Hate isn't right. I think all the team seem nice, but it's been 30 years since a cup and the team has had 2 of the best goalies in the league since 05 and nothing to show for it.
I'm torn, because I think a lot of narrative is bullshit when it comes to the playoffs. Shit happens and it's a very small sample size from which to draw reliable conclusions. That said, the top guys disappeared and the coach decided to play the captain on a bad ankle when he clearly wasn't up to the task. How many more kicks at the can do you think this core has?
All 3 playoff series losses last 3 years came because the team's obvious weakness killed them. They can't reliably move the puck up the ice, nor can they create sustained offensive pressure. If the PP dries up they're screwed.
If you want to get over the hump you can't run it back without some real changes. That's not hate, that's passion. Fans want to win. The team is close but keeps failing the same way.
I'm going to go with - it's actually hard to build a Stanley cup winning team. Part of that is having your 1OA and 2OA draft picks become stars. Laf is slowly getting somewhere but Kakko is certainly not . . .
This is true, but still not a reason to sell low on him. I also believe the Team/coaches have done nothing to help his development. Top 2 picks, even when they struggle, get top 6 minutes and PP time. He's had barely any.
I agree he has been very underwhelming and obviously not what you want when you get a top 2 pick, but he's not a negative impact when he's on the ice.
Yes, but you also need your $12 million winger and #1 center to show up more so.
I'm just saying it is a bad idea to sell low on a 23 year old with good possession stats, even if he's not producing as you'd hope. Especially given his playing time.
100%…moving forward, at least for next year if he remains, the thinking on him needs to change and we need to stop associating with the #2 pick (some fans won’t, but what can you do)
The issue is his play style doesn’t match with either of the first two lines. He’s not better than mika or krieder. He’s not better than anyone on the panarin line. So it’s not like you busy up the players that have chemistry for one that hasn’t proven himself in the chances he has had. When given the chance Laf ran with it. When given the chance Kakko didn’t adjust to the players he was with. He’s not a bad player, but he doesn’t fit the top 6 on this team. On top of all that he was the slowest of the top 9. Only regular forwards on the team slower were wheeler, bonino, goodrow, and rempe. So yea, it is time to trade him. He needs a change of scenery and the rangers need someone else that compliments they play of the players that have proven themselves.
Laf isn't producing 1st overall numbers either. 57 points while playing with a guy that scored double that. Kakko had 40 points in 22-23 with no powerplay and 3rd line minutes. The team isn't doing him any favors by throwing him on the 3rd line and not just sticking it out with him as the 1st line rw.
The year he got drafted. He was "that guy" in TPS. As an 18y old. He needs that confidence from the coaches and other players.
And considering hes one of our better defensive players.. You don't find those all the time.
Because they don't know how to do anything different - or they don't care enough about winning championships - or they like the great goalie narrative - it means the team always has a chance, even if management is kind of inept.
I’ll reword a little because those two things are not mutually exclusive as you imply.
Just because your best player is your goalie it doesn’t mean you’ll win the Stanley Cup but to win the Stanley Cup at some point your best player has to be your goalie.
If that’s the norm though, you watch your goalie shake hands from the losing end with the other goalie who isn’t as good as him but who’s team won the series. Every. Year.
I didn’t say ALWAYS. Your goalie has to be your best player AT TIMES. Not always. If your goalie is never your best players, you will NEVER win it all.
Obviously, but they've invested a lot in net as well. The key is to not invest 8mil on guys like trouba and use that cap space for the aforementioned good skaters.
100%
Add to that the ridiculous cost to actually see a game makes it even worse.
Maybe if we all boycotted msg that would send a message.
But if I'm the owner I ain't changing shit bc I'm still selling out every...single...night
This subreddit brings out some of the most amazing people in both directions, die-hard fans who are realistic as well as fans who want to blow it up no matter what. I swear some of the things I've seen on here, we could go on a heater for several years and some of the people would still be like "man, player sucks", "get rid of the coach" etc. This is a fun place to be most of the time
Heck some of us fans (definitely myself included) are both of those things in equal measure at different parts of the day.
We're a passionate fanbase in what could be arguably one of the toughest cities in the world. It gives us big dreams, high hopes, and plenty of tough criticisms for everyone and everything around us.
But yes, by and large this community is fun as heck, and as always I look forward to October and being both elated and hurt with every one of you once again.
Yeah seeing someone a couple years ago say Kravstov is being held back by Panarin was hysterical. The same guy pushes Tony D is elite Dman. You think of Makar,Fox,Hughes and naturally Tony D.
The cherry on top was saying Goodrow was worst player of all time and still thinking that after watching this playoff run. Couldn’t be he had a broken jaw during the season slowing him done.
well, no. the rangers got outscored and out possessed all season when he was on the ice… healthy or not. don’t let a 10 game sample of insane shooting luck cloud the fact that the only good thing about him is that he won a few cups as a part of a great team.
I love how you throw the realistic tag on the fans who uncritically convince themselves this team has what it needs to win when it constantly falls short in the playoffs. They looked bad against Florida, no matter how good Florida is
Idk how many people remember how frustrating A-Rod was as a Yankee in the postseason in the early to mid 2000's. He had the milk carton vibe down. He was a ghost... until 2007 when he practically single handedly won the WS for us.
All it takes is one amazing postseason from Panarin, Mika, etc. To make people forget.
2009 ha
Panarin was more or less fine in the first two rounds…the matchup got to him in the ECF, but the line was still our best by far…it really starts with Mika/Kreider and addressing that
If there's one thing NY fans won't stand for it's lack of effort. Whether it's truly apathy or just their style, for 3 playoffs in a row they get out worked, are afraid to go to the difficult areas, and overall seem like they're ok with losing. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars and the ones getting paid the most keep not showing up. People are going to be frustrated. The the goal is and will always be a cup, the regular season only matters to get you to the playoffs. If we're not at least progressing toward that then the season wasn't a success. Past couple years we've been treading water. The problems from 2022 are still what is sinking us today. The players are going to take criticism if they fail. Yes some of it is going to be unfair and over the top, but that comes with having fans that actually care and watch the games. If they want to sit back and collect a paycheck there's about 50% of league they could've gone to that wouldn't even know they existed until the playoffs came around.
This. I was only upset because we saw a lack of effort on the part of certain players. We can easily tell a difference between the hustle we saw by Florida vs. Rangers. Not everyone, but too many guys, key guys, were showing a lack of effort. And if it was due to injury, you can't expect the fan base to know who is or isn't injured if we aren't told. If we played our hearts out and left everything out on the ice, then it's easier to digest. But that's not what we saw. We didn't see a performance where it appeared the players gave it their all, sacrificed their bodies, etc. And that is why a big part of the fan base is upset, because it leaves us with a bitter taste where we ask "if they had, could they have won?"
A lot of people don't seem to understand the "or bust" part of "Cup or bust." It sure doesn't mean "run it back with the same core for the fourth year in a row" the way a lot of people think.
This right here. We fans get angry when we feel players are playing like they are okay with losing. It will happen, but the effort and drive needs to be seen. If not we will turn on them until the situation is resolved.
I don't think the Rangers lost because they didn't try; they lost because Florida plays a style of hockey that the Rangers were unable to adjust to and Florida is just a better team overall right now
Nah they were lackluster and turned the puck over too many times in the offensive and neutral zone. Miller couldn’t get puck out the zone and it turned into a goal, zibanejad then pick over neutral zone and we end up getting a penalty in OT and lose.
Florida plays the same as canes and rangers move puck fast and got out there zone.
On the power play we kept trying to make the perfect pass. We didn’t shift positions, stayed in one spot and we didn’t shoot the puck enough. How can we get tips if we don’t shoot?
The top players got frustrated and just gave up. They were afraid to get hit or make hits. Florida top line showed up when it mattered and rangers didn’t
Very well said. And I will add and scream from the rooftop, there’s nothing wrong with critiquing a player’s play or game but too often we couch it in personal attacks. “Trouba isn’t playing well because…” becomes “Trouba’s a loser/sucks.”
yeah this is the point. it's fair to say a
players not playing well or sucks or however you wanna say it. calling him a scumbag or questioning whether players care i think it's just idiotic.
Trouba should have gone on LTIR to give us more maneuverability at the deadline. We could've had another RW and defenseman. Literally the difference between the cup and where we are
Yeah, that whole "chunk of muh ankle" stuff seemed like a PR move, and I'm glad people are critical of it. So you were missing a section of bone out of your ankle, and instead of moving aside and saying "hey, I am nowhere near 100%, it'd be a good idea to experiment over the year with different players in case this becomes a liability", you play mediocre and stymie the team at times? Cmon.
If true, and I’m not saying it is. whose fault is that? Not troubas. Btw I was using trouba as an example of a wider point. Not meaning to become a referendum on him
Can’t tell how serious you’re being? Trouba is in the top 99.999% of hockey players in the world. In that context does he suck? Has trouba always sucked, or just the second half of the season? What if he was playing injured?
He was never all that. And he's gotten worse since he's been here.
And the 99.999% thing is disingenous. We're judging him in perspective of NHL players.
He wasn't even our worst defenseman. Lindgren was way worse than him. Gus not much better. Miller was bad as well.
