Opinion: What's next for the New York Rangers?

The New York Rangers did not have the season that they wanted to have in 2025. The blueshirts went from the Presidents’ Trophy and an Eastern Conference Final appearance last season to completely missing the playoffs this season.

A lot of moves were made by the Rangers during the season including trading their captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, trading Filip Chytil to the Vancouver Canucks for JT Miller, trading Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche and so many other trades and acquisitions.

However, these trades and moves made by the Rangers were not enough to make the Stanley Cup playoffs and their entire season was one big roller coaster that just went up and down all season.

There were certain stretches where the Rangers were being considered for the 1st overall pick in the NHL draft because of their record, and then being in a playoff spot and then out of the playoffs.

They started off the season hot with a record of 12-4-1, but went 3-10-0 in December and could not find that consistency they had to start the season when it mattered most.

All of these disappointing things that happened to the New York Rangers led to head coach Peter Laviolette being fired after just two seasons in New York.

The Rangers have now fired consecutive coaches after two seasons after Laviolette replaced Gerard Gallant who made the conference finals in his season and lost in the first round in his second season.

The Rangers will look to hire a new head coach during the offseason or even during the NHL playoffs but won’t have to worry about their front office as they agreed to a multi-year contract extension with general manager Chris Drury.

And with the front office comes the NHL draft. The Rangers have top-13 protected through the saga of the JT Miller trade and what resulted from that trade and can choose to keep it if it lands in the top 13 or send it to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Rangers have to focus on their young core. 12 of the 27 players on the Rangers’ current roster are born in the 21th century including Will Cuylle, Braden Schneider and K’Andre Miller.

The Rangers also have to choose a new captain for their team as they traded Jacob Trouba during the season. The Rangers have not seen a captain finish their career with the team since current general manager Drury.

The current assistant captains are Fox, Kreider, Panarin and Zibanejad and another candidate for the Rangers’ captain spot is center Vincent Trocheck.

The Rangers also need to have a big offseason with many players underperforming and most likely on their way out of New York such as Chris Kreider.

The Rangers will hope to have an offseason that brings in players that fit their system and will help the Rangers perform better next season.

The Nashville Predators brought in many stars last season such as Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, but it didn’t work out and they missed the postseason this year.

So, the New York Rangers need to focus on hiring a new coach, focus on their young core and focus on bringing in players that will perform very well for the Blueshirts.

Massimo Buonagurio is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at mkb6750@psu.edu.