The New York Rangers were making other franchises envious.
The Rangers made the Eastern Conference finals twice in three seasons, losing in six games to the Florida Panthers last year after winning the Presidents' Trophy. New York has one of the best goalies in the world in Igor Shesterkin, one of the best defensemen in Adam Fox and a collection of prestigious (and well-compensated) veterans who were a few critical goals away from playing for the Stanley Cup.
Months later, few teams envy the position the Rangers are in, as one of the 2024-25 season's unmitigated disasters, having gone 17-19-1 (.473 points percentage) in 37 games.
Following Thursday night, there was a five-point (and five-team) gap between the Rangers and the last wild-card spot in the East. That equated to just a 1.4% chance of making the playoffs this season, putting the Blueshirts in the same neighborhood of postseason probability as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres.
The Rangers are 26th in goals per game, 20th in goals against per game. What looked like a team ready to hoist the Cup for the first time since 1994 is now a franchise at a crossroads.