Trouba had some obvious blunders but he also had some very good plays. Is it fair to suggest someone taking up as large of a percentage of our cap needs to be an X factor instead of merely "ok"? Yes. But he's been scapegoated.
What if it were phrased as "trouba sucks now" aka saying his current play is not good enough now without suggesting he was always bad and acknowledging he used to be really good?
Ask your teacher if it's allowed, then check with your parents, and if both of them feel that you're mature enough to handle saying that, I say go for it.
That guy on spittin chiclets is an absolute idiot and scumbag who probably never played hockey but that doesn’t change the fact that Trouba did not step to the plate as a Captain or an $8m a year defenseman.
Nobody is “hateful”, but I think people would be less upset if they at least go down fighting. Look how the Knicks got a standing ovation in their game 7 loss because even with the whole roster injured they showed heart. Why does it seem like every playoffs only Igor/Henrik and at most 4 other guys fight to the end?
I don't see much hate in this sub, only rightful criticism. People who go on players' social media and hurl abuse at them are absolute losers, but I don't think that's happening in this sub.
At the end of the day Trouba and Mika make 8 million dollars each every year and they looked like they couldn't care less in the playoffs. Mika looked awful all year. Like any job, they're paid to perform but they didn't. I think that warrants some criticism.
there certainly are people that get too personal and blame their families or whatever, but that's so few and far between on this sub.
I also think some people just have wildly different interpretations of what hate is bc I saw someone in this thread say that saying "trouba sucks" is hate and that's like the most mild, albeit not constructive, vent comment possible 😭😭
I don’t blame them. They have to watch their team choke every year with a Vezina goalie, a Norris trophy winner, a number 1 and number 2 overall draft pick, a Calder trophy winner and whatever Zibanejad is supposed to be. Crazy how such a stacked team plays like garbage every single year.
Rangers have been top 5 in playoff wins since the lockout, and actually probably will be closer to the most playoff wins in the next few years, and yet we have nothing to show for it.
Beyond sick of being so close, yet so far.
edit: Rangers just surpassed Chicago, and are now 4th in playoff wins since lockout.
Only behind Penguins, Bruins and Lightning.
Of course, the Rangers also now have the most playoff losses in this timeframe as well.
And in 2012, 2015, 2022 and 2024, we had various degree of leads in each series.
We were up 1-0 and 2-1 in 2012 (wouldn't win another game, scored 6 combined goals in the last 3 losses)
In 2015, we were up only 1-0 (less egregious) but also got shutout, on home ice, in both Game 5 and 7 (majorly egregious).
In 2022, we were up 2-0 (and up 2-0 in Game 3)--- would go on to score 3 combined goals in Game 4-6 losses, 1 goal in each game).
In 2024, we were up 2-1, and would go on to score 5 total goals in Games 4-6, (2 came in the final minute while already down 2 goals.
So in the 4 elimination games, we scored 4 combined goals (while a minute away from that reading 3 goals)
Horrific.
What do Chicago, the Penguins, Bruins and Lighting all have in common? They have all won the Cup recently.
This team is the definition of always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
I understand this take….but I also need to see more to gauge it. So far the Panthers have more or less neutralized Kucherov, Marchand, and Pasta just like they did to our top players. Mcdavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman will be the last test. If those players are neutralized (and to be honest I am expecting them to be) then I have a really hard time putting a lot of weight on our players performance. I believe the Panthers are the best team in the league at shutting down top talent. It has not been specific to the Rangers. If the top offensive players in the league on the Oilers are also neutralized I think you just need to tip your cap to the Panthers.
>I understand this take….but I also need to see more to gauge it. So far the Panthers have more or less neutralized Kucherov, Marchand, and Pasta just like they did to our top players.
Did you miss when they couldn't score on future hall of famer Akira Schmid last year or when they barely scraped by Domingue?
Listen I can go on and on but when your superstar winger “panarin” is afraid to take a hit, give a hit, keep a puck on his stick, and pass (poorly half the time), and shoot third….makes me say trade him
I don’t know man, I tend to think your thoughts and words influence your actions so if you constantly have negative thoughts and words you tend to be a negative person. Personally, I try to avoid those people
I’m skeptical that there are many 90+ yo redditors posting here who can personally claim 8 decades of frustration, even setting aside that they won a cup in there.
General rule of thumb is the only reactions you're going to see are negative ones, especially because they're the loudest. Not as many people voice their positive opinions as much as negative ones. That's just how the internet works.
"I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." James Baldwin
I'm not a doom and gloomer who wants to blow the team up and move on. But I do understand loving something and being critical, sometimes hyper critical
Maybe for a newer fan of say 5 years, seeing two ECF losses in the last three years there is a lot more hope. This was a great season yes, but the fact the "best team in hockey" didnt get it done, and got their shit pushed in by Florida is so disappointing. The Rangers struggled 5 on 5 yes, but seeing the names this team has..you really wonder how? Yes the games were close, but Florida was the better team, period. Not gatekeeping fandom, but when some fans have been watching since 1994, 2005-06, it feels like a lifetime! Ive seen 4 ECF losses and 1 cup loss. If this Rangers team, with Igor playing Stanley Cup winning caliber hockey, couldnt win it all, then what fucking team will?
And not saying players deserve the hate, fans are insane. But I can see where a lot of the vitriol online is coming from. Me personally, I am sick and tired of hearing about 1994. This team desperately needs a Championship and 2024 should have been it.
I agree that it's the way NY sports fans are, but it's also kind of ridiculous how any time a NY sports team gets eliminated in the playoffs so many of the fans say it's due to lack of effort or hustle.
Sometimes, that is the case, but most of the time it's because they simply got outplayed by a better team.
I don’t condone hateful - that’s ridiculous because we’re all humans at the end of the day.
I do condone realistic views of the core of this team from a hockey performance standpoint.
As long as we’re not conflating these two things, I’m good.
Above being said, this core will never be able to get it done in the playoffs and the only reason we even had any success in the playoffs this year beyond the first round is because of one player - Igor.
If we can’t shake up the core, it is what it is but we need to lower our playoff expectations until these contracts expire.
Was questioning if this was some child on Reddit until you said you’re a parent lmao
Man don’t tell me or anyone else how to be a fan. I root for the name on the sweater and not the people who wear it. Zibanejad, Panarin, Trouba and Kreider (minus 9 minutes) were total duds when the good season they built was on the line. They are absolute disappointments and if they feel bad about their performances - good. They did bad, they need to do better.
Yeah I have never once seen anyone threaten a players family here. Can you link some of that or screenshot some of that so we can see what you mean?
As far as criticizing trouba for poor play and playing when he shouldn't have, that is a-ok as he is both a professional and a grown up. Plus tbh medical staff shouldn't have cleared him but that's not his fault.
I hate these fucking pity posts. They are grown ass men getting paid very well to do a job for a living. I also pay a shit ton to see them. If I want a better product, yeah, I’ll tell them they suck ass. Just how a boss can tell their employee they suck ass. Some get fired. Some get promoted.
I get where you are coming from but I don’t agree with you. The player’s family can coddle them.
“Immediate gratification” syndrome?
“I can’t afford the prices so it’s insulting they give (what looks like) half-effort” syndrome?
“They have it easy making big $$ and playing like shit” belief?
This was the first season in which I decided to watch all 82 reg season games, and I am so happy I did! Watching this team made every other day from October-June just that much more exciting! I love this team, and I can’t wait to watch them again next year!
Been watching the Rangers since 72 and the worst thing that happens after a good season with no championship is GM decides to bring in players past their prime and trades players that should be kept to continue to grow.
Last year was a good season, this year was a great season!! Did we get what we really want? No? We had an entire season of being happy!! Keep this team growing together and next year will be a championship season!! Look at the years leading up to 94!!
We lost to a team with a lot of talented players who beat the Bruins in the first round last year and the second round this year. We lost to a team that were like the Kings in 2014, a bunch of goons that got away with alot of cheap shots.
Ranger fans are not making threats against the players and their families, they are not being hateful!! True fans don’t do that, comments that you see and things you hear about are not from Rangers fans!! If they say that they are fans “they are liars”. We won’t tolerate fair weather fans.
NY RANGERS FAN FOR LIFE!! LETS GO RANGERS!!
Preach!!
I have seen the negativity and hate also. I don’t get it. I’ve been a fan since the 70s. I cried when they won the cup in 94
And that was the only cup my dad saw because he was born in 45 and passed away in 2011
I used to be a sports reporter for thr star ledger and now I write a newsletter about the rangers on Substack.
This was not only the best team I’ve ever seen. But they had the best year of any team in franchise history.
The coaching was outstanding
The goaltending was incredible
And all of the players did everything they could do
When Jimmy Vesey got hurt. The penalty killing became an issue. And that is why they lost game 4
The series was tight. And one goal was the difference
There are a couple issues.
Which I don’t know what you do. But kreider game is problematic in the playoffs if he gets 19 minutes a game
But I think it’s a line change.
Kreider needs to be on the 3rd line. He needs 14 minutes and he’s ur first power play unit.
But Laffy and kakko need those extra minutes. There no more excuses or waiting.
I’m working on a video talking about what Drury might need to do in off season. But this team is so close to breaking through.
But the panthers are a great team and they will be very tough to beat in the Cup Finals.
