Injuries mounted in January that knocked the Rangers off the rails as Chris Kreider missed significant time due to a blood clot, and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk needed knee surgery that ultimately cost him the rest of the season.
In early February, President Glen Sather and General Manager Jeff Gorton announced a change in direction towards a younger, more skilled team that led to the departures of several key Blueshirts at the trade deadline, including Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash.
Now with the season in the books, offseason work begins, starting with the NHL Draft in June where the Rangers have three first-round picks and two each in rounds two and three to work with.
The extended offseason also allows players to get fully healthy, especially for the core group that has gone years since not playing hockey in the spring.
"At the end of the day, it sucks, but we're going to use this summer to work hard and get better," said Mats Zuccarello, who missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. "We've been one of the top teams for a long time now and sometimes it's time for these rebuilds and to have a season that you're not happy with. It happens."
The shift may be towards younger players, and that's already begun with likes of Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Neal Pionk and John Gilmour not only getting action in the NHL, but playing significant minutes and roles down the stretch.
Those players will continue to learn, but at the same time, players were not shying away from speaking about the goal of getting back into the postseason in 2018-19.
"I think the next few months is going to be crucial for this team, for the organization," Lundqvist said. "All of us players have to come back and make sure we get back in the playoffs because that's where you want to be. It's about winning."
