Following another embarrassing 8-4 loss to the Senators on Jan. 14 that made it five consecutive defeats, the Rangers finally admitted the obvious to disgruntled fans who’ve seen enough of a heartless roster that lacks character in the franchise’s centennial season.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury released a statement that provided an update on what the organization plans are. As expected, they won’t include Artemi Panarin, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He will not be offered a contract extension, which means that the Rangers intend to trade him to a playoff contender looking to win this year.

Given how poorly constructed the roster is, this was predictable. The Rangers entered the season very top heavy. The success depended largely on a core of veterans that included Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Panarin, Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. Injuries to Fox, Miller, Shesterkin, and Trocheck have contributed to the downfall. With neither Will Cuylle nor Alexis Lafreniere performing up to expectations, the offense has relied too much on Panarin and Zibanejad.

When Fox was healthy prior to his first stint on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), the Rangers hung around with a 13-12-2 record through November. Since losing to the Lightning 4-1 on Nov. 29, they’ve gone 7-10-4 over the last 21 games. They’ve only won three times in regulation over that futile stretch. In a 3-2 overtime loss to the Mammoth on Jan. 5, both Fox and Shesterkin suffered injuries. A lower-body injury has kept Shesterkin out over the last four games. Unlike Fox, who was placed on LTIR for the second time, Shesterkin is close to returning.

In the four games since, the Rangers have been outscored 27-10. Jonathan Quick has been chased from the net twice in lopsided defeats to the Bruins (10-2) and Senators (8-4). After giving up six goals for the second time in his last three starts against Ottawa on Wednesday night, Quick was replaced by Spencer Martin. At that point, the Senators led 6-0 before head coach Mike Sullivan pulled Quick. The first period was so uncompetitive that the Rangers gave up before intermission by allowing Dylan Cozens to score with less than five seconds left.

The only positive coming out of that game was the arrival of rookie Gabe Perreault, who recorded his first career two-goal game. Both goals came on lead passes in front with Perreault able to go to a deke before finishing each. Only 20, the 2023 first round pick is the Rangers’ best prospect. He might be their only prospect capable of playing in the top six. A place he should stay for the remainder of the season.

Perreault remained with Miller and Zibanejad at the morning skate. So disgusted with his team, Sullivan made the line change in the first period the other night. He also had Panarin back with Trocheck and Lafreniere. A line that once was responsible for most of the team’s success when they won the Presidents’ Trophy and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 2023-24. That feels like a lifetime ago.

Key Players Want To Stay

Despite where the Rangers currently are in the standings, sitting last in the Eastern Conference with 46 points, key players have indicated to Drury that they want to stay put. They include Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Miller, Shesterkin, and Zibanejad. All have no-movement clauses in their contracts.

While it’s likely that all five remain Rangers during the next phase of the franchise, Trocheck wasn’t mentioned. A gritty center who brings a lot to the table, he doesn’t have full trade protection. With a more workable contract ($5.625 million AAV) that doesn’t expire until 2029, Trocheck could be a candidate teams have interest in. He has a 12 team no-trade list this season.

Selected to Team USA for the Olympics due to his checking and tenacity, the 32-year-old plays both power play and penalty kill while remaining strong on faceoffs (55.4 percent).

Panarin Era Coming to A Close

As indicated earlier, Drury held an individual meeting with Panarin and told him that they wouldn’t be offering an extension. Instead, they would like to find an opportunity for him to win elsewhere.

That largely depends on Panarin, who has a full NMC. When he chose the Rangers on July 1, 2019, it was because he wanted to play in the big city under the bright lights. For almost seven years, the 34-year-old Russian has been the brightest star at Madison Square Garden since all-time Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist. Set to play in his 800th career NHL game when they visit the Flyers on Saturday, Panarin has registered 202 goals and 399 assists for 601 points in 477 games as a Ranger.

The biggest highlight came when he scored the overtime winner in Game 7 of the first round to help the Rangers overcome a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Penguins in 2022. They came back to defeat the Hurricanes in seven to advance to the Conference Finals. After taking the first two games, they lost the series in six to the two-time defending champion Lightning.

In a memorable 2023-24, Panarin set career bests in goals (49), assists (71), and points (120) to lead the Rangers to the best record in the league. His 120 points are the second most by a Ranger in a single season, ranking behind Jaromir Jagr, who broke Jean Ratellele’s record with 123 points in 2005-06. He finished fifth for the Hart and was selected as a first-team All-Star for the second time in his career.