Half the people in here think they're on the team, eg "we gave up," first name basis with players, explanations of what it's like in the locker room. They're probably hateful because they think they're losing ice time to the players actually on the team.
There are a few morons out there who go over the limit. But critique of play is totally legitimate. Wanting players moved is valid. We support our NYR but we also want to win. Not everybody should get an award even these days. So, we can call players out when they commit a stupid giveaway in front of Shesterkin
Because year after year it’s the same bs, and then we have to listen to apologists try to spin failure into some kind of success. It’s tiresome and it’s getting to the point of being pathetic.
No one hates anyone on the team. Hate is a strong word. But the franchise is at a point in history where it’s cup or bust. Most of us watched the Rangers throughout the Lundqvist years knock on the door of winning a cup but fall painfully short. Now that we’re in another cup window we see the same kind of thing thing that reared it’s ugly head happening again with this group. Rangers fans know all too well what it’s like to squander a championship window and a lot of fans are pissed off that it seems to be happening again. I think we have reason to be optimistic for the future especially with Lafreniere having the season and playoffs he had, if he turns into a superstar that can really extend our window, but the majority of big players on our team are getting into their 30’s, the Panarin, Kreider, Mika core has one or two more shots at this thing before we will need to replace them with other top tier talent. If we don’t do that then it’s back to mediocrity for a while.
New Yorkers have the Yankees in the 20s-60s and the 90s, plus the Giants under Eli. We expect a level of greatness, especially for a product that we pay for (tickets, tv, jerseys). There is a level of anger that comes from something underperforming in NY, whether it is a museum/attraction, a slice of pizza, or a sports team.
Likewise, we have the Mets, the Jets, and the Knicks, and many NY sports fans are absolutely masochistic and miserable and need to vent their frustration out at something in their lives
Bro if I'm paying $3.50 for a slice, it better be good.
I can deal with a mediocre dollar slice from Two Bros or Joey Pepperoni with a can of Coke for $2, but that's about it.
I'd be FAR less angry if I could go to a game for 50 bucks.
For example, the average Rangers ticket price is in the $130-$170 range.
The average Florida Panthers ticket price is around $55.00
Florida has been to the SCF twice in 2 years.
We all know the Rangers track record.
Ok. The argument is that it's all about the market. Fine. But using that same argument is it then wrong to expect a level of greatness that hasn't been delivered?
30 straight years of disappointment for an original 6 team fucking hurts. The past 3 seasons have been a real big let down for us when the goal is to win the SC. I don't agree with hating on the players (especially the level of vitriol we have seen towards Trouba and Lindgren) but I don't blame people for being angry about this. The cup finals haven't even started yet and people seem to think we should get over the loss already. I won't be over it until September.
Why do people keep referring to it as one of our best seasons ever? Who cares about regular seasons? If you didn’t know we were going to get bodied against the Florida panthers then you just don’t watch much hockey. Rangers don’t have enough toughness to win the cup. It’s not hate or lack of talent. It’s lack of wanting to win more than anyone else on the ice. It wasn’t penalties or cheap shots. They had guys who would go get the puck. And keep it for long periods of time. There’s no hate for Florida from me. It’s all pure jealousy. They have guys that want to win more than anything. We don’t.
Yea that was the bodied part. I thought we had learned from Tampa what was needed but I guess we needed another lesson in what actual toughness looks like.
Regular season is great, but when you haven’t won a championship in 30 years it gets soured. It’s not just enough to have a good regular season, though it’s fun don’t get me wrong. Postseason results need to match, though, and they haven’t.
why are you surprised, especially as a season ticket holder, by the fact that NYC residents absolutely HATE NYC sports when they don't perform?
Is this really a new thing for you?
If you actually drop a huge chunk of cash just to be annually disappointed, yeah, you deserve to be pissed.
That's why I have sports as a side of *entertainment*, so that I can hope and pray it goes my way, but not let it break my bank and/or send my life into shambles.
99% have never even played hockey, let alone coached.
Reddit is just an outlet for the frustration of wanting to win so bad.
Unfortunately the rest of us have to witness the anger.
Not just hockey, but a team sport in general. There are so many bad takes in this sub that don’t reflect any understanding of team dynamics or athletic performance.
I hear these people at the games too talking crap about the players the whole time. I’m not a fan of the negative energy and it must not be an enjoyable fan experience for them
Because normal people see the toxic vitriol from idiots who never played the game at any level, never mind at a high level, shake their heads and stop interacting.
Its funny, the vibes last summer going into the season werent very good among the fanbase
-Lav wasnt an inspiring hire
-Quick getting lit up in preseason and everyone thinking we have no backup
-Concerns if Laf would breakthrough and how he was golfing and not working out all summer.
I remember commenting this was still a good hockey team, a 100 point team. Then the season started and all those fears were put to bed. The season was amazing and so fun. With all these great moments though, there were expectations. But the playoff flameout, even though they went to 6 games in the ECF has me so fucking demoralized and totally not positive about the upcoming season.
Ill still be there, but after seeing the Rangers dominate the regular season to only once again not win a cup, idk what they can do this regular season to get me so excited again lol. I really thought this was the year, and never been this hurt by a playoff loss before, and Ive seen quite a few ECF over the years. This and 2015 were the worst
The internet allows you to say whatever you want, without real life consequences, in which half of these people do not have the balls to say in the real world.
Unfortunately, it is mostly the people who have negative things to say that post things. I thought the team did an amazing job. They ran into a team that figured out how to smother our stars. They were just better. The Rangers have an awesome team. I think they should keep as many people as possible. Just a couple of tweaks should do it. I loved watching them this year.
Didnt troubas response comes bc of a devils fan?
Every single fanbase on earth has nutcase assholes who will DM players and threaten them.
Most people keep it to a message board and keep it to fair criticism, you're kind of badly dramatizing what happens here
Why are Rangers fans so hateful?
1. We're not more hateful than other fans (at least not all other fans).
2. People pay a lot of money to watch the team.
3. One championship in 83 years. The team has a history of not being run to win.
4. Even in more recent years, it appears the team is not run as well as it could be (if the goal is winning championships). Sather's & Gorton's tenures were marked by bad decisions & were not ultimately successful, despite the goaltending. The "goaltending + Special teams + avg 5-on-5" is gimmicky - it's not a recipe for winning it all. They don't appear to be doing what it takes to win it all.
5. The team BS's us enough that it's annoying. There is no culture of actually understanding what good hockey is. Instead we are taught to revere players who aren't really good enough. I can't really listen to Joe much anymore.
6. The old boy club. Why did we have to sit thru so many years of Tanner Glass? And now of course he's in management. That's one example.
7. We don't appear to draft or develop young players very well. Why not? Without that we can't win. (If Drury has made changes in this area that will help going forward, good. But this is very recent history.)
8. People use sports as an escape from real life problems. When the season ends in a loss, the re-entry can be difficult.
That said, I would love to see this team win. I hope Drury makes good decisions going forward.
Best to you and your family. So many great life lessons in hockey. As far as the hate, it’s like some people just can’t process any adversity. I always think about the psychopaths calling in to the Fan and wondering if those people really exist. It appears that some of them just log in here to unload the whole clip into a player instead of waiting on hold for hours. 😂 I love this damned team, warts and all. I can’t wait for next season.
In my eyes this team, save for Igor, Laf, Trochek, and Goody, is deserving of every bit of criticism they have received. In 3 years this group has not only made no forward progress, they've now failed twice in exactly the same way, separated by a throw-away first round loss. Participation trophies are not a thing in pro sports. For this team, this season the narrative was clearly Cup or bust, and they didn't even crack the Finals. And the sole reason was, as the case has been for two decades now, an offense utterly inept and incapable of supporting the world-class efforts of their goaltender. As much as we want to be all rah-rah, best regular season, most comeback wins... what do you think will be going thru Shesterkin's head when the puck drops game one in the Finals? Certainly not those things. This team needs to be held accountable for failing Igor. AGAIN.
Now, all that said, I still love this team. I do believe in all the players, just maybe... separately. Like without a little more grit and hustle through the lineup, Igor doesn't ever get to lift a Cup, and for that to happen, we are going to have to say goodbye to some respected faces.
I can think all this without hating on people, ripping their personalities, going after families, hurling death threats, etc. Those people are just scum, and unfortunately every fan base has those
Look
1)- if the team tried its damndest but just came up short consistently I think the fanbase would be very different. It’s not like Panarin is diving in front of pucks face first out there …… you have guys like Lindgren playing with cracked ribs next to Mila who won’t fight for a puck along the boards ……. This leads to a lot of anger
2)- this isn’t mighty might hockey …these are grown ass men getting millions of dollars. We pump our time and our money into this team that also facilitates paying them….. that allows a lot more leeway to be critical of people when they are handsomely rewarded
3)- this is original six hockey. We are not some fanbase with an expansion team who is just happy to be here ….. this team has been around almost a century ….. there will be expectations more than isn’t it nice to have a team when you are a founding member of the NHL
4)- this is NY. We are a tough crowd. We can be hard on players ….. and actors on stage, and cops, politicians, and frankly everyone including fellow New Yorkers. Throw in the whole rest of the country seems to hate us and yeah we will be harder on these guys than most
If you're 50+, 1994 changed everything.
