Communication is a priority. Being a former player myself, I always liked to know where I stood and we always try to do that with players every single day.”

For his part, Zac Jones took responsibility for what he said earlier this season. “Listen, I said what I said this year — and I don’t take it back. I stand by what I said. When you’re in this role and some days are better than others and you get asked question, question, question. I know you guys have a job to do, too, but same time it kind of eats at you. And eventually I kind of just blew up. I shouldn’t have said what I said to you guys, that’s on me. I should’ve kept it private and kept it in the locker room. Sometimes things happen, emotions get the best of you.”

Now 24, Jones is a restricted free agent this summer. Despite being in and out of the lineup, he set career bests in games played (46), assists (10), points (11), and penalty minutes (24). If he remains with the team, the 2019 third round pick needs to have a more defined role. If it isn’t here, maybe Jones can find a new home. He deserves a real chance to show what he can do. Before Monday, he said that he wants to work on improving his shot. Jones only scored one goal this season. For a defenseman with his skill set, he needs to hit the net with more regularity.

Kreider Reveals that he had Vertigo and might need Surgery

One of the biggest news items of the day was Chris Kreider finally speaking openly to reporters about his season. After struggling with a back issue, he admitted that a weird illness that went to his inner ear caused him to develop vertigo following the Christmas break.

Kreider also suffered a hand injury in the first game back following the 4 Nations. He might need to have surgery. As for how he felt about the trade memo, he said he didn’t even find out about it until people close to him mentioned it.

“I mean, that wasn’t the first time. Won’t be the last time. That kind of stuff comes out. That’s part of professional sports unfortunately. Lucky I don’t have any social media, I wasn’t really aware of it until people close to me brought it to my attention. Just try to show up and do your job to the best of your abilities.”

However, Kreider was brutally honest about the subtraction of popular teammates Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba. “It’s part of professional sports, but, obviously, at a certain point it becomes somewhat of a distraction…Two guys that were massive leaders for us and a big part of our room. I just think there was its dynamic and it’s changing an environment like that. Not even to get into the personal relationships we all had, what good people they are, things that they did… It was certainly challenging.”

Kreider would love to stay put. “I mean, this is home for me. This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I’ve developed so many incredible relationships and grown up and spent in this area. So, obviously, this is where I want to be and this is the group I want to help in whatever fashion and win hockey games.”

Schneider played with a Torn Labrum for two years

For two years, Braden Schneider played with a torn labrum. Somehow, he played through the injury the last two seasons. He had it since 2022-23 but wanted to keep playing to help the team win games.

Schneider had surgery to repair the tear on Apr. 17. He’s in a sling for four weeks and won’t start skating until three months from now.

Knowing that he had a serious injury for so long, it begs the question what the Rangers medical staff was doing for all this time. If he was so banged up, why didn’t they sit him out for some games. They never placed Kreider on injured reserve until he suffered the hand injury. They had options. They could’ve called up reinforcements from Hartford or played other players.

There’s something fundamentally wrong with the organization. They must have no confidence in developing players. Look how long it took for Matthew Robertson to make his NHL debut. In his two appearances at the end of the season, the 2019 second round pick played well enough to help make a case for the future. The way they do things is absurd. It doesn’t make any sense.

Trocheck tries to stay Positive

While Mika Zibanejad sounded downtrodden over his season, even indicating that the first few months was the toughest he’s ever been through in his career, Vincent Trocheck had a different outlook on things.

“I think it’s on us, inside this room, in order to make sure that the outside noise doesn’t get to us. Whether that’s talking to somebody individually or if it’s just sticking together as a team and as a family and I think we can get better at that. Lifting guys up instead of bringing guys down, I think that goes a long way.”

“I really believe in this locker room. I believe in everybody. I obviously believe in the talent we have. I just think it’s a matter of us as a team sticking together, figuring out the right way to go about things moving into next year. And once we have that team belief, then it all starts to snowball in a positive direction.”

Trocheck should be in consideration for the next Rangers captain. Unlike some of the other players that have been here longer, he seems to have a different mentality. It’s similar to close friend and teammate J.T. Miller, who wasn’t there due to losing a close personal friend. Condolences go out to Miller and his friend’s family.

Shesterkin says something broke

When at his locker, Shesterkin felt that something broke during the season. He said that they weren’t able to handle it. Judging from the interview, he was uncertain what went wrong. It sounded like he was hinting at the team being fragile. Unlike past seasons, they weren’t able to bounce back from tough losses.

In 2023-24, the Rangers handled adversity much better. They were a much mentally stronger group who were resilient. Moving forward, they must get back to that mentality. It can’t be the sky is falling after a couple of losses. You could feel the doom and gloom from watching the players’ body language and expressions during games. It was very frustrating.

