{"id":416993,"date":"2026-01-19T16:51:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416993\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T16:51:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:51:06","slug":"nhl-weekend-rankings-rangers-continue-the-statement-fun-with-a-sternly-worded-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/416993\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL weekend rankings: Rangers continue the statement fun with a sternly worded letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many times, an NHL season comes to be defined by the dominance of a select group. Sometimes, it\u2019s the Year of the Goaltenders. Others, it might be the snipers who take over. In the first half, this looked like it would be a changing-of-the-guard season<\/a>. But now, a new contender emerges.<\/p>\n

Hockey fans, welcome to the Year of the PR Department Statement.<\/p>\n

It started last week, when the Ottawa Senators declared war on the trolls and sick people<\/a>. This week, it was the New York Rangers, doing what they do best: Writing open letters to their fans about how bad they are<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bonus five: Most interesting passages from the Rangers\u2019 letter<\/p>\n

5. \u201cChris Drury, President and General Manager\u201d \u2013 Maybe the most meaningful portion of the letter came at the very end, in the signature: This next phase is indeed going to be Chris Drury\u2019s project. That\u2019s not a surprise, since all evidence had suggested Drury has the backing of ownership. But for any Rangers fans hoping that a front office shakeup would be part of any teardown, this letter would appear to nip that in the bud.<\/p>\n

\u201cFire Drury!\u201d chants continue \u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/23SBG9rf5k<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

4. \u201cWe will target players that bring tenacity, skill, speed and a winning pedigree\u201d \u2013 So\u2026 good players? You\u2019ve just described good players. I don\u2019t think there are too many teams out there whose current game plan involves actively targeting weak, slow losers. OK, maybe the Canucks, but nobody else.<\/p>\n

3. \u201c\u2026 because that is what our fans deserve\u201d \u2013 Rangers fans, did you know that you\u2019re the best? You guys rule. That seems to be the main message from this three-paragraph letter, which takes multiple opportunities to blow smoke up the behind of the fan base. Sorry, of \u201cthe loyal and passionate fan base.\u201d Thank you for all that you do. Please keep throwing money at us while we lose on purpose for a few years.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cThat may mean saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years\u201d \u2013 Artemi Panarin, pack your stuff. And to be clear, that\u2019s a good thing, because Panarin has the potential to be the gold standard in an otherwise weak deadline market. He has no-move protection, but if the Rangers aren\u2019t going to offer him a new deal, you\u2019d assume he\u2019d rather go somewhere to showcase his talents in the playoffs before hitting the UFA market this summer. This will be a fun one to watch.<\/p>\n

Panarin on how he received yesterday\u2019s news: \u201cIt’s hard to say how I feel. I\u2019m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m okay with that. I\u2019m a Ranger player right now, so I\u2019ll play every game 100%.\u201d#NYR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

1. \u201cLGR\u201d \u2013 The last line of the letter, weirdly tacked on with no punctuation like a stray cut-and-paste. You could assume this is shorthand for \u201cLet\u2019s Go Rangers.\u201d I\u2019m actually going to hope it stands for \u201cLet\u2019s get rebuilding,\u201d since this is very clearly what this franchise desperately needs.<\/p>\n

Not ranked: \u201cThis will not be a rebuild.\u201d \u2013 Ah! Well. Nevertheless.<\/p>\n

Extra not ranked: Applesauce?<\/a><\/p>\n

Be sure to check out Peter\u2019s piece on the letter and what it will mean<\/a>. Meanwhile, the Rangers have yet to appear in our bottom five this year. Is this the week? Let\u2019s get to the rankings and find out\u2026<\/p>\n

Road to the Cup<\/p>\n

The five teams with the best chances of winning the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

Man, this \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d show is really going crazy. Now they\u2019re even bringing in viewers who don\u2019t even like hockey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Vegas Golden Knights (24-11-12, +19 true goals differential*) \u2013 I thought our Pacific timeout<\/a> might last a bit longer, but the Knights apparently took it personally. They\u2019ve won seven straight and just traded for Rasmus Andersson<\/a>, and while none of those have come against contenders, the streak has given the Knights a nice cushion on top of the division. That means Vegas is in. And it means for the first time in six weeks, we don\u2019t have room for the Central\u2019s big three. So who gets the boot?<\/p>\n

