The New York Rangers were officially eliminated from playoff contention after Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, making them only the fourth team in NHL history to miss the postseason one year after winning the Presidents' Trophy.
The 1992-93 Rangers, 2007-08 Buffalo Sabres, and 2014-15 Boston Bruins are the other squads to achieve the unwanted feat.
New York had 114 points last season and has 81 for 2024-25 with two games to go.
"You can't just show up and expect it to go the same way as last year," forward Vincent Trocheck told The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "We earned it last year. We certainly didn’t earn it this year."
Trocheck was asked what the club has left to play for this season.
"Pride," he answered.
Head coach Peter Laviolette recognized his club's inability to live up to expectations.
"It's disappointing for everybody," he said, per USA Today Sports' Vince Mercogliano. "It certainly wasn't anybody’s plan coming into the year, especially coming off of last year. Yet, here we are. We had opportunities in the last 20 games to make our own noise and make our own way, and we didn't do that. So, it's on us. We needed to be better."
New York reached the Eastern Conference Final last season and many expected it to remain Stanley Cup contenders.
The Rangers opened the current campaign 12-4-1, then lost 15 of their next 19 games. They traded captain Jacob Trouba during their struggles and later acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in an attempt to find a spark.
If there's a bright side for the Rangers, the last time they missed the playoffs after a Presidents' Trophy win, they won the Stanley Cup the following season.
