ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Ducks are on their way out of a rebuild. The Rangers are heading into one (or retool, if you prefer Chris Drury’s verbage).

Anaheim forward Ryan Strome has familiarity with both scenarios. The Rangers — who lost 5-3 to the Ducks on Monday — traded for him in November 2018, less than a year after the letter then-president Glen Sather and then-general manager Jeff Gorton wrote to New York fans announcing a rebuild. Strome saw the Rangers emerge on the other side and was with the club through the 2021-22 season in which it reached the Eastern Conference final. Since then, he’s been with the Ducks, who would be the second wild card in the West if the season ended today.

The 32-year-old Strome saw Rangers’ president Chris Drury’s letter to fans Friday, which said the team was entering a “retool” period, and he heard the news New York won’t offer pending unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin a contract extension. Panarin is now the top trade candidate heading into the March deadline.

“It sends a little bit of a shockwave through the league when guys like Panarin are going to be available,” Strome said. “Especially with the free agents this year, it’s not that deep of a class. I’m sure people are going to be lined up to get a talent like him. … When stuff like that happens around the league everyone’s kind of on notice a little bit.”

Strome felt that when he was a part of the most recent Rangers’ rebuild, the team infused a mix of young and hungry players into the roster. Everyone, he said, had something to play for, even if the front office’s primary focus wasn’t optimizing the club’s short-term chances.

Given his experience, he believes the Rangers’ current situation could give new players added opportunities.

“When you’re going to strip things down and you’re going to lose some guys, as much as it’s about (gaining) draft picks it’s about also guys on your team who have been asking for a little bit more ice time,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity, and I found that when I was there it was very competitive.”

Strome called the NHL “a young man’s league,” pointing to his Ducks as an example. Leo Carlsson (No. 2 overall draft pick in 2023), Beckett Sennecke (No. 3 overall in 2024) and Mason McTavish (No. 3 overall in 2021) and Cutter Gauthier (No. 5 overall in 2022 by Philadelphia) are all among the team’s highest scorers this season.

“You’ve got to have good high draft picks that produce and succeed,” Strome said. “It’s tough to rebuild quickly. You kind of have to do it the right way.”

That will be the Rangers’ challenge going forward.

Here are eight other thoughts from the Rangers’ loss in Anaheim, which dropped them to 21-23-6. It was not embarrassing like some of New York’s recent losses, but it reflected what led to Drury’s recent letter: this team is still a ways from being a contender.

1. Rangers fans are growing more and more comfortable expressing their displeasure in Drury. “Fire Drury!” chants began at Madison Square Garden recently, and a couple fans at the Honda Center made their feelings clear Monday. One held up a sign in warmups expressing displeasure in the general manager (as well as love for ex-Ranger and current Ducks forward Chris Kreider), and another fan tweeted a picture from the game with a paper bag over his head. There was also a sign that said “FIRE DRURY DOLAN SUCKS,” referencing owner James Dolan.

2. Former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba has now played against New York three times. He said it felt less significant than his first game facing his old team or the first time he returned to Madison Square Garden as a visitor.

“There’s history there and memories and all the stuff that goes with it,” he said. “It’s a little bit different than other teams. Lot of different players from when I was there. I guess it’s pretty similar to playing Winnipeg.” (Trouba started his career with the Jets.)

Trouba was clearly aware of his opponent throughout the day. At the Ducks’ morning skate, someone blared circus music from their dressing room — perhaps a cue that New York reporters were about to enter. Sporting Tribune reporter Zach Cavanagh reported it was Trouba’s doing.

The bruising defenseman had plenty of pep when the game began. Early in the first period, he laid defensive zone hits on Matthew Robertson and J.T. Miller, his successor as Rangers’ captain. The Ducks couldn’t get the puck out of their own end, however, and Robertson capitalized with a goal.

Trouba picked up a point in the second period, when Braden Schneider failed to backhand the puck out of the Rangers’ end on a penalty kill, and it went right to him, leading to Alex Killorn whacking his shot when it trickled past goalie Spencer Martin. Trouba also played a team-high 3:20 on the penalty kill and was on the ice when the Ducks staved off a brief New York five-on-three in the final minutes. (The Rangers almost capitalized, but Miller couldn’t score on a slap shot — he was still frustrated about the missed opportunity postgame — then he and Vincent Trocheck hit the crossbar and post, respectively.)

3. Schneider wasn’t alone in making costly turnovers. Miller, who assisted both the Rangers’ first two goals, committed one that contributed to the Ducks’ second goal. He tried to find Gabe Perreault with a hard pass as the young forward exited the zone, but Ducks center Ryan Poehling grabbed possession and put a shot on Martin, who couldn’t handle it. Recently acquired Ducks forward Jeffrey Viel cleaned up the rebound for his first goal with the Ducks.

Coach Mike Sullivan harped on the Rangers’ turnovers postgame.

“One of the simplest, easiest ways to beat yourself is to not manage the puck,” he said.

“When you’re tired and you’re working, you’ve just got to make sure you’re bearing down a little extra,” Schneider said. “There were a couple times we definitely could’ve, and we were kind of making it harder on ourselves than we needed to.”

4. The start of the third period doomed the Rangers. They were down only a goal at that point but the Ducks ambushed them after intermission, hemming New York in its own end. Gauthier eventually ripped a shot past Martin.

“Just sloppy,” Miller said. “Just an accumulation of errors.”

5. Panarin had a power play goal in the second, blasting a Trocheck feed past Lukáš Dostál off a zone entry, and Vladislav Gavrikov scored with the Rangers up a man in the third. The power play finished the night two-for-four, and Sullivan liked what he saw from the unit. He felt less charitable toward the Rangers’ five-on-five play, saying they didn’t sustain the necessary pace of play. Anaheim finished the game with a slight edge in five-on-five expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

6. During this stretch for the Rangers, it will be important to look for small victories. Top prospect Gabe Perreault’s progression could be one of them. The 20-year-old made a nice move off a Miller feed to nearly score on Ducks’ goalie Lukáš Dostál, and Miller raved about his play away from the puck postgame.

“He had a helluva game today,” Miller said. “He was in such good spots all over the rink today. You can tell he’s learning a lot as he goes.”

“He’s getting quicker with his decision making,” Sullivan added. “I think his foot speed is picking up and the game is probably slowing down in his brain.”

7. Mika Zibanejad and Kreider, his close friend, were both on the ice for the opening draw. Zibanejad was scratched for Kreider’s return to Madison Square Garden, so Monday marked the first time the two faced off since Jan. 24, 2016, back when Zibanejad was with Ottawa.

8. The Anaheim crowd began chanting “We want chicken!” after Gauthier’s goal early in the third. If the Ducks score five goals at home, fans in attendance receive credit for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich. Anaheim hadn’t reached the necessary threshold at home since Dec. 7, perhaps adding to the fervor of the chants.

Playing the Rangers is a good antidote to scoring woes. Monday was the fourth time in six games New York has allowed five or more goals.