The Impact of the New York Rangers Now

The New York Rangers are winning lately, despite the fact that management has lately been trying to throw in the towel. Is it possible that the players are trying to stick it to management based off of the comments?

Earlier this month, Rangers management and personnel sent out a letter to fans, saying that the team would be going in a new direction. Instead of trying to compete for a player spot, the team will be focused on getting younger and adding more skill, speed, and character to their lineup, something they believe they need to do in order to compete in the long term.

One word I have found very disturbing in the last couple of days is the word tanking. You could very well apply that to the New York Rangers, just based on the letter alone. Tanking cost Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600k. It might not be surprising if the NHL actually chooses to go that same route there, even though the word tanking wasn't used.

It seems very strange that the New York Rangers would send a letter to fans, telling them about what they are doing for the future, as NHL teams have been on the down-low regarding future plans and all that.

Since then, some of the Rangers players have come out and voiced their feelings about this letter and the whole direction of the Rangers locker room: You can read some of the comments on the link here:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/rangers-react-management-throwing-towel-161510658.html

Based on the statements, some of the player didn't like it that management was throwing in the towel, considering that the Rangers were close to a playoff spot and you would think they would be buyers in this case. I'm guessing management has finally decided that getting to that goal in the short-term is not reasonable, and I do understand that management feels that way.

It's also clear that they're trying to make trades to get some cap relief. They already traded away Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils and it looks like they're close to shipping Rick Nash out of town too. They were held out of the game against the Canadiens and didn't play well at all.

Unfortunately for the players, I can understand their frustrations with the management trying to go in a different direction, but management will dictate how this team plays, and if they don't like it, then the Rangers will ship them out too. The Rangers do look like they need to go in a different direction. They hadn't played well for a while, in fact, since the Stanley Cup Final against the LA Kings a couple of years ago, it seems like they'd had been going in reverse, and I think it's time for them to trade all the veterans out and try to rebuild. Management holds the cards here and they will have the final say on what this team does. If they have to trade players to accomplish a long-term goal, they'll do it. Just look at the LA Clippers. They traded away a fan favorite, Blake Griffin, because they understood that a short-term playoff run is not in the cards. The Rangers understand that here too.

This team has played well since that letter came out, but my guess is it won't last, and I doubt they'll be able to make the playoffs this season. It's frustrating that Rangers fans might not be able to see this team try to make the playoffs, but the long-term answers are the ones that need to be addressed, and I think Rangers management knows that. I'll be honest: Short-term answers don't work in sports. A bigger goal requires a long-term plan and I think the Rangers, if they want to get back to the Stanley Cup and win it, need to think long-term.

I'm sorry, Rangers fans and Rangers players, management knows best where this team is headed, and as much as you don't like it, the future of this Rangers teams needs to be priority number one. It is painful, but it is also a necessary truth, and I think it will work out for the Rangers. It may be slow, but there's no quick fixes.