Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
It's partly a failed re-build because their high picks haven't delivered. From 2017 to 2021 their high picks were: Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K'Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist, Olof Lindbom, Kaapo Kakko, Matthew Robertson, Alexis Lafreniere, Braden Schneider, Will Cuyle, Brendan Othman.
Given the number of picks and how many of them were higher, that needed to deliver more of their core. It failed to do that, and so now the actual players that have been the core (Panarin, Zib, Fox) are starting to get older, or aren't as good as originally thought. And they don't have the players coming from behind now to replace them.
So it seems like they are moving further away from contending. The window is closing and it never really opened.
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Lias Andreson - 2017 #7 overall - Traded for 2nd round pick. Now in Europe.
Vitali Kravtsov - 2018 #9 overall - Traded for Will Lockwood and a seventh round draft pick in 2026.
Kappo Kakko - 2019 #2 overall - Traded for Will Borgen, and a third- and sixth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Alex Lafreniere - 2020 #1 overall - Still on the Rangers, but not that good.
Having that be the result of four consecutive top 10 picks, will kill a rebuild. Part of that is bad scouting and part of that is bad management. The Rangers are doing an awful job developing their own talent and seem to be actively alienating their own young players.