2,900 days. That’s how many days have passed between “the letter” and its version two, from the New York Rangers to its fans. In those 2,900 days the Rangers hit the lottery twice, won the Metro twice, the Presidents trophy once and came within six wins of the Stanley Cup twice. And now, since time is a flat circle we are back where we began the front office got out that good stationary and wrote a letter to the fans telling them they know things are bad and that they’re going to rebuild this franchise.

For those that haven’t read it yet (or been able to read our thumbnail) there it is. Black and white, clear as day, the Rangers are back where we hoped the last attempt at a rebuild would stop them from reaching. It’s beyond disappointing that an era full of high highs has hit such a bitter end, something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the last few weeks. To me it goes much deeper than the last eight years, as I feel the window is slamming shut on what has been the best lengthy period in team history (since 2006), but more on that in another article.

There is plenty of blame to go around, more than a “hey we’re sorry this thing collapsed” memo can cover. Everyone has culprits in mind, as evidenced by the text messages I exchanged with friends and family, and my fiancée’s 35 minute rant about the state of the team. No one is blameless here, outside of perhaps Mike Sullivan that is, who has only been here for half a season and up until recently had this team competing on a nightly basis.

The players, both current and former Rangers, from the last two seasons have plenty of blood on their hands. They have been complacent, unaccountable, and utterly checked out. From guys like Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin all the way down to Matt Robertson and Connor Sheary, no one has covered themselves in glory. In an ironic twist Mika Zibanejad, one of last year’s most disappointing performers, has been the best Rangers skater this time around. In stark contrast JT Miller earned the captaincy last season, only to completely alienate the fan base this season. It’s truly an interesting collection of malcontents and underachievers in the room that can’t ever seem to get it together.

Of course the players are only part of this equation, as GM Chris Drury has earned the ire of the fan base. The Garden faithful have voiced their displeasure with the GM over the course of the last few home games, to the point that it seems Friday’s letter was the result of such anger. Look no executive is perfect in sports, they all have their tough moments, but right now Drury is grasping at straws that demonstrate his successes. His draft picks have been duds, his ability to maximize value in a transaction is non-existent, he has no real tact or trade craft, and is somehow more unaccountable than his players. It’s truly amazing that Dolan has found his new Isiah Thomas, in a guy that underwhelmed as a Ranger player, and has done worse as an exec, yet he remains “the man for the job.” After all Dolan told you he’s a “consummate” winner as if his 2001 cup in Colorado and Little League World Series ring have some clout now. It’s utterly laughable that Drury’s letter to the fans, wasn’t a letter of resignation.

The Rangers need some real serious hockey people in this organization again. Not Drury and his pals littered throughout the staff. I know “boys clubs” and cronyism are rampant in this sport, but it’s absurd that Jed Ortmeyer and Tanner Glass are in charge of player development. Say what you want about Glenn Sather, his early years in charge weren’t pretty either, but he was cleaning up a mess from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. By the time his reign came to an end in 2015, he and his lieutenants had an operation running that acquired good NHL talent while also producing long term Rangers and all around NHLers that stayed in the league for years. That operation was sound enough that when combined with some luck in free agency, the Rangers retooled quickly around a core he helped assemble to minimize the rebuild time from the last letter.

We are a long, LONG, way from the good times right now. 2021-2024 was some of the most fun we’ve all ever had following a team of ours. All that fun will help us make it to the other side of the abyss this team now stares down, but it’s very hard not to feel upset that this era resulted in nothing. To have so many bites at the apple since 2006, in many cases with one of the best teams in the league, teams that would make you proud to be a Ranger fan, and come up empty is tough. It’s even tougher when you consider the fact that there really isn’t anything in place that makes you say “this can get fixed quickly again.” The plan to sell now and retool fast is correct and sounds great in theory, but I have next to no faith in this front office to execute that plan. They will have mountains of cap space…but there is no one worth spending it on. They could hit the lottery again at the draft…and they’d probably ruin the player anyway. This Saturday feels bleak in Ranger land, and I’m not sure when it’s gonna get brighter.

Stay tuned for continuing Rangers coverage here on the site, as our “best of the rest” series will soon feature a game from this near 20 year period. We’ll also continue to bring you coverage of the NFL playoffs on our podcast feed and are preparing for wall to wall NFL Draft coverage over the months ahead. On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.