It’s next year now. Eyes are trained on the 2025 prize. There is not a lot to say about the conference final defeat that has not been said over the last 48 hours or so. The Rangers’ deficiencies were exposed by a physically stronger opponent in a heavyweight fight.
Could things have been different?
Let’s take a look back at the trade deadline, during which general manager Chris Drury attempted to fill holes with serviceable pieces rather than going all-in for Jake Guentzel to complete the Mika Zibanejad-Chris Kreider line or an Adam Henrique-Frank Vatrano package to fill that hole and the third-line center spot.
The deadline arrived March 8. Henrique was traded to the Oilers on March 6. Guentzel was traded to the Hurricanes on March 7.
At that point, the Rangers were a couple of weeks removed from a 10-game winning streak that started the game before the All-Star break. The Blueshirts were going through a 1-2-1 withdrawal, losing a shootout in Toronto during which Matt Rempe answered Ryan Reaves’ challenge to fight and then losing somewhat decisively to Florida at the Garden.
Guentzel was a rental. Henrique was a rental. Vatrano, who had one year remaining on his deal at a $3.65 million cap hit, did not want to be traded, and Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek made it clear it would take a heavy price to acquire the winger.
If you think the Rangers were just a few goals shy of making the Cup final, which is technically accurate, then second-guessing Drury for not acquiring a legit big-time goal-scorer is understandable. It might have been a first guess, too.
And it is certainly debatable given that Kaapo Kakko, whom Drury refused to include in potential trade packages, had a disappointing playoffs, during which he was a healthy scratch in Game 2 against the Panthers.
Guentzel is a big-time goal-scorer. He’s had great success in the playoffs. He would have been the kind of rental on whom to go all-in if the Rangers were in that mode.
You can argue Drury should have been. You can argue the Blueshirts were that singular addition away.
I happen to think the argument would have more validity if the Rangers hadn’t beaten the team that gave up six assets, including a first-rounder, to acquire Guentzel.
I also think you’re kind of kidding yourself if you think the difference between the Rangers and Panthers distilled to a couple of goals here and there.
That’s denial, and I hope that is not how Drury and the hierarchy evaluate it.
Let me ask you this: Do you think Guentzel — who scored three goals in the first three games of the Carolina series before being blanked the final three contests with only an assist in Game 4 — would have broken into the first power-play unit? I mean, probably not.
Now, No. 59 would have elevated a PP2 that, honestly, by Game 6 was not representative. I’m not here to disrespect anyone, but PP2 on Saturday night’s only man-advantage consisted of Alexis Lafreniere, Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg, Jonny Brodzinski and Erik Gustafsson.
Look, the Roslovic deal wasn’t only a swing-and-a-miss, it was the Whammer against Roy Hobbs at that train station.
Roslovic was a last-second deal with Columbus after the Caps’ Max Pacioretty decided not to waive his no-move clause to accept a deal to New York.
Roslovic was the last item left in the overstock bin. The price was a 2026 fourth-rounder — and would have been a third-rounder had the Rangers advanced to the final — and it was way too much.
The winger had a moment or two in the regular season and in the Caps series. He was involved in the cycle on Chris Kreider’s hat trick and winning goal in Game 6 against Carolina. He was kind of competent.
But Roslovic was nowhere to be found in the conference final. He wound up on the fourth line, where he played 9:09 in Game 6. No. 96 actually had one of the Blueshirts’ best scoring chances of the night, but he missed a wide-open net by five feet midway through the first period on one of few uncontrolled rebounds left in the series by Sergei Bobrovsky.
As it all turned out, the Rangers would have been better off elevating Jimmy Vesey into that right wing spot with Zibanejad and Kreider while acquiring a fourth-line type instead of Roslovic.
That’s hindsight, though. I admit it.
The Rangers had targeted the Wennberg for weeks leading up to the deadline, The Post reporting it on Feb. 20, before pulling the deal in which a 2024 second-rounder and a 2025 fourth-rounder went to Seattle in exchange for the 29-year-old impending free agent.
Wennberg did his job as a checking-oriented third-line center even while his offensive game seemed to deteriorate along the way. The Swede refused to shoot the puck.
But had the Blueshirts gotten production against the Panthers from Zibanejad, Kreider, Artemi Panarin and the power play, the lack of offense from No. 91 and the third line would not have been an issue. Wennberg did at least score the overtime winner in the Blueshirts’ last victory of the season.
I’m not second-guessing that one at all.
I’m not second-guessing the approach at the deadline that I endorsed at the time, either.