Fox doesn’t blame Laviolette

Adam Fox couldn’t understand why they can’t be more successful with a coach. He hasn’t been here that long but will already be on his fourth coach in seven years. Fox didn’t blame Peter Laviolette for the team’s failures. Instead, he mentioned wanting a coach to last as long as they have.

“It’s hard not to look at us as players and say, ‘Why is that happening?’ We seem to have a lot of success and then I don’t know, it turns. I don’t think us as players at any point didn’t like Lavi or thought his message wasn’t getting through. It just seemed the execution of it was not there. I think we want to be able to come in with a coach that’s here for as long as we’re all here. Even outlast us as players because that means we’re having a lot of success.”

For Fox, he’s seen three coaches get dismissed after two seasons. It started with David Quinn, who actually outlasted both Gerard Gallant and Laviolette. Quinn replaced Alain Vigneault following 2017-18. He oversaw the rebuild and had to deal with Covid abbreviated years. Gallant replaced him in 2021-22. Laviolette replaced Gallant in 2023-24. Maybe both can give John Tortorella a buzz and get together for a drink. They’d sure have a lot to discuss when it comes to the Rangers.

Miller disappointed in his season

K’Andre Miller was very honest in his assessment. He admitted that he was disappointed in his season. He said that the noise became a distraction.

“I mean, not just my game, I think throughout this team I think there was a lot of ups and downs throughout the year. I was obviously a big part of that. I didn’t love how my season this year, I was listening to a lot of the noise and just not really playing the game I wanted to play. That was a hard season for me to kind of get a grip of how I wanted to play. There was a lot of noise at the beginning, but I thought I did a good job of just staying true to myself and showing up every day with a smile on my face and willingness to get better.”

It really sounds like Miller put too much pressure on himself. He was playing for a contract. It doesn’t feel like he handles the mental side of the game well enough. In the past, he took a break to speak to a therapist. Maybe that should be permanent. A talented player, he continues to make the same mistakes. His game hasn’t improved since Gallant was fired. Astonishingly, he set career bests in goals (9), assists (34), and points (43) in 2022-23. He’s trended in the wrong direction since. He remains a polarizing player due to his potential.

Miller has enjoyed being a Ranger. If I were him, I’d tell my agent to try to get another short-term deal. He still needs to prove that he’s worth keeping long-term. Maybe another bridge deal would work. If it motivates him, he can come in with a different approach and prove himself to whoever the next coach is.

Lafreniere didn’t make a difference

When asked to assess his season, Alexis Lafreniere said it was disappointing. He got off to a good start but struggled with consistency. He felt like he didn’t make a difference.

“I always expect a lot out of myself. Obviously, when you sign for more money, there’s always a little bit more pressure. I try not to think about it too much. If I make whatever the amount of money, I just want to perform the best I can. I don’t think I did that this year.”

A year removed from establishing personal bests in goals (28), assists (29), and points (57), the 23-year-old forward saw a dip in his overall game. Lafreniere finished with 17 goals and 28 assists for 45 points in 82 games. His plus/minus was a career worst minus-13.

Despite getting a contract extension that’ll pay him a $7.45 million cap hit starting next season through 2032, Lafreniere’s play suffered. There were times where he looked disinterested. He didn’t always hustle back. For a consensus top pick in 2020, Lafreniere isn’t well schooled defensively. Aside from the lack of production, which included attempting almost 100 fewer shots, he was caught out of position too often on goals against. He must regain his confidence offensively and become more committed to the defensive side.

Zibanejad takes ownership for season

When asked about his year, Zibanejad took ownership for his season. He clearly struggled to establish himself at both five-on-five and on the power play. With his offense suffering, it affected the defensive side of the puck. A once reliable two-way center, Zibanejad was beaten much more frequently by opponents for goals against. He finished the season with a minus-22 rating. It was his worst since going a minus-23 in 2017-18.

He also mentioned the team needing to improve on communicating with each other. He indicated that things could be better. They all want the same thing. To be standing there talking about winning the Stanley Cup. In order for that to happen, a lot must change. The question is will he be around for it. Nobody knows what will happen in the off-season.

Zibanejad finished the season stronger to wind up with 20 goals and 40 assists for 62 points. He was more productive when Laviolette played him on the right side with Miller and Will Cuylle. The Rangers aren’t paying him $8.5 million to be a right wing. He’s supposed to be a two-way center. At 32, he should still have some good years ahead of him. He needs to refocus and work on improving both his skating and getting stronger mentally. He seemed to break down due to all the distractions.

A look at what’s ahead

A lot more could be said about where things are. There’s going to be changes coming ahead. That will include a new coach, with the list of candidates including current Pens coach Mike Sullivan, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet (in negotations), Tortorella, Joel Quenneville, Denver coach David Carle, and Jeff Halpern. Both former assistants Michael Peca and Dan Muse could interview for the job.