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After winning the President's Trophy as the NHL's top team in 2023-24 — and failing to turn it into a Stanley Cup championship — the New York Rangers are not getting any younger as they continue to chase an elusive ring.
Despite boasting a superstar core, the Blueshirts have been unable to get over the hump in the playoffs, advancing to two Eastern Conference Finals in three seasons and losing both of them. And star blue liner Adam Fox knows the expectations have not lowered in any way ahead of Wednesday's season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“A big city like New York, a historic team like the Rangers, almost every year is a little bit of Stanley Cup or bust,” Fox admitted, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh. “When you play for a team that’s this historic, it carries a little more weight and makes not achieving that goal sting even harder.”
The 26-year-old added: “Teams don’t get any younger. You always talk about a window, and we’re clearly in that window. I don’t know if it’s necessary to go into the year saying, ‘This is the year,’ but I think we are a group that’s been around it long enough that not getting a Stanley Cup is coming short of a goal.”
The Rangers enjoyed a phenomenal regular season, winning 55 games and edging out the Dallas Stars with 114 points. They swept the Washington Capitals and outlasted the Carolina Hurricanes in the first two rounds, but were unable to crack a deep Florida Panthers roster.
The Panthers beat the Rangers in six games before taking out Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling seven-game Stanley Cup Final. But despite another playoff disappointment, the Rangers remain one of the league's best teams heading into 2024-25.
Rangers will be among league's top teams again in 2024-25
The Rangers have star power at every position, including a true superstar in Artemi Panarin and arguably the best goaltender in the league in Igor Shesterkin. They've also accumulated quite a bit of postseason experience over the last few seasons.
“We’ve got a lot of experience, but we’ve never made it all the way,” said Filip Chytil, per Baugh. “This is our goal this year again, and we’ll do anything for this.”
New York is running it back with a very similar roster that dominated the league in 2023-24, including the addition of Reilly Smith up front. The hope is that Ryan Lindgren, who was injured in the preseason, will also be back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
Head coach Peter Laviolette said that last year's playoffs are firmly in the rearview mirror, and the squad is looking ahead to what could be the last dance for a team with a couple key pending free agents next summer.
“The windshield now is just looking at this season — this brand new season,” Laviolette told Baugh. “It’s a chance to make your mark and go out and do great things. It starts with Game 1 in Pittsburgh.”
The Rangers will look to get in the win column against Sidney Crosby and the Pens at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday night.