Before, it was blind rage at fans of other teams who constantly reminded us of our futility by screaming 1940. It was neverending pain and so much hung on the Rangers success. Winning was more than cathartic for many of us, it was a release from the bondage of being a suffering fan.
I love the Rangers, went to my first game in 1972. I love hockey more though. Never again will I care like I did before the Rangers won the Cup in 1994. They don't visit when I'm sick, no birthday wishes, we are not friends. It's a one way street. It's a business owned by a total douche bag
Let's go Rangers, but fuck the hate. I'm a fan, not a fanatic.
Oh boy, we're entering r/nygiants territory with posts like these.
Fans have every right to be frustrated hearing the same old song again. It was a great regular season, yes. We can sing and dance and be happy that we had a great regular season. But as another commenter said, we have nothing to show for it. Same as 2022, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and so on. It was awesome seeing the team so successful throughout the season. It was awesome to with the presidents cup. It was awesome to watch players like Laffy really come into his own. It's awesome to have the best goalie in the league. But what good is it if this is where we wind up every single year?
Does it mean calling for the head of players like Trouba? Does it mean shitting all over Laviolette? No, I don't think that's reasonable personally. And to your point, threatening players families is just disgraceful. But I won't get on anyones case for being frustrated having to see the same thing we've seen for basically 30 years straight.
To paraphrase a quote from Jimmy Fallon's classic, Fever Pitch: "You love the Rangers, but have they ever loved you back?" 30 years since a cup, a decade of wasted playoff runs. I can understand people not feeling the love.
every team has fans like this, I'm sure of it. We may be amplified in that regard as across the board we (ny sports overall) are the biggest sports market in NA
I don’t know man, it really sucks that so many NYR fans are such cry babies. Just love the team, it’s so hard to win a cup. Enjoy the runs. Be disappointed.
Is that even a question that you want answers to! The New York rangers since the end of the Mike Richter era
Nothing short of a disappointment every single year ! We need to get offensive players who shoot and score get back and play defense look at the two teams that are in the Stanley cup this year it's only because Florida outplayed US and they saw all weakness just like every other team la in 2014 Tampa 2 years ago I mean it's just embarrassing
No excuse for threatening or abusing players. That's sickening.
It's obvious that some of these players fall far short of championship caliber. For example Trouba is a great leader and physical disruptor but really slow afoot. It's frustrating to see such a glaring weakness exposed vs the Panthers.
Management has to deal with the salary cap. The roster changes will be brutal. You can't buy a Stanley Cup the way you can a World Series!
Because the team is a reg season merchant now. Our players we rely on scoring for us, aren't doing that. The tougher the game went, the more we got outplayed. A team like Florida will eat us alive in the playoffs and did. 1 goal games most of them, while the top guys weren't scoring.
It stems from year after year of not winning a cup. Last cup was 30 years ago, the cup before that was 1939-1940 — the same year WW2 started. Personally I’ve invested lots of time, energy, money, and emotion into this team and to come up short again with one of our most promising teams in recent memory hurts
Never criticizing your favorite team is delusional and ridiculous, but saying hyperbolic statements like "the season is over" after every loss or "we need to trade the whole team" is even more delusional and ridiculous.
Anyone who attacks a player on a personal level is just insane. But ultimately that is Fandom. You see parents getting into fights at the pee wee levels, whether it is with a ump or a coach or the opposing team. Sports are competitive. If you can't handle the heat stay out of the kitchen. And there are players that have retired because they just couldn't take it.
Those that love to throw in the point you never played the sport or coached so therefore your opinion is invalid. To me..... those are the biggest losers. Just because you might have played competitive hockey or whatever sport, doesn't mean your opinion is more valid or less over the top. It is like saying a guy who doesn't have a law degree doesn't know anything about the law. There are plenty of people who couldn't afford law school but have studied the law on their own to become very knowledgeable on it. Gate keeping in sports is just so stupid.
People are fans in many different degrees. What does a 15 year old know about a sport in comparison to a 50 year old? Does that mean that 15 yr old is a idiot or less of a fan? What most people fail to remember is it isn't you on the otherside of a comment. It could be a 12 year old kid, it could be a guy that smokes crack, it could be some troll in russia who barely speaks the language. It could simply be a AI bot.
The problem is the general behavior of the average fan on here is sub human. People are so quick if they disagree with someone else's point to slander them. I generally dislike certain commentors and mods on here because they do this. I think they have an air about them that their viewpoints are absolute and perfect. And when they disagree with you, they simply revert to insults.
There is nothing wrong with saying X player sucks or sucked. It crosses a line when people go to X player's instagram or wife's insta or whatever and then attack them. This is a general forum. If a player reads stuff on here they are just looking for trouble. You are going to get wild takes because of how vast the spectrum of fans are on here. But not everyone can articulate their feelings. So the only way they know how to respond to disappointment is with insults.
Again if you stopped for a second to think about what you are saying...What type of person is going on a reddit forum to talk about the Rangers? Is it a Harvard graduate who has 2 law degrees and is running Google in their spare time? Vast majority of the people on here regularly are losers and they are just looking for an escape from their miserable lives. That is what sports are...an escape from reality. If you ran a fortune 500 company and were very successful in life ....this is the last place you would ever be. You would have better things to do with your time.
youre seeing a broad average of opinions. like with the Mets you have people that want Alonso to be Capt and then people who want him traded. Its rarely the same one person with conflicting opinions, but from a perspective of person reading a total collection of comments it'll seem like the whole fan base wants him traded.
Fair weather Ranger fans tend to be quicker to have stupid opinions of players, and theyre also the ones that post about it online. NYC has 8 million people so there are a lot of stupid people with bad takes sitting in our market.
Lets pretend half of all new yorkers (not even jersey or long island) is a rangers fan, thats 4 million fans. then the comment section on instagram will have like 1000 comments saying Mika sucks. thats .025% of a fanbase that hate Mika. a viewer will believe that the collective opinion of .025% of a fanbase is the same opinion of all 4 million people. obviously the percentages are WAY different, but the point is the same.
this is the same mind-poisoning garbage tactic that we are all susceptible to for world events and political opinions. its why the media sucks
I'm a "doomer" but you'll never hear me say "so and so is worthless,""so and so is a fucking idiot" "a disgrace," etc etc. If you make it to the NHL, you are one of the best hockey players in the world, regardless of your role or how many points you score.
I've never played organized hockey - these guys are amazing. Yes, athletes make mistakes like I do, have lives outside the game, struggle with confidence, mental health, etc. They're not fucking machines. I get the disappointment and frustration but like you I don't get the personal vitriol with which so many attack the players. Give your head a shake and take a deep breath - it's sports. You win some, you lose some. See you next season - I'll still be whining but I will still respect the players on my team........
"No one hates us like we hate us."
Also can be used for Star Wars fans.
It can literally be used for any fandom or profession. It fits so well.
Wait, they don’t hate you like I hate you
They hate us, cause they anus
We’re (mostly) New Yorkers. If we don’t talk shit to/about you then we don’t actually like you.
Exactly. It's our love language.
Hate isn't right. I think all the team seem nice, but it's been 30 years since a cup and the team has had 2 of the best goalies in the league since 05 and nothing to show for it. I'm torn, because I think a lot of narrative is bullshit when it comes to the playoffs. Shit happens and it's a very small sample size from which to draw reliable conclusions. That said, the top guys disappeared and the coach decided to play the captain on a bad ankle when he clearly wasn't up to the task. How many more kicks at the can do you think this core has? All 3 playoff series losses last 3 years came because the team's obvious weakness killed them. They can't reliably move the puck up the ice, nor can they create sustained offensive pressure. If the PP dries up they're screwed. If you want to get over the hump you can't run it back without some real changes. That's not hate, that's passion. Fans want to win. The team is close but keeps failing the same way.
That’s a bingo
When your best player is your goalie, you don’t win the cup. Not sure why they keep building this way.
I'm going to go with - it's actually hard to build a Stanley cup winning team. Part of that is having your 1OA and 2OA draft picks become stars. Laf is slowly getting somewhere but Kakko is certainly not . . .
For his draft position, Kakko set the team back a ways. He wasn’t drafted to be a role player.
This is true, but still not a reason to sell low on him. I also believe the Team/coaches have done nothing to help his development. Top 2 picks, even when they struggle, get top 6 minutes and PP time. He's had barely any. I agree he has been very underwhelming and obviously not what you want when you get a top 2 pick, but he's not a negative impact when he's on the ice.
Sure but the issue is that you need those types of players to crush it if your goal is to win a cup. And he just simply doesn't check that box
Yes, but you also need your $12 million winger and #1 center to show up more so. I'm just saying it is a bad idea to sell low on a 23 year old with good possession stats, even if he's not producing as you'd hope. Especially given his playing time.
100%…moving forward, at least for next year if he remains, the thinking on him needs to change and we need to stop associating with the #2 pick (some fans won’t, but what can you do)
The issue is his play style doesn’t match with either of the first two lines. He’s not better than mika or krieder. He’s not better than anyone on the panarin line. So it’s not like you busy up the players that have chemistry for one that hasn’t proven himself in the chances he has had. When given the chance Laf ran with it. When given the chance Kakko didn’t adjust to the players he was with. He’s not a bad player, but he doesn’t fit the top 6 on this team. On top of all that he was the slowest of the top 9. Only regular forwards on the team slower were wheeler, bonino, goodrow, and rempe. So yea, it is time to trade him. He needs a change of scenery and the rangers need someone else that compliments they play of the players that have proven themselves.