Panarin posted five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in the postseason. Four of his five goals were game-winners. After they eliminated the Capitals and Hurricanes in the first two rounds, the Rangers lost to the Panthers in six. The stingy Cats held Panarin to a goal and three assists in the series. Panarin scored late in Game 6 with Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker. The Panthers held on to defeat the Rangers 2-1 to advance to the Stanley Cup, which they won over the Oilers.

Despite the current team being a mess, Panarin remains productive with 51 points to pace the Blueshirts in scoring. He ranks second in goals (16) behind Zibanejad, who leads them with 18. His 37 even strength points lead a team that’s struggled. Unlike last year when he had eight power-play goals, he only has scored once on the man-advantage.

With an assist this weekend, he’ll reach 400 as a member of the Rangers. Panarin is closing in on 1,000 points for his career. In 799 games with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Rangers, he has 318 goals and 603 assists for 921 points. Assuming he stays in the NHL and signs in July, Panarin will reach that milestone.

If he wants to shed the label as not being the best playoff performer, then he’ll be amenable to waiving his NMC. We’ll see what he decides.

Criticism For Drury

Ever since MSG CEO James Dolan appeared on The Carton Show over a week ago to publicly support Drury, the Rangers have fallen apart. A former player who wasn’t a good captain, he’s hid behind the curtains like that memorable scene in The Wizard of Oz. We all know the one. He’s a gutless executive who refuses to make himself available to media and face the music.

That’s why Drury chose to create The Letter Part II. Unlike his predecessor Jeff Gorton, who was more serious about a rebuild through the draft and trades, Drury refers to it as a retool. If that were truly the case, what would he call the following:

1. Dumped Barclay Goodrow on waivers in a prearranged move so the Sharks could claim him to get around his no-trade protection. Ironically, Goodrow’s having the last laugh on a better team thanks to Hart candidate Macklin Celebrini carrying the Sharks.
2. After making it no secret that he planned to trade captain Jacob Trouba during the summer of 2024, Trouba blocked a move to Detroit. After the threat of unconditional waivers to Hartford, he accepted a deal to Anaheim for a weak return of Urho Vaakanainen, who’s become the odd man out on the blue line following signing a two-year deal. Elijah Neuenschwander was selected with the fourth round pick.
3. In a league memo that made both Trouba and Chris Kreider available with the team 12-4-1 in November 2024, Drury watched the team go into the tank due to a disconnect in the locker room that he created. When he finally forced Trouba out on Dec. 6, what followed was more dissension.
4. After being a healthy scratch by Peter Laviolette, Kaapo Kakko fumed at being made the scapegoat for an under-performing roster in which vets never were made examples out of. Eventually Kakko was traded to the Kraken on Dec. 18 for Will Borgen and a sixth round pick (Samuel Jung).
5. Following six weeks, Borgen is given a five-year contract with a $4.1 million cap hit on Jan. 25. His play slips in the second half of a forgettable season. As is standard, he has a no-trade clause for the first four years of the deal. A solid player who’s at best a third pair defenseman, he remains on the second pair due to how weak the blue line is.
6. Despite the team hardly proving itself, Drury decides to double down by packing Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first round pick to the Canucks for Miller on Jan. 31. The deal also nets Jackson Dorrington. However, that first round pick winds up being dealt twice via Pittsburgh to Philadelphia who select Jack Nesbitt. After putting up 35 points in 32 games, Miller’s struggled as the leader of a bad team with 26 points and a minus-17 in 39 games.
7. Playing through an injury during the 2024-25 season that caused him to miss some time, Kreider scored in his final game as a Ranger. He also assisted on a Zibanejad goal. Knowing it was the final time he’d ever play for the franchise as one of its greatest goalscorers, he agreed to a trade to Anaheim on Jun. 12 that netted Carey Terrance and a third round pick (Artyom Gonchar).
8. After being acquired with Juuso Parssinen from the Avalanche for Ryan Lindgren on Mar. 1, Calvin de Haan had some choice words for the organization due to how little he played despite the team performing well in his three games. He was promised a role but instead, he became a healthy scratch under Laviolette. Eventually, de Haan clarified his statements to reporters by explaining how he felt. A six-player deal that included Jimmy Vesey netted promising second round pick Malcolm Spence, who has eight goals and five assists at Michigan as a freshman. The fourth round pick is Mikkel Eriksen, who plays in Sweden.
9. Before hiring Sullivan, Drury doubled down by signing Parssinen to a two-year contract. After posting two goals and an assist in 14 games under Sullivan, Parssinen passes through waivers where he is sent to Hartford. Following one game, he suffers an injury and hasn’t played since.
10. For reasons only known to him, Drury signs Taylor Raddysh for two years with a $1.5 million cap hit. After a hot start highlighted by a hat trick, Raddysh falls out of favor before he posts two goals and an assist in a win over his former team in Washington on Dec. 23. Since then, he hasn’t registered a point in nine games while playing mostly on the fourth line. But his 7-4-11 is still ranked 10th in team scoring due to the lack of talent.
11. Drury’s first draft pick Brennan Othmann remains without an NHL goal in 33 games. Taken 16th in 2021 ahead of Wyatt Johnston and Josh Doan, he’s yet to establish himself. After going back and forth in Hartford where he’s produced better results, Othmann is being given another chance to play on the third line with promising 2022 fourth round pick Noah Laba, who looks like a top nine player.
12. Before the 100-Year Anniversary, Drury signs Conor Sheary to a one-year, two-way deal for $775,000. The 33-year-old veteran who was a member of back-to-back Stanley Cups under Sullivan in Pittsburgh, becomes a permanent fixture in the top nine. He’s often miscast in a top six role due to Sullivan’s preference of having defensive-minded vets. Despite giving an honest effort, unlike many teammates, Sheary manages only one goal with eight assists in 37 games before being placed on LTIR on Jan. 1.
13. In a recent game due to injuries, both Anton Blidh and Justin Dowling are recalled. Each plays in two games before being sent back down to Hartford.
14. Due to spending close to the max, Drury is forced to send down younger players to remain cap compliant. A roller-coaster that hasn’t helped with roster stability during an embarrassing centennial anniversary highlighted by the team having only five wins at MSG in mid-January.
15. On Jan. 16, Drury releases a statement that acknowledges how disappointment of a roster that lacks guts or soul. A passionless roster that he created. Of course, he doesn’t apologize to the fans who have called for his head in recent home games by chanting, “Fire Drury!!!” Instead, it’s a cowardly letter where he doesn’t have to answer a single question, adding further insult to a forgettable season

