On Thursday, the NHL had its final slate of games before they sent players to Milan for the Winter Olympics. The Rangers were one of 14 teams in action last night. It was a predictable 2-0 shutout loss to the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes at MSG to send them to a fourth straight defeat.

With the Artemi Panarin saga finally behind them with him introduced by the Kings on a Zoom conference call, the Rangers continued to resemble a lottery team that could have a top three pick this June. They were severely outplayed by the Hurricanes who outshot them 43-16 and out-attempted them 85-37.

Jonathan Quick held them in as long as possible by stopping 41 of 42 shots before Jordan Staal sealed it with an empty netter. Carolina only needed a first period tally from Andrei Svechnikov (21st) to get the victory, which allowed them to take the season series by winning three out of four, and outscoring the Rangers 10-6. Since Chris Kreider’s natural hat trick back on May 16, 2024, the Hurricanes have won seven of the last eight meetings, highlighted by a sweep last season in which they outscored the Rangers 18-7.

Rangers Honor Goalies

Even on a special occasion in which legendary TV voice Sam Rosen introduced franchise great goalies Eddie Giacomin, whose family was recognized during a stoppage by former partner Gilles Villemure, John Davidson, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter, and Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers were unable to muster much against a very tough opponent who controlled the tempo and took their usual high volume of shots in what amounted to an exhibition.

It would’ve been nice to see some pushback from the current roster. Most notably, J.T. Miller, who again couldn’t find any words when asked about the latest setback. He’s uttered the same empty quote of “I don’t know” several times following losses. How in the world did they decide that he’d be a good choice for captain? He was brought in by Chris Drury to change the culture, which has only gotten worse during a disgraceful centennial anniversary season.

Here’s a suggestion. Maybe he should skip representing Team USA and do some soul searching. It worked for Rick Vaughn in Major League 2 after manager Jake Taylor called him out before Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

Miller needs a serious attitude adjustment. Just because the season hasn’t gone according to plan doesn’t mean he should look like a deer in headlights after games. At this point, he deserves to have the ‘C’ ripped from his jersey. It always felt like the organization rushed to make him the captain after he only played in 32 games after returning for his second stint as a Blueshirt. Does anything they do make sense? Don’t answer it.

At least it was nice to see Lundqvist taking a great photo with Richter, Vanbiesbrouck, Davidson and Villemure as they paid tribute to Giacomin’s family, who were all wearing his number 1 jersey at the game. It was the only thing worth anything to the fans that attended.

Those guys all played with tremendous heart and pride when wearing the Rangers sweater. There aren’t too many current players who bring that to the table.

Could Trocheck Be Next?

Unfortunately, one of those guys could be headed elsewhere when the season resumes. If he does trade Vincent Trocheck, he better not screw it up like he did with Panarin who admitted that the contract offer he received made him feel like they weren’t sure if they wanted him.

“I don’t know if I should say [this], but I feel like [the Rangers] contract offer say like, ‘We’re not sure if we want you or not,” Artemi Panarin said. “So that’s why I’m not signed. Yeah, we talked not much in the beginning before the season starts and then after, obviously, my start of the season was not great. And then probably we talked in the middle of year, but not much.” Mollie Walker, NY Post Sports.

It’s pretty obvious that Panarin’s first choice was to stay in New York City with his wife, two kids, and their dog. Whatever Drury has planned for the trade deadline in exactly one month, he has to do a much better job communicating with players who could be on the block. Things should’ve been handled internally with Panarin which could’ve maximized his value closer to March 6 instead of moving the deadline up to the Olympic freeze on Wednesday.

Trocheck has an affordable $5.625 million cap hit that doesn’t expire until 2029. That makes the versatile center a hot commodity for teams who can use a hardnosed player that can provide scoring help along with grit and a strong faceoff guy. Unlike Panarin, he doesn’t have full trade protection. It’s a 12-team no-trade list. Both the Stars and Wild could be interested in adding him. Listening to Trocheck speak following games has been tough to see because he looks very disappointed. He probably knows that his time could be up soon.