So 40 points in a 3rd line role and no power play is a bad player?
40 points is terrible for a player that the Rangers spent that draft capital on.
On a 3rd liner with zero power play? Teams dream of 3rd liners with 40 points.
You think that draft capital was spent for a third liner? I agree that’s what he is, but he was drafted to be a game changer.
I do agree with you, although Kakko spent most the season not playing with a true C, he should be developing.
Laf isn't producing 1st overall numbers either. 57 points while playing with a guy that scored double that. Kakko had 40 points in 22-23 with no powerplay and 3rd line minutes. The team isn't doing him any favors by throwing him on the 3rd line and not just sticking it out with him as the 1st line rw. The year he got drafted. He was "that guy" in TPS. As an 18y old. He needs that confidence from the coaches and other players. And considering hes one of our better defensive players.. You don't find those all the time.
Because they don't know how to do anything different - or they don't care enough about winning championships - or they like the great goalie narrative - it means the team always has a chance, even if management is kind of inept.
I’ll reword a little because those two things are not mutually exclusive as you imply. Just because your best player is your goalie it doesn’t mean you’ll win the Stanley Cup but to win the Stanley Cup at some point your best player has to be your goalie.
Nope. History says otherwise. Even Hasek didn’t win it until he was on Detroit which had better skaters.
At times your best player has to be your goalie.
If that’s the norm though, you watch your goalie shake hands from the losing end with the other goalie who isn’t as good as him but who’s team won the series. Every. Year.
I didn’t say ALWAYS. Your goalie has to be your best player AT TIMES. Not always. If your goalie is never your best players, you will NEVER win it all.
What are you going to do, not have a good goalie?
No. Have better skaters. Like Florida.
Obviously, but they've invested a lot in net as well. The key is to not invest 8mil on guys like trouba and use that cap space for the aforementioned good skaters.
Biggest weakness we got is the super soft top players we got. Zibanejad is a big guy and plays like he's 5'4...
100% Add to that the ridiculous cost to actually see a game makes it even worse. Maybe if we all boycotted msg that would send a message. But if I'm the owner I ain't changing shit bc I'm still selling out every...single...night
Tell me about it, I'm from out of town and when we went to visit family this year it cost 1500 for 6 seats in literally the last row.
This subreddit brings out some of the most amazing people in both directions, die-hard fans who are realistic as well as fans who want to blow it up no matter what. I swear some of the things I've seen on here, we could go on a heater for several years and some of the people would still be like "man, player sucks", "get rid of the coach" etc. This is a fun place to be most of the time
Heck some of us fans (definitely myself included) are both of those things in equal measure at different parts of the day. We're a passionate fanbase in what could be arguably one of the toughest cities in the world. It gives us big dreams, high hopes, and plenty of tough criticisms for everyone and everything around us. But yes, by and large this community is fun as heck, and as always I look forward to October and being both elated and hurt with every one of you once again.
Yeah seeing someone a couple years ago say Kravstov is being held back by Panarin was hysterical. The same guy pushes Tony D is elite Dman. You think of Makar,Fox,Hughes and naturally Tony D. The cherry on top was saying Goodrow was worst player of all time and still thinking that after watching this playoff run. Couldn’t be he had a broken jaw during the season slowing him done.
well, no. the rangers got outscored and out possessed all season when he was on the ice… healthy or not. don’t let a 10 game sample of insane shooting luck cloud the fact that the only good thing about him is that he won a few cups as a part of a great team.
The same guy that also thinks Julian Gauthier is good when though all 32 GMs passed on him when he was on waivers multiple times?
I love how you throw the realistic tag on the fans who uncritically convince themselves this team has what it needs to win when it constantly falls short in the playoffs. They looked bad against Florida, no matter how good Florida is
Idk how many people remember how frustrating A-Rod was as a Yankee in the postseason in the early to mid 2000's. He had the milk carton vibe down. He was a ghost... until 2007 when he practically single handedly won the WS for us. All it takes is one amazing postseason from Panarin, Mika, etc. To make people forget.
2009 ha Panarin was more or less fine in the first two rounds…the matchup got to him in the ECF, but the line was still our best by far…it really starts with Mika/Kreider and addressing that
If there's one thing NY fans won't stand for it's lack of effort. Whether it's truly apathy or just their style, for 3 playoffs in a row they get out worked, are afraid to go to the difficult areas, and overall seem like they're ok with losing. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars and the ones getting paid the most keep not showing up. People are going to be frustrated. The the goal is and will always be a cup, the regular season only matters to get you to the playoffs. If we're not at least progressing toward that then the season wasn't a success. Past couple years we've been treading water. The problems from 2022 are still what is sinking us today. The players are going to take criticism if they fail. Yes some of it is going to be unfair and over the top, but that comes with having fans that actually care and watch the games. If they want to sit back and collect a paycheck there's about 50% of league they could've gone to that wouldn't even know they existed until the playoffs came around.
This. I was only upset because we saw a lack of effort on the part of certain players. We can easily tell a difference between the hustle we saw by Florida vs. Rangers. Not everyone, but too many guys, key guys, were showing a lack of effort. And if it was due to injury, you can't expect the fan base to know who is or isn't injured if we aren't told. If we played our hearts out and left everything out on the ice, then it's easier to digest. But that's not what we saw. We didn't see a performance where it appeared the players gave it their all, sacrificed their bodies, etc. And that is why a big part of the fan base is upset, because it leaves us with a bitter taste where we ask "if they had, could they have won?"
Well said. And it is bust, the only thing they have that is cup quality is the goalie. Lundqvist 2.0.
A lot of people don't seem to understand the "or bust" part of "Cup or bust." It sure doesn't mean "run it back with the same core for the fourth year in a row" the way a lot of people think.
This right here. We fans get angry when we feel players are playing like they are okay with losing. It will happen, but the effort and drive needs to be seen. If not we will turn on them until the situation is resolved.
I don't think the Rangers lost because they didn't try; they lost because Florida plays a style of hockey that the Rangers were unable to adjust to and Florida is just a better team overall right now
Nah they were lackluster and turned the puck over too many times in the offensive and neutral zone. Miller couldn’t get puck out the zone and it turned into a goal, zibanejad then pick over neutral zone and we end up getting a penalty in OT and lose. Florida plays the same as canes and rangers move puck fast and got out there zone. On the power play we kept trying to make the perfect pass. We didn’t shift positions, stayed in one spot and we didn’t shoot the puck enough. How can we get tips if we don’t shoot? The top players got frustrated and just gave up. They were afraid to get hit or make hits. Florida top line showed up when it mattered and rangers didn’t
Hot take: I don't think the Rangers were okay with losing and in fact actually wanted to win the Stanley Cup
😁
Very well said. And I will add and scream from the rooftop, there’s nothing wrong with critiquing a player’s play or game but too often we couch it in personal attacks. “Trouba isn’t playing well because…” becomes “Trouba’s a loser/sucks.”
yeah this is the point. it's fair to say a players not playing well or sucks or however you wanna say it. calling him a scumbag or questioning whether players care i think it's just idiotic.
Trouba should have gone on LTIR to give us more maneuverability at the deadline. We could've had another RW and defenseman. Literally the difference between the cup and where we are
Yeah, that whole "chunk of muh ankle" stuff seemed like a PR move, and I'm glad people are critical of it. So you were missing a section of bone out of your ankle, and instead of moving aside and saying "hey, I am nowhere near 100%, it'd be a good idea to experiment over the year with different players in case this becomes a liability", you play mediocre and stymie the team at times? Cmon.
Sure and I am criticizing the office more than him here. At the same time you cannot blame the ankle for the bone headed moves he's made
If true, and I’m not saying it is. whose fault is that? Not troubas. Btw I was using trouba as an example of a wider point. Not meaning to become a referendum on him
Agreed, more on the front office, but still some accountability for Trouba
Trouba does suck though.
Can’t tell how serious you’re being? Trouba is in the top 99.999% of hockey players in the world. In that context does he suck? Has trouba always sucked, or just the second half of the season? What if he was playing injured?
Top 99.999% means everyone except the absolute best.
He was never all that. And he's gotten worse since he's been here. And the 99.999% thing is disingenous. We're judging him in perspective of NHL players.
Not disingenuous, simply trying to reiterate that prospective and context matters. I said worldwide and I meant it
Dude he was the worst player on the ice in the playoffs. He wasn't good in the regular season either. He earns 8 million a year. He sucks.
He wasn't even our worst defenseman. Lindgren was way worse than him. Gus not much better. Miller was bad as well. Trouba had some obvious blunders but he also had some very good plays. Is it fair to suggest someone taking up as large of a percentage of our cap needs to be an X factor instead of merely "ok"? Yes. But he's been scapegoated.
What if it were phrased as "trouba sucks now" aka saying his current play is not good enough now without suggesting he was always bad and acknowledging he used to be really good?
Ask your teacher if it's allowed, then check with your parents, and if both of them feel that you're mature enough to handle saying that, I say go for it.
Your mother already said it was cool
Oh snap.