4. Dallas Stars (27-13-9, +24) \u2013 Sorry, Minnesota. The Wild haven\u2019t won a game in regulation since Jan. 2, and while 2-3-2 isn\u2019t exactly a free-fall, it\u2019s been a while since they\u2019ve looked like the wagon they were in the immediate aftermath of the Quinn Hughes trade. Dallas hasn\u2019t been any better lately, and is sporting an identical record, but they\u2019ll keep their spot for another week.<\/p>\n

3. Carolina Hurricanes (30-15-4, +25) \u2013 We all love the Panthers, right? Sure we do. Let\u2019s watch some Panthers highlights, from this randomly selected game in Carolina on Friday.<\/p>\n

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-13-4, +46) \u2013 They finally lost, which was nice for the rest of the league. Despite that, the weekend saw a new Stanley Cup favorite on our projection page<\/a>. The model has actually been ahead of the curve on the Lightning all year, a development I asked Dom about<\/a> in the newsletter a month ago.<\/p>\n

1. Colorado Avalanche (33-5-8, +78) \u2013 They\u2019re spiraling, which is to say they\u2019ve lost back-to-back games for the second time since October. At their current pace, they\u2019ll be in danger of surrendering the Central lead by (runs numbers) 2032. So we can go ahead and call tonight\u2019s game against the Washington Capitals a must-win.<\/p>\n

In other news, this was cool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason.<\/p>\n

Not ranked: Boston Bruins \u2013 Yeah, I have no idea.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure I ever did. Or at least, none of the ideas I had about this team are turning out to be right. I had them penciled in to be a bad team that wouldn\u2019t be quite bad enough to land the top pick. They even cracked the bottom five for a week back in October, right around the time they were 4-7-0. When a team that finished last in their division a year ago and sold heavy at the deadline starts slow, it\u2019s not hard to figure out what\u2019s going on. They\u2019re bad.<\/p>\n

Of course, they followed that 4-7-0 start with a seven-game win streak. Then they managed to pack both a four-game win streak and later a six-game losing streak into December. And now they\u2019re unbeatable again, winning six straight to move back into a wild-card spot. They\u2019re only four points out of having home ice in the first round.<\/p>\n

Oh, and that six-game streak has included two shutout wins, a game where they scored ten goals, and a combined score of 27-7 that\u2019s pushed them into the conference\u2019s top four in goals differential. If they\u2019re going to keep the streak going, they\u2019ll have their work cut out for them, as this week\u2019s schedule brings the Stars, Knights and Habs, but at this point who\u2019s going to bet against them? None of this makes much sense, so let\u2019s enjoy it while it lasts.<\/p>\n

It was an interesting week in Boston, with a number retirement<\/a> and a minor trade<\/a>. It might get even more interesting; as Harman notes, the Bruins are one of several teams with some tough decisions to make<\/a> as the deadline approaches. Don Sweeney already got to enjoy one deadline as a seller in a buyer\u2019s market, and he knows what kind of windfall<\/a> those deals can bring. Then again, if his team is in the playoff mix, doesn\u2019t he owe them a chance to see it out, if not reinforcements?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure, because I clearly don\u2019t understand this team. I\u2019m not convinced Sweeney does either, if we could get him to be totally honest, but that\u2019s fine. The Bruins have been trying to tell us who they are all year long, even if the messaging has been mixed. They\u2019ve got a few more weeks to nail it down once and for all before Sweeney has to make his call.<\/p>\n

The bottom five<\/p>\n

The five teams headed towards dead last and the best lottery odds for the top pick in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

The Senators lost again and the frustration over the goaltending is rising<\/a>, to the point where \u201cyou\u2019ve got to make more than 10 saves to win a game\u201d might become the season slogan. But this was pretty sweet:<\/p>\n

