{"id":564142,"date":"2026-03-25T21:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/564142\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T21:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:11:12","slug":"rangers-maple-leafs-examples-of-how-quickly-things-can-unravel-in-nhl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/564142\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers, Maple Leafs examples of ‘how quickly things can unravel’ in NHL"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Rangers News<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

There are three weeks remaining in the 2025-26 NHL regular season. But instead of a playoff preview or tune-up when they meet Wednesday night, the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves out of the postseason picture with the two worst records in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.<\/p>\n

The Rangers (28-34-9) are last in the East, and own the second-worst record in the League<\/a> behind only the woeful Vancouver Canucks (21-41-8). The Maple Leafs (30-29-13) are tied for second to last in the East and 23rd overall in the NHL.<\/p>\n

So, their clash \u2014 or crash, if you prefer \u2014 on Wednesday is more about ping-pong balls and the draft lottery than prepping for a run at Lord Stanley\u2019s chalice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting with the Rangers, if you think about where they were just a couple short years ago in a conference final (2024) to where they\u2019re at now, it just shows you, and the Leafs are another prime example, how quickly things can unravel,\u201d longtime NHL talk show host Nick Alberga told Forever Blueshirts<\/a> on the Rink Rap podcast.<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Alberga is more surprised about the Rangers\u2019 failure to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. Remember, the Rangers already face-planted in 2024-25, becoming the fourth team in NHL history to miss the postseason one year after winning the Presidents\u2019 Trophy for having the best regular-season record in the League.<\/p>\n

And even though the Maple Leafs moved leading scorer Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights last offseason and lost captain Auston Matthews to a knee injury last week, they made the playoffs nine straight seasons before this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the Rangers doing something significant this year. Not just making the playoffs, but maybe winning the Stanley Cup,\u201d Alberga stated. \u201cI thought (new coach) Mike Sullivan was the answer to everything for that franchise. Yet, here we are, it\u2019s late in March, they\u2019re contending for a lottery pick and there\u2019s a lot of dysfunction, similar to the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI for one am very, very stunned that they\u2019re in this predicament right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hosting \u201cLeafs Morning Take\u201d with former Maple Leafs forward Jay Rosehill each day in Toronto has Alberga hyper-focused on that team\u2019s woes. But the former NHL Network Radio host sees the parelels between the Maple Leafs and Rangers, a pair of struggling Original Six teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be a lot of dysfunction, oozing of dysfunction, even watching from 3,000 feet the way I am here in Toronto as opposed to being right smack-dab on Broadway,\u201d Alberga noted. \u201cI think very similar to the Maple Leafs, the chemistry has not been there for a couple years for this Rangers team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like [the Rangers are] tail-spinning and heading the opposite direction. The worst part of this is that it feels like the heavy lifting is yet to be done. What\u2019s the future of J.T. Miller<\/a> look like? What\u2019s the future of Adam Fox<\/a> look like? [Vincent Trocheck<\/a>] didn\u2019t get dealt at the deadline. Where\u2019s this Alexis Lafreniere<\/a> that Jonny Lazarus loves? There are just so many questions, and this is what happens when you lose, and lose routinely, the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Rangers or Maple Leafs turn fortunes around sooner?<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Rangers missed the playoffs by six points a year ago after setting franchise records for most wins (55) and points (114) the season prior. They reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, and recorded three straight 100+-point seasons<\/a> beginning in 2021-22. Now, they\u2019re on their way to the fewest points in a full schedule since 2018-19.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs never enjoyed the playoff success the Rangers did, but were consistently a contender for far longer than the Blueshirts. They reached the postseason every year since 2016-17, coinciding with Matthews\u2019 first season in the NHL. Twice in that stretch the Maple Leafs won their division and six times surpassed 100 points. But only twice did they advance as far as the second round in the playoffs, including last spring.<\/p>\n

So, what happened in Toronto this season?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Maple Leafs, I just think it\u2019s been a massive disappointment from the onset \u2014 whether it be goaltending or it\u2019s team defense, and the star players haven\u2019t pulled their own weight either. I know the numbers look appetizing on paper (67 points in 55 games) for Willy Nylander, but he\u2019s been a shell of himself in terms of being an all-around player this season. Auston Matthews has been a shell of a guy who scored 69 goals a couple year ago. Aside from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, everybody\u2019s had a down year. And I think that\u2019s why this team is in this predicament,\u201d Alberga explained.<\/p>\n

The juicy question is which of these Original Six teams can turn things around quicker. The Rangers certainly have the head start, since general manager Chris Drury started shuffling the deck last season and publicly declared a roster retool back in January. That\u2019s already led them to trade Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings<\/a>, and consider all offers for Trocheck<\/a> ahead of the trade deadline earlier in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be the New York Rangers for me,\u201d Alberga said. \u201cI think you look at the Rangers and you have a top-3 goalie in the NHL in Igor Shesterkin<\/a>, a pretty good damn spot to start. I think they have some youth coming, even now I think you see Gabe Perreault<\/a>, and [Noah] Laba\u2019s been a nice story this season. Even [Drew] Fortescue\u2019s coming. There\u2019s some prospects in that system for the Rangers, and that\u2019s not the case for the Maple Leafs. They have absolutely nothing. That\u2019s why, from an asset standpoint, they\u2019ve got nothing to give up. So, I think their job is harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Rangers make a couple tweaks, a couple changes, and you pair that with Mike Sullivan, pound for pound one of the best coaches in my opinion in hockey. And I think you turn that quicker around than a Maple Leafs team that\u2019s aging, they didn\u2019t change their blue line at all, they\u2019re slower, and the motivation just doesn\u2019t seem to be there with the star players.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I go with the Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of … More about Jim Cerny<\/a><\/p>\n

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