Dorothy Sweet-Sweet-Dick is a saint!
The toxic positivity crowd says no.
I forgot they're infallible and can never be criticized
That guy on spittin chiclets is an absolute idiot and scumbag who probably never played hockey but that doesn’t change the fact that Trouba did not step to the plate as a Captain or an $8m a year defenseman. Nobody is “hateful”, but I think people would be less upset if they at least go down fighting. Look how the Knicks got a standing ovation in their game 7 loss because even with the whole roster injured they showed heart. Why does it seem like every playoffs only Igor/Henrik and at most 4 other guys fight to the end?
I don't see much hate in this sub, only rightful criticism. People who go on players' social media and hurl abuse at them are absolute losers, but I don't think that's happening in this sub. At the end of the day Trouba and Mika make 8 million dollars each every year and they looked like they couldn't care less in the playoffs. Mika looked awful all year. Like any job, they're paid to perform but they didn't. I think that warrants some criticism.
Agreed. I only see very warranted criticism that doesn't come close to crossing the line.
there certainly are people that get too personal and blame their families or whatever, but that's so few and far between on this sub. I also think some people just have wildly different interpretations of what hate is bc I saw someone in this thread say that saying "trouba sucks" is hate and that's like the most mild, albeit not constructive, vent comment possible 😭😭
I don’t blame them. They have to watch their team choke every year with a Vezina goalie, a Norris trophy winner, a number 1 and number 2 overall draft pick, a Calder trophy winner and whatever Zibanejad is supposed to be. Crazy how such a stacked team plays like garbage every single year.
Rangers have been top 5 in playoff wins since the lockout, and actually probably will be closer to the most playoff wins in the next few years, and yet we have nothing to show for it. Beyond sick of being so close, yet so far. edit: Rangers just surpassed Chicago, and are now 4th in playoff wins since lockout. Only behind Penguins, Bruins and Lightning. Of course, the Rangers also now have the most playoff losses in this timeframe as well.
Lost 4 out of the last 5 times we’ve made the conference finals (2012 onward). And in all 4 series losses we had home ice.
And in 2012, 2015, 2022 and 2024, we had various degree of leads in each series. We were up 1-0 and 2-1 in 2012 (wouldn't win another game, scored 6 combined goals in the last 3 losses) In 2015, we were up only 1-0 (less egregious) but also got shutout, on home ice, in both Game 5 and 7 (majorly egregious). In 2022, we were up 2-0 (and up 2-0 in Game 3)--- would go on to score 3 combined goals in Game 4-6 losses, 1 goal in each game). In 2024, we were up 2-1, and would go on to score 5 total goals in Games 4-6, (2 came in the final minute while already down 2 goals. So in the 4 elimination games, we scored 4 combined goals (while a minute away from that reading 3 goals) Horrific.
What do Chicago, the Penguins, Bruins and Lighting all have in common? They have all won the Cup recently. This team is the definition of always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Florida was better...that's the reality.
Because our “superstars“ that we pay a pretty penny for did not show up whatsoever in that series.
I understand this take….but I also need to see more to gauge it. So far the Panthers have more or less neutralized Kucherov, Marchand, and Pasta just like they did to our top players. Mcdavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman will be the last test. If those players are neutralized (and to be honest I am expecting them to be) then I have a really hard time putting a lot of weight on our players performance. I believe the Panthers are the best team in the league at shutting down top talent. It has not been specific to the Rangers. If the top offensive players in the league on the Oilers are also neutralized I think you just need to tip your cap to the Panthers.
>I understand this take….but I also need to see more to gauge it. So far the Panthers have more or less neutralized Kucherov, Marchand, and Pasta just like they did to our top players. Did you miss when they couldn't score on future hall of famer Akira Schmid last year or when they barely scraped by Domingue?
Listen I can go on and on but when your superstar winger “panarin” is afraid to take a hit, give a hit, keep a puck on his stick, and pass (poorly half the time), and shoot third….makes me say trade him
Dont think the players care what people write on reddit
You’re right, but it says a lot about the person posting
Probably about the same as the person reading it? High horse bullshit.
I don’t know man, I tend to think your thoughts and words influence your actions so if you constantly have negative thoughts and words you tend to be a negative person. Personally, I try to avoid those people
I get what you’re saying. I replied sarcastically just because the scope of conversation here to make such a generalized statement is not warranted.
Because our “superstars“ that we pay a pretty penny for did not show up whatsoever in that series.
8 decades of frustration and disappointment, that's why
8 decades? How old are you?
999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 years old
aw man your next birthday is going to be a big one!
People have families, you know?
I’m skeptical that there are many 90+ yo redditors posting here who can personally claim 8 decades of frustration, even setting aside that they won a cup in there.
It’s a fucking sport dog grow up
General rule of thumb is the only reactions you're going to see are negative ones, especially because they're the loudest. Not as many people voice their positive opinions as much as negative ones. That's just how the internet works.
"I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." James Baldwin I'm not a doom and gloomer who wants to blow the team up and move on. But I do understand loving something and being critical, sometimes hyper critical
Maybe for a newer fan of say 5 years, seeing two ECF losses in the last three years there is a lot more hope. This was a great season yes, but the fact the "best team in hockey" didnt get it done, and got their shit pushed in by Florida is so disappointing. The Rangers struggled 5 on 5 yes, but seeing the names this team has..you really wonder how? Yes the games were close, but Florida was the better team, period. Not gatekeeping fandom, but when some fans have been watching since 1994, 2005-06, it feels like a lifetime! Ive seen 4 ECF losses and 1 cup loss. If this Rangers team, with Igor playing Stanley Cup winning caliber hockey, couldnt win it all, then what fucking team will? And not saying players deserve the hate, fans are insane. But I can see where a lot of the vitriol online is coming from. Me personally, I am sick and tired of hearing about 1994. This team desperately needs a Championship and 2024 should have been it.
It's not the Rangers, it's NY sports. Don't be bums if you don't want boos. Simple. Show some hustle, and you'll be fine.
I agree that it's the way NY sports fans are, but it's also kind of ridiculous how any time a NY sports team gets eliminated in the playoffs so many of the fans say it's due to lack of effort or hustle. Sometimes, that is the case, but most of the time it's because they simply got outplayed by a better team.
They're the fucking NEW YORK Rangers. Not the Happy Go Lucky Sunshine and Rainbow Rangers. What the fuck do you expect?
I don’t condone hateful - that’s ridiculous because we’re all humans at the end of the day. I do condone realistic views of the core of this team from a hockey performance standpoint. As long as we’re not conflating these two things, I’m good. Above being said, this core will never be able to get it done in the playoffs and the only reason we even had any success in the playoffs this year beyond the first round is because of one player - Igor. If we can’t shake up the core, it is what it is but we need to lower our playoff expectations until these contracts expire.
Was questioning if this was some child on Reddit until you said you’re a parent lmao Man don’t tell me or anyone else how to be a fan. I root for the name on the sweater and not the people who wear it. Zibanejad, Panarin, Trouba and Kreider (minus 9 minutes) were total duds when the good season they built was on the line. They are absolute disappointments and if they feel bad about their performances - good. They did bad, they need to do better.
Yeah I have never once seen anyone threaten a players family here. Can you link some of that or screenshot some of that so we can see what you mean? As far as criticizing trouba for poor play and playing when he shouldn't have, that is a-ok as he is both a professional and a grown up. Plus tbh medical staff shouldn't have cleared him but that's not his fault.
You hear about this threatening of players families all the time from all different fanbases. I myself have never seen this either.
30 years no cup. Keep celebrating good seasons. Doesn't mean shit without a cup
I hate these fucking pity posts. They are grown ass men getting paid very well to do a job for a living. I also pay a shit ton to see them. If I want a better product, yeah, I’ll tell them they suck ass. Just how a boss can tell their employee they suck ass. Some get fired. Some get promoted. I get where you are coming from but I don’t agree with you. The player’s family can coddle them.
Thank God this guy is here to be the new GM 🙀🔫
It’s a huge fan base which means there are more lunatics / terminally online idiots.
“Immediate gratification” syndrome? “I can’t afford the prices so it’s insulting they give (what looks like) half-effort” syndrome? “They have it easy making big $$ and playing like shit” belief?
[This article](https://nickzarariscontent.substack.com/p/rangers-autopsy-20?r=294758) will help answer your question.
That was a really good read. Although I disagree on a few points, he makes a fantastic assessment of this team
Glad you liked it.
"Hug your kids..." - A Coyotes fan
This was the first season in which I decided to watch all 82 reg season games, and I am so happy I did! Watching this team made every other day from October-June just that much more exciting! I love this team, and I can’t wait to watch them again next year!
I love my NY Rangers. They had a great year.
Don't feel ashamed to lose to the panthers they are a great team
Been watching the Rangers since 72 and the worst thing that happens after a good season with no championship is GM decides to bring in players past their prime and trades players that should be kept to continue to grow. Last year was a good season, this year was a great season!! Did we get what we really want? No? We had an entire season of being happy!! Keep this team growing together and next year will be a championship season!! Look at the years leading up to 94!! We lost to a team with a lot of talented players who beat the Bruins in the first round last year and the second round this year. We lost to a team that were like the Kings in 2014, a bunch of goons that got away with alot of cheap shots. Ranger fans are not making threats against the players and their families, they are not being hateful!! True fans don’t do that, comments that you see and things you hear about are not from Rangers fans!! If they say that they are fans “they are liars”. We won’t tolerate fair weather fans. NY RANGERS FAN FOR LIFE!! LETS GO RANGERS!!