5. New York Rangers (21-22-6, -20) \u2013 When someone tells you who they are, believe them. And when a last-place team tells you that they\u2019re throwing in the towel on the season, put them in your bottom five already. The Rangers are our 15th different team to show up in this ranking, breaking the record previously established in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

4. Winnipeg Jets (19-22-6, -4) \u2013 This was awesome<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Chicago Blackhawks (19-22-7, -20) \u2013 With a murderer\u2019s row of Carolina, Tampa, Florida and Minnesota up next, tonight\u2019s game against the Jets could be a crucial one in terms of lottery odds.<\/p>\n

2. Calgary Flames (21-23-4, -17) \u2013 I think they did fine on the Andersson trade, getting two high picks, a useful player in Zach Whitecloud and a prospect. That\u2019s not bad for a guy in the last year of his deal who wasn\u2019t coming back. Now we see how much further the teardown goes.<\/p>\n

1. Vancouver Canucks (16-27-5, -53) \u2013 Is this good? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Drance just keeps lobbing truth bombs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not ranked: Philadelphia Flyers \u2013 OK, let\u2019s huddle up and regroup here.<\/p>\n

The Flyers have been a tough team to figure out pretty much all season long. Just about all of us figured they were a rebuilding team that would be a playoff long shot even if everything broke just right. But after finding their footing relatively early in the season, they\u2019ve been a surprise contender ever since, holding down a playoff spot for most of the season. After beating the Ducks two weeks ago, they were sitting at 22-12-7, good enough for second in the Metro and third in the East by points percentage.<\/p>\n

That was fun. Except since that Ducks win, they\u2019ve lost six straight, the last five in regulation. Worse, those five regulation losses have seen them give up 29 goals, so they\u2019re getting their doors kicked in. In a parity-soaked Eastern Conference where everyone seems to be collecting points at all times, this streak has been disastrous for the Flyers\u2019 playoff hopes, dropping them outside the top eight.<\/p>\n

On today\u2019s game, inarguably a season low point for the Flyers.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd17
www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/697\u2026<\/p>\n

[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Kurz (@kevinkurznhl.bsky.social<\/a>) January 17, 2026 at 7:19 PM<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh, also everyone is hurt<\/a>, the goaltending is a problem again<\/a> and Matvei Michkov is bad now<\/a>. So \u2026 good times. I\u2019m starting to think Rick Tocchet might not win the Jack Adams after all.<\/p>\n

If all of that feels like an overreaction to six bad games, well, it probably is. The losing streak has come against a Leafs team finding its game, the unbeatable Lightning, the only-slightly-less unbeatable Sabres, and then Friday to the surging Penguins. And then on Saturday, they lost to the Rangers, who were presumably inspired by the power of friendship open letters to the fan base. The point is that every team goes through a tough few weeks during a long season. The Flyers are no different, so maybe we should all take a deep breath here.<\/p>\n

Except \u2026 well, the whole \u201crebuilding long shot\u201d thing may have been accurate, and if so the margin for error in Philadelphia was always going to be razor-thin. Even when they were authoring that first-half surprise story, our model never loved their playoff odds<\/a> \u2014 they\u2019d been climbing steadily through November and December, but had peaked at just under 40 percent around the start of this losing streak. Saturday\u2019s embarrassment against the Rangers dropped them all the way down to 10 percent. In other words, these last two weeks really have undone just about all the progress of the previous two months.<\/p>\n

And this week, they head out on the road to play Vegas, Utah and, gulp, Colorado. Good luck with that trip.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, I\u2019m tempted to write the Flyers off, if only because my brain can\u2019t handle this many teams competing for wild-card spots and needs to thin out the field. But I also have to humbly accept that I\u2019ve been wrong about this team for most of the first half. So I\u2019m opening the floor to you, Flyers fans. If you think this team still has a shot to make the playoffs, head down to the comments and let me know. I\u2019m not seeing it, but I\u2019m willing to be convinced.<\/p>\n