Counting Down Till It’s Over

Most fans are counting down till it’s over. The Rangers have 34 games remaining on the schedule, including a four-game road trip that begins tomorrow at Philadelphia for another ABC waste of nationally televised game. What will they do for an encore?

To be blunt, it’s 34 days of waste for a fan base that’s sick of Drury, who’s replaced Glen Sather as Dolan’s new personal favorite. But remember, he’s a winner who hates losing. Drury won a stacked Avalanche in 2000-01. They shouldn’t have even won that year. The Devils and Martin Brodeur blew that series in Game 6 with a no-show.

Drury had a good career, highlighted by his game-tying goal late in regulation in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Rangers in 2007. Maxim Afinogenov scored the overtime winner to rescue the Sabres to a 2-1 victory. Buffalo advanced to the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Senators.

As a GM, Drury has been a failure. Even though he’s right about there being successes with runs in 2022 and 2024 thanks to the roster Gorton and former team president John Davidson built, he’s changed coaches three times, and turned a good roster into one of the NHL’s worst. The Rangers are unwatchable.

Last season was pretty bad. This one feels even worse due to how poorly they’ve performed under Sullivan. It was Drury’s choice to bring in his buddy. It was also their decision to make Miller captain of this sinking ship. What happened to No More BS? Miller couldn’t even find the words to explain away a 10-2 humiliation in the Boston Massacre on Jan. 10.

The only Ranger who’s been accountable has been Zibanejad. He’s played hard and is close to matching his 2024-25 goal total (20) due to putting in a honest effort. Win or lose, he’s available in the locker room to answer questions. He never sounds lost as to why they aren’t winning. That’s your runaway Steven McDonald winner.

When the Olympic break comes in February, it’ll serve as a vacation for the fans. The only thing to look forward to is whether or not Panarin agrees to a trade, and which players move in March.

There’s nothing left. What a way to honor the past Rangers legends and fan favorites.