PHILADELPHIA — As the New York Rangers prepare to go through a roster retool that is expected to include some impact players being traded in the next six-plus weeks, coach Mike Sullivan’s message about how they will operate day to day for the rest of this season has not changed.<\/p>\n
“The message is that we’re going to control what’s within our power and that’s our effort, our attitude and our intentions when we go on the ice,” Sullivan said before the Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday. “That’s where our focus needs to be. The reality is is we’re not where we want to be, we’re not where we hope to be, and so this is the business side of the game.<\/p>\n
“But as players, as coaches, it’s our job to do our best to control what we can and we’re going to stay in the moment. We’re going to try to win every game in front of us, and we’re going to try to play the game with pride.”<\/p>\n
Chris Drury, the Rangers president and general manager, released a letter to the fans on Friday stating they will be retooling the roster around core players while saying goodbye to some who have been a part of their recent successes, such as reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n
The letter came two days after an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden, their fifth straight loss which has dropped New York into last place in the East with a record of 20-22-6.<\/p>\n
“It’s probably a fairly common sensical statement to suggest that when you don’t meet expectations or you don’t have success, then change is inevitable in pro sports,” said Sullivan, who is in his first season with the team. “So, I think our team is well aware of that and that’s to a certain extent what we all sign up for. I don’t know that an acknowledgement of this is something the players haven’t already thought about or considered as we go through this.<\/p>\n
“We’re all human beings. We all understand the business. We all understand the game.”<\/p>\n