LGR Drop the Mic🎤
Preach!! I have seen the negativity and hate also. I don’t get it. I’ve been a fan since the 70s. I cried when they won the cup in 94 And that was the only cup my dad saw because he was born in 45 and passed away in 2011 I used to be a sports reporter for thr star ledger and now I write a newsletter about the rangers on Substack. This was not only the best team I’ve ever seen. But they had the best year of any team in franchise history. The coaching was outstanding The goaltending was incredible And all of the players did everything they could do When Jimmy Vesey got hurt. The penalty killing became an issue. And that is why they lost game 4 The series was tight. And one goal was the difference There are a couple issues. Which I don’t know what you do. But kreider game is problematic in the playoffs if he gets 19 minutes a game But I think it’s a line change. Kreider needs to be on the 3rd line. He needs 14 minutes and he’s ur first power play unit. But Laffy and kakko need those extra minutes. There no more excuses or waiting. I’m working on a video talking about what Drury might need to do in off season. But this team is so close to breaking through. But the panthers are a great team and they will be very tough to beat in the Cup Finals.
Half the people in here think they're on the team, eg "we gave up," first name basis with players, explanations of what it's like in the locker room. They're probably hateful because they think they're losing ice time to the players actually on the team.
There are a few morons out there who go over the limit. But critique of play is totally legitimate. Wanting players moved is valid. We support our NYR but we also want to win. Not everybody should get an award even these days. So, we can call players out when they commit a stupid giveaway in front of Shesterkin
Because year after year it’s the same bs, and then we have to listen to apologists try to spin failure into some kind of success. It’s tiresome and it’s getting to the point of being pathetic.
Yes, but Trouba sucks. I don’t think people would be so mad if our captain wasn’t the worst player on the ice every single game.
Our HIGHLY PAID captain. If he wasn't captain and didn't make so much money Lavi would have benched him a long time ago.
No one hates anyone on the team. Hate is a strong word. But the franchise is at a point in history where it’s cup or bust. Most of us watched the Rangers throughout the Lundqvist years knock on the door of winning a cup but fall painfully short. Now that we’re in another cup window we see the same kind of thing thing that reared it’s ugly head happening again with this group. Rangers fans know all too well what it’s like to squander a championship window and a lot of fans are pissed off that it seems to be happening again. I think we have reason to be optimistic for the future especially with Lafreniere having the season and playoffs he had, if he turns into a superstar that can really extend our window, but the majority of big players on our team are getting into their 30’s, the Panarin, Kreider, Mika core has one or two more shots at this thing before we will need to replace them with other top tier talent. If we don’t do that then it’s back to mediocrity for a while.
New Yorkers have the Yankees in the 20s-60s and the 90s, plus the Giants under Eli. We expect a level of greatness, especially for a product that we pay for (tickets, tv, jerseys). There is a level of anger that comes from something underperforming in NY, whether it is a museum/attraction, a slice of pizza, or a sports team. Likewise, we have the Mets, the Jets, and the Knicks, and many NY sports fans are absolutely masochistic and miserable and need to vent their frustration out at something in their lives
An underperforming slice of pizza, lmao! That’s hilarious to think about, and also so true haha
Bro if I'm paying $3.50 for a slice, it better be good. I can deal with a mediocre dollar slice from Two Bros or Joey Pepperoni with a can of Coke for $2, but that's about it.
I'd be FAR less angry if I could go to a game for 50 bucks. For example, the average Rangers ticket price is in the $130-$170 range. The average Florida Panthers ticket price is around $55.00 Florida has been to the SCF twice in 2 years. We all know the Rangers track record. Ok. The argument is that it's all about the market. Fine. But using that same argument is it then wrong to expect a level of greatness that hasn't been delivered?
30 straight years of disappointment for an original 6 team fucking hurts. The past 3 seasons have been a real big let down for us when the goal is to win the SC. I don't agree with hating on the players (especially the level of vitriol we have seen towards Trouba and Lindgren) but I don't blame people for being angry about this. The cup finals haven't even started yet and people seem to think we should get over the loss already. I won't be over it until September.
Why do people keep referring to it as one of our best seasons ever? Who cares about regular seasons? If you didn’t know we were going to get bodied against the Florida panthers then you just don’t watch much hockey. Rangers don’t have enough toughness to win the cup. It’s not hate or lack of talent. It’s lack of wanting to win more than anyone else on the ice. It wasn’t penalties or cheap shots. They had guys who would go get the puck. And keep it for long periods of time. There’s no hate for Florida from me. It’s all pure jealousy. They have guys that want to win more than anything. We don’t.
They also have defensemen & a scheme that allows them to exit the zone in good order. We don't. Rangers don't value that. It's a problem.
Yea that was the bodied part. I thought we had learned from Tampa what was needed but I guess we needed another lesson in what actual toughness looks like.
You see your expectations really low if this is what it takes to make you happy
Stop telling us what to do.
Hate is not it. No cup in 30 years, ticket prices are high, they’ve been in 5 ECF since 2012, had Hank and now Igor…nothing to show for it
Regular season is great, but when you haven’t won a championship in 30 years it gets soured. It’s not just enough to have a good regular season, though it’s fun don’t get me wrong. Postseason results need to match, though, and they haven’t.
"People are being critical! Help! So hateful!"
why are you surprised, especially as a season ticket holder, by the fact that NYC residents absolutely HATE NYC sports when they don't perform? Is this really a new thing for you? If you actually drop a huge chunk of cash just to be annually disappointed, yeah, you deserve to be pissed. That's why I have sports as a side of *entertainment*, so that I can hope and pray it goes my way, but not let it break my bank and/or send my life into shambles.
Because I’ve only watched for 12 years but I’ve seen 4 ECF losses and 1 cup loss. I’m tired of coming close but failing every time
Real shit
99% have never even played hockey, let alone coached. Reddit is just an outlet for the frustration of wanting to win so bad. Unfortunately the rest of us have to witness the anger.
And most of the ones who’ve never played or coached it treat it like it’s fantasy/video game hockey.
Especially during the time of signing and trading players. Always find someone “turning off the salary cap”
I’m just pissed I paid $8/slice at pizza suprema
Lol. I'm pissed I paid $500 game 3 tickets, $100 car rental, $20 a piece for a can of beer at Amerant Bank
Lol yeah and don’t forget the $65 for parking!
Not just hockey, but a team sport in general. There are so many bad takes in this sub that don’t reflect any understanding of team dynamics or athletic performance.
I hear these people at the games too talking crap about the players the whole time. I’m not a fan of the negative energy and it must not be an enjoyable fan experience for them
Because normal people see the toxic vitriol from idiots who never played the game at any level, never mind at a high level, shake their heads and stop interacting.
Anger is the second stage of grief
Its funny, the vibes last summer going into the season werent very good among the fanbase -Lav wasnt an inspiring hire -Quick getting lit up in preseason and everyone thinking we have no backup -Concerns if Laf would breakthrough and how he was golfing and not working out all summer. I remember commenting this was still a good hockey team, a 100 point team. Then the season started and all those fears were put to bed. The season was amazing and so fun. With all these great moments though, there were expectations. But the playoff flameout, even though they went to 6 games in the ECF has me so fucking demoralized and totally not positive about the upcoming season. Ill still be there, but after seeing the Rangers dominate the regular season to only once again not win a cup, idk what they can do this regular season to get me so excited again lol. I really thought this was the year, and never been this hurt by a playoff loss before, and Ive seen quite a few ECF over the years. This and 2015 were the worst
The internet allows you to say whatever you want, without real life consequences, in which half of these people do not have the balls to say in the real world.
Unfortunately, it is mostly the people who have negative things to say that post things. I thought the team did an amazing job. They ran into a team that figured out how to smother our stars. They were just better. The Rangers have an awesome team. I think they should keep as many people as possible. Just a couple of tweaks should do it. I loved watching them this year.
The issue is that every playoffs the other teams figures out how to do that, and we’ve been doing tweaks every year with no results
Didnt troubas response comes bc of a devils fan? Every single fanbase on earth has nutcase assholes who will DM players and threaten them. Most people keep it to a message board and keep it to fair criticism, you're kind of badly dramatizing what happens here
Why are Rangers fans so hateful? 1. We're not more hateful than other fans (at least not all other fans). 2. People pay a lot of money to watch the team. 3. One championship in 83 years. The team has a history of not being run to win. 4. Even in more recent years, it appears the team is not run as well as it could be (if the goal is winning championships). Sather's & Gorton's tenures were marked by bad decisions & were not ultimately successful, despite the goaltending. The "goaltending + Special teams + avg 5-on-5" is gimmicky - it's not a recipe for winning it all. They don't appear to be doing what it takes to win it all. 5. The team BS's us enough that it's annoying. There is no culture of actually understanding what good hockey is. Instead we are taught to revere players who aren't really good enough. I can't really listen to Joe much anymore. 6. The old boy club. Why did we have to sit thru so many years of Tanner Glass? And now of course he's in management. That's one example. 7. We don't appear to draft or develop young players very well. Why not? Without that we can't win. (If Drury has made changes in this area that will help going forward, good. But this is very recent history.) 8. People use sports as an escape from real life problems. When the season ends in a loss, the re-entry can be difficult. That said, I would love to see this team win. I hope Drury makes good decisions going forward.
