The New York Rangers Can Admit It, Why Can’t We?

It was only four years ago that the New York Rangers were three wins away from a Stanley Cup. They may have only won one game in the Stanley Cup Finals, but three of the four Los Angeles Kings victories were decided in overtime. Two of them were in double-overtime, including the Cup-deciding game five.

I don’t think I will ever forget the gut-wrenching pictures of a disappointed Henrik Lundqvist after that loss. He had brought the team to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in twenty years and come up short. But he had played a lot of playoff hockey in that time. Since the latest lockout in 2004-05, the Rangers have only missed the post-season once. They’ve gone to the Conference Finals three times in the last six years and only last season made a second round exit.

Today, the New York Rangers organization announced publicly their intention to rebuild their team.

What a concept! With their playoff chances down to the wire (but still alive) and a prospect pool that is all but dried up, the Rangers have laid it all on the table for their fans: the current state of the team, what to expect in the future, and why they’re making these moves. It shows that they have a realistic outlook on the current roster and are being proactive for the future health of the organization. It’s a show of respect to the fans. And it’s good PR.

Which brings me to the Red Wings. Three years into the rebuild-that-we’re-not-calling-a-rebuild and the team has yet to acknowledge that they’re even rebuilding. Any communication management releases about the state of the team or the direction of its future is through soft-ball interviews with mainstream media outlets. They speak words without saying anything of substance. There is no accountability.

The Red Wings have always been like this. Quiet, classy, loyal, and serious. They keep their cards close to their chest. The only communication with the fans is either promotions or roster updates, and we rarely get rationale for the latter.

I have no doubt that they’ve taken a good hard look at their roster and decided that it’s not good enough to contend for a Stanley Cup. Imagine if they let us in on the secret that they know and then told us what they were going to do about it? We’d hear a lot less “Fire Holland!” chants, that’s for sure.

But that’s not Detroit’s style. The years of being called “the classiest organization in the league” and “the best drafters out there” have built an ego so big in them that they can’t swallow it.

“We’ll never surrender!” they screamed, as they signed the 34-year-old Trevor Daley to a three-year, $9.5-million contract.

“We have what it takes!” they repeated, as 30-year-old Justin Abdelkader’s 7-year, $30-million contract kicked in.

“We still believe!” they maintained, as they lost nine of their first fourteen games of 2018.

If they are fooling anyone, it’s themselves, but I don’t think the team is that dumb. I’m sure they are aware of the state of their roster and have a plan for the future. I’d bet that it includes a rebuild (though not a full on tank job). So why not tell us? It certainly can’t damage the reputation fans have for management any more. If anything, it would help it. The honesty and straightforwardness would be refreshing. We’d respect them for it. It would be good PR.

Nobody likes to admit defeat, but this team had a good run of being the top dog in the league. The gas tank is empty now. It’s time to pull over and refuel.

The New York Rangers can admit it and they are a team is still very much in the playoff race. Why can’t we?