The New York Rangers missed the playoffs in 2026. Again. Thirty-four wins, 77 points, last in the Eastern Conference — the first franchise in NHL history to follow a Presidents’ Trophy with back-to-back playoff misses. That’s the franchise that won 55 games and 114 points in 2023-24. Two years later: last place.
Chris Drury stood in front of a microphone on January 16th, two days after Rangers fans were chanting “Fire Drury” after an 8-4 loss to Ottawa, and sent a letter telling the fan base this was “not a rebuild.” He used the word retool. He talked about “tenacity, skill, speed and a winning pedigree.” He refused to give a timeline. Then the team went 2-7-0 in the nine games that followed his own announcement.
The letter didn’t age well. None of it did.
The Rangers Rebuild That Never Actually Happened
When Drury traded Artemi Panarin — the 34-year-old leading scorer, the best player on the roster — for an OHL prospect named Liam Greentree, a conditional third that could become a second, and a conditional fourth, the hockey world was not impressed. Multiple analysts called it below-market. You don’t trade your franchise forward for a 20-year-old in junior hockey and call that a retool. That’s a rebuild. Call it what it is.
ESPN reported that Drury’s stated plan centered on flexibility and youth — but flexibility without direction is just drift. He held Vincent Trocheck despite offers that reportedly included a first-round pick, a top prospect, and another piece. The asking price was high enough that he didn’t move him. That’s fine in isolation, but what’s the actual plan? Who are the Rangers building around? What does the core look like in two years?
Nobody knows. Including, it seems, the front office.
DraftKings put up the side-by-side and it went viral for a reason:
February 8th, 2018: Rangers GM Jeff Gorton releases a letter to fans telling them that the team is going to be trading off pieces and rebuilding
January 16th, 2026: Rangers GM Chris Drury releases a letter to fans telling them that the team is going to be trading off pieces and… pic.twitter.com/YHZRZ2jTQ7
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) January 16, 2026
Jeff Gorton wrote a nearly identical letter in February 2018. Same language, same vague promises, same non-commitment to a timeline. That cycle produced three more years before the Rangers were competitive again. History doesn’t repeat itself — but Rangers management sure does.
What Losing Panarin and Missing the Playoffs Again Actually Means
Igor Shesterkin is 30 years old. He posted a 2.59 GAA and a .911 save percentage this season on a team that finished last in its conference. He’s under contract at $11.5 million AAV through 2032-33, which means the Rangers are paying elite goalie money for a guy who is going to age out of his prime somewhere in the middle of that deal. The Lundqvist parallel is uncomfortable and accurate — the Rangers “retooled” around Henrik for the better part of a decade without a Cup, and now they’re doing the same thing to his successor.
The official trade announcement — Liam Greentree, a conditional third, a conditional fourth, for Artemi Panarin — says everything about where this organization is. The picture isn’t pretty.
Adam Fox is 27 at $9.5 million through 2028-29 with a full no-movement clause. Mika Zibanejad is 33 at $8.5 million through 2029-30. The Rangers project $27 million in cap space for next season with no declared acquisition strategy. Mike Sullivan, a coach with a Stanley Cup pedigree, just finished 34-39-9 — the worst record of his career. He said “it’s tough” about the elimination. What else is there to say.
The team went 2-11-0 when both Fox and Shesterkin were out between January 8th and February 5th, allowing 4.62 goals per game. That’s a depth problem. That’s a roster construction problem. That’s what happens when you lose two players and you have no margin because the plan was never clearly articulated.
MSG posted a home record that ranked among the worst in the NHL this season. Second-fewest home wins. In New York. In a building that should be a fortress.
Drury’s letter said the organization would “be opportunistic.” Opportunistic is not a plan. It’s a posture. The Rangers have $27 million in projected cap space and a goalie whose prime window is closing, and the front office is going to be “opportunistic.” Nobody should be satisfied with that answer. Not after two straight playoff misses. Not after trading Panarin for pennies. Not after going 2-7-0 immediately after announcing a direction.
The 2018 Gorton letter didn’t lead anywhere good for three more years. The 2026 Drury letter reads the same way. Shesterkin doesn’t have three years to waste.