Sullivan Puts His Foot in His Mouth

By deciding to healthy scratch Brennan Othmann, Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan was asked if it had anything to do with CBA rules regarding keeping him eligible to go down to Hartford and play some games. Instead of indicating that was indeed the case, Sullivan put his foot in his mouth with a very bland response.

“I think there are elements of his game that have to continue to improve in order for him to establish himself as an NHL player.”

It was a nothing burger from the exasperated coach who seems to be running out of patience in his first year behind the Rangers bench.

“I’m trying to be understanding of that as their coach, and do our best as a coaching staff to support those guys and push them through the process. I thought tonight we lacked a certain competitive spirit. That just is simply unacceptable on our part, and that was my discussion.”

The more we hear from Sullivan, the less it sounds like he was the right choice by Drury, who got his guy when the Penguins decided to move on after a decade. When you see the job former Rangers assistant Dan Muse has done in Pittsburgh, who entered the break second in the division, it makes the organization look worse. Under Muse, the Pens are getting contributions from everyone, including 2025 first round pick Ben Kindel, whose 14 goals are a good example of a coach showing faith in a young player by letting them grow.

With the exception of Noah Laba, who’s been a good fit on the third line and penalty killing unit, Sullivan has been very hesitant to play some of the prospects. It took a while before he trusted 2024 first round pick Gabe Perreault enough to play a top six role with Miller and Mika Zibanejad. So far, it’s been mixed results with Perreault having three goals and five assists for eight points.

Sullivan still hasn’t given Scott Morrow enough time on the number one power play unit, preferring to use Vladislav Gavrikov as the quarterback instead. Gavrikov wasn’t signed to run the man-advantage, but the circumstances have led to him playing there due to Adam Fox remaining on long-term injured reserve.

It would be refreshing if the coach realized that playing journeyman Anton Blidh on the fourth line over Othmann isn’t doing him any favors. Even if he’s not happy with Othmann’s game, there’s no reason to sit him. He’s proven himself with the Wolf Pack. If he can’t change Sullivan’s mind, the 2021 first round pick won’t be qualified this summer, and wind up an unrestricted free agent, which is exactly what happened to Zac Jones. It would be another glaring example of poor asset management. That seems to be a tradition under Drury.

No Olympic Sendoff For Players

Unlike most NHL teams who proudly introduced their players that were representing their countries at the Olympics, the Rangers decided not to. Why would they? They’re the laughingstock of the league. Even though he came off bitter in a recent win for Anaheim on the NHL on TNT, Jacob Trouba’s been proven right. The Rangers are a circus.

Both Miller and Trocheck will play for Team USA. Zibanejad will deservedly represent Sweden. Drury and failed assistant David Quinn will undeservedly work for Team USA. It’s perplexing how both Drury and Tom Fitzgerald could serve as assistant GMs. They’ve done the worst jobs with their teams.

Somehow, Team USA architect Bill Guerin allowed these two buffoons to be part of the selection process. Most American fans know that neither Miller nor Trocheck should be on the roster over Cole Caufield and Jason Robertson. It’s astounding that they were selected when Brock Nelson was brought back from last year’s 4-Nations tournament. While it’s true that Trocheck can provide checking and play in a matchup role, not taking two of the best players doesn’t make sense.

Some of us will find it difficult to support USA, which has more to do with Guerin than anything. It isn’t meant as disrespect to either Miller or Trocheck, but neither is having a good year. Even Jack Hughes feels forced due to him sitting out the last two games for the Devils due to a lower-body injury. He’s not exactly been accountable since he returned from surgery for the team’s play. Hughes hates talking to the media, but it’s part of his job. He’s lost some credibility due to how things have been handled in Newark.

If they’re to be successful in their quest for Olympic gold for the first time in 46 years, the Americans defininitely need all three players to contribute when round robin play begins next week. Preliminary play starts on Wednesday, Feb. 11. USA faces Latvia on Feb. 12 while gold medal favorite Canada gets an early test against Czechia next Thursday.

Depending on how much I can watch, I’ll try to put something up. Hopefully, the time off will do our fans some good.