For the second year in a row the New York Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
For the past few years this team has started its decline and changes had to be made. As of now the Rangers are in a rebuild era where they are looking for young talent that can work well with their veteran stars. After trading Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, the Rangers proved that they are willing to make serious moves to reconstruct this team.
Last year, the Rangers had a pretty decent draft overall. They finished the season in 8th in their division with a 34-39-9 record, making up 77 points. In the 2018 draft the team had three first round picks. This was huge because it allowed them to draft a good amount of young players that could be a huge piece to this teams future.
This season, the Rangers are currently in 7th place in their division with a record of 29-33-13, making up 71 points. As of now the team could have some pretty good first round draft picks if these scenarios happen:
- The Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup
- The Dallas Stars make the playoffs and advance to the third round
If those two scenarios don’t happen then those picks will become second round picks. Either way those picks can be important for this team as they could gain some of the most talented players in hockey.
While these draft picks are important, who the Rangers might be able to sign in the off season is just as important. There have been rumors for a while circulating around players like Artemi Panarin and Dougie Hamilton to name a few. While fans can never know for sure what stars the team can sign, adding a player like those rumored can help this team significantly.
Only time will tell what the future of this team holds. They have the potential to turn things around fast if they use their draft picks wisely and look for a few stars during the off season.
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