Struggling NHL team could say goodbye to players in retool

The New York Rangers, less than two years removed from being the league’s best regular-season team, are calling for a ‘retool.’

General manager Chris Drury sent out a message to fans on Jan. 16 with the struggling Rangers sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference.

‘With our position in the standings and injuries to key players this season, we must be honest and realistic about our situation,’ he wrote. ‘We are not going to stand pat – a shift will give us the ability to be smart and opportunistic as we retool the team. This will not be a rebuild. This will be a retool built around our core players and prospects.

‘We will target players that bring tenacity, skill, speed and a winning pedigree with a focus on obtaining young players, draft picks and cap space to allow us flexibility moving forward. That may mean saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years. These players represented the Rangers with pride and class and will always be a part of our family.’

The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2023-24. They missed the playoffs last season, leading to a coaching change to Mike Sullivan.

But fortunes haven’t changed. They have lost five in a row, starting in a game in which star goaltender Igor Shesterkin was hurt. In the four games since, they have given up 27 goals. Defenseman Adam Fox is also out with an injury.

Rangers’ salary cap situation

According to puckpedia.com, the Rangers have a little more than $3,000 in cap space available.

Artemi Panarin is in the final year of his contract and would fetch prospects and picks if dealt. He has an $11.6 million cap hit and a full no-movement clause that the Rangers would need to get him to waive. The Athletic reported that Panarin was told his contract wouldn’t be extended.

Many of their other veterans are locked in long-term, including Fox and Vincent Trocheck (2029), J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad (2030) and Shesterkin (2033).

‘You will begin to see some of our plans come to light in the coming weeks and months,’ Drury wrote.

The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET on March 6.