The Rangers were embarrassed by the rival Devils on Monday afternoon to head into the holiday break having lost 14 of their last 17 games, and find themselves under .500 at Christmas Eve.
For a team that entered the season with Stanley Cup aspirations, the 2024-25 campaign has quickly spiraled into disaster, with former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko being traded, captain Jacob Trouba being dealt, and Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger, sitting as a healthy scratch on Monday.
Marc Malusis can’t believe how bad things have gotten with the Blueshirts given the expectations, and says it’s time for ownership to realize that major changes are needed, perhaps starting with Chris Drury.
“It is impossible to watch this team play hockey right now,” Moose said. “They were close last year, and they were close a few years ago, but now, they couldn’t be further from that goal.
“How many more healthy scratches can you have before realizing that the window is now closed?”
Mika Zibanejad has looked like a shell of himself all season, Kreider at times as well, and nothing Peter Laviolette has tried has worked up to this point. Trading Kakko and Trouba hasn’t worked either, and Moose says Drury needs to reevaluate how he treats his players, and James Dolan needs to evaluate how Drury is handling his job.
“Why does this team play the way that they do?” Moose said. “Why are they 3-14 in their last 17 games? Why do they look as bad as they do? Why does this team look as lazy and barely focused as they do? The blame goes all around, but I think it starts at the top.
“Let’s be perfectly honest. You watch this group now, it’s over...you watch this Ranger group, how exactly do you see this team rallying and finding a way?”