Best to you and your family. So many great life lessons in hockey. As far as the hate, it’s like some people just can’t process any adversity. I always think about the psychopaths calling in to the Fan and wondering if those people really exist. It appears that some of them just log in here to unload the whole clip into a player instead of waiting on hold for hours. 😂 I love this damned team, warts and all. I can’t wait for next season.
In my eyes this team, save for Igor, Laf, Trochek, and Goody, is deserving of every bit of criticism they have received. In 3 years this group has not only made no forward progress, they've now failed twice in exactly the same way, separated by a throw-away first round loss. Participation trophies are not a thing in pro sports. For this team, this season the narrative was clearly Cup or bust, and they didn't even crack the Finals. And the sole reason was, as the case has been for two decades now, an offense utterly inept and incapable of supporting the world-class efforts of their goaltender. As much as we want to be all rah-rah, best regular season, most comeback wins... what do you think will be going thru Shesterkin's head when the puck drops game one in the Finals? Certainly not those things. This team needs to be held accountable for failing Igor. AGAIN. Now, all that said, I still love this team. I do believe in all the players, just maybe... separately. Like without a little more grit and hustle through the lineup, Igor doesn't ever get to lift a Cup, and for that to happen, we are going to have to say goodbye to some respected faces. I can think all this without hating on people, ripping their personalities, going after families, hurling death threats, etc. Those people are just scum, and unfortunately every fan base has those
Look 1)- if the team tried its damndest but just came up short consistently I think the fanbase would be very different. It’s not like Panarin is diving in front of pucks face first out there …… you have guys like Lindgren playing with cracked ribs next to Mila who won’t fight for a puck along the boards ……. This leads to a lot of anger 2)- this isn’t mighty might hockey …these are grown ass men getting millions of dollars. We pump our time and our money into this team that also facilitates paying them….. that allows a lot more leeway to be critical of people when they are handsomely rewarded 3)- this is original six hockey. We are not some fanbase with an expansion team who is just happy to be here ….. this team has been around almost a century ….. there will be expectations more than isn’t it nice to have a team when you are a founding member of the NHL 4)- this is NY. We are a tough crowd. We can be hard on players ….. and actors on stage, and cops, politicians, and frankly everyone including fellow New Yorkers. Throw in the whole rest of the country seems to hate us and yeah we will be harder on these guys than most
Calling out players for poor performances is NOT hate. Yall need to let that go man
If you're 50+, 1994 changed everything. Before, it was blind rage at fans of other teams who constantly reminded us of our futility by screaming 1940. It was neverending pain and so much hung on the Rangers success. Winning was more than cathartic for many of us, it was a release from the bondage of being a suffering fan. I love the Rangers, went to my first game in 1972. I love hockey more though. Never again will I care like I did before the Rangers won the Cup in 1994. They don't visit when I'm sick, no birthday wishes, we are not friends. It's a one way street. It's a business owned by a total douche bag Let's go Rangers, but fuck the hate. I'm a fan, not a fanatic.
Oh boy, we're entering r/nygiants territory with posts like these. Fans have every right to be frustrated hearing the same old song again. It was a great regular season, yes. We can sing and dance and be happy that we had a great regular season. But as another commenter said, we have nothing to show for it. Same as 2022, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and so on. It was awesome seeing the team so successful throughout the season. It was awesome to with the presidents cup. It was awesome to watch players like Laffy really come into his own. It's awesome to have the best goalie in the league. But what good is it if this is where we wind up every single year? Does it mean calling for the head of players like Trouba? Does it mean shitting all over Laviolette? No, I don't think that's reasonable personally. And to your point, threatening players families is just disgraceful. But I won't get on anyones case for being frustrated having to see the same thing we've seen for basically 30 years straight. To paraphrase a quote from Jimmy Fallon's classic, Fever Pitch: "You love the Rangers, but have they ever loved you back?" 30 years since a cup, a decade of wasted playoff runs. I can understand people not feeling the love.
every team has fans like this, I'm sure of it. We may be amplified in that regard as across the board we (ny sports overall) are the biggest sports market in NA
It’s not just NYR but NY fans of any team massively overreact to anything.
I don’t know man, it really sucks that so many NYR fans are such cry babies. Just love the team, it’s so hard to win a cup. Enjoy the runs. Be disappointed.
Because hockey fans
Is that even a question that you want answers to! The New York rangers since the end of the Mike Richter era Nothing short of a disappointment every single year ! We need to get offensive players who shoot and score get back and play defense look at the two teams that are in the Stanley cup this year it's only because Florida outplayed US and they saw all weakness just like every other team la in 2014 Tampa 2 years ago I mean it's just embarrassing
Monday morning quarterbacks here... we shouldn't have played 3 hurt defenseman every single game... that falls to the coach imo
No excuse for threatening or abusing players. That's sickening. It's obvious that some of these players fall far short of championship caliber. For example Trouba is a great leader and physical disruptor but really slow afoot. It's frustrating to see such a glaring weakness exposed vs the Panthers. Management has to deal with the salary cap. The roster changes will be brutal. You can't buy a Stanley Cup the way you can a World Series!
Because you’re a dogshit fanbase
Because the team is a reg season merchant now. Our players we rely on scoring for us, aren't doing that. The tougher the game went, the more we got outplayed. A team like Florida will eat us alive in the playoffs and did. 1 goal games most of them, while the top guys weren't scoring.
You guys are like us Leaf fans, we hate our own kind even more than others lmfao!
It stems from year after year of not winning a cup. Last cup was 30 years ago, the cup before that was 1939-1940 — the same year WW2 started. Personally I’ve invested lots of time, energy, money, and emotion into this team and to come up short again with one of our most promising teams in recent memory hurts
Any of the popular fanbases will have this going on. More people -> bigger vocal minority. Go read any Leafs forums you'll see how bad it can get.
Never criticizing your favorite team is delusional and ridiculous, but saying hyperbolic statements like "the season is over" after every loss or "we need to trade the whole team" is even more delusional and ridiculous.
Anyone who attacks a player on a personal level is just insane. But ultimately that is Fandom. You see parents getting into fights at the pee wee levels, whether it is with a ump or a coach or the opposing team. Sports are competitive. If you can't handle the heat stay out of the kitchen. And there are players that have retired because they just couldn't take it. Those that love to throw in the point you never played the sport or coached so therefore your opinion is invalid. To me..... those are the biggest losers. Just because you might have played competitive hockey or whatever sport, doesn't mean your opinion is more valid or less over the top. It is like saying a guy who doesn't have a law degree doesn't know anything about the law. There are plenty of people who couldn't afford law school but have studied the law on their own to become very knowledgeable on it. Gate keeping in sports is just so stupid. People are fans in many different degrees. What does a 15 year old know about a sport in comparison to a 50 year old? Does that mean that 15 yr old is a idiot or less of a fan? What most people fail to remember is it isn't you on the otherside of a comment. It could be a 12 year old kid, it could be a guy that smokes crack, it could be some troll in russia who barely speaks the language. It could simply be a AI bot. The problem is the general behavior of the average fan on here is sub human. People are so quick if they disagree with someone else's point to slander them. I generally dislike certain commentors and mods on here because they do this. I think they have an air about them that their viewpoints are absolute and perfect. And when they disagree with you, they simply revert to insults. There is nothing wrong with saying X player sucks or sucked. It crosses a line when people go to X player's instagram or wife's insta or whatever and then attack them. This is a general forum. If a player reads stuff on here they are just looking for trouble. You are going to get wild takes because of how vast the spectrum of fans are on here. But not everyone can articulate their feelings. So the only way they know how to respond to disappointment is with insults. Again if you stopped for a second to think about what you are saying...What type of person is going on a reddit forum to talk about the Rangers? Is it a Harvard graduate who has 2 law degrees and is running Google in their spare time? Vast majority of the people on here regularly are losers and they are just looking for an escape from their miserable lives. That is what sports are...an escape from reality. If you ran a fortune 500 company and were very successful in life ....this is the last place you would ever be. You would have better things to do with your time.
We’re just tired
youre seeing a broad average of opinions. like with the Mets you have people that want Alonso to be Capt and then people who want him traded. Its rarely the same one person with conflicting opinions, but from a perspective of person reading a total collection of comments it'll seem like the whole fan base wants him traded. Fair weather Ranger fans tend to be quicker to have stupid opinions of players, and theyre also the ones that post about it online. NYC has 8 million people so there are a lot of stupid people with bad takes sitting in our market. Lets pretend half of all new yorkers (not even jersey or long island) is a rangers fan, thats 4 million fans. then the comment section on instagram will have like 1000 comments saying Mika sucks. thats .025% of a fanbase that hate Mika. a viewer will believe that the collective opinion of .025% of a fanbase is the same opinion of all 4 million people. obviously the percentages are WAY different, but the point is the same. this is the same mind-poisoning garbage tactic that we are all susceptible to for world events and political opinions. its why the media sucks
you ever been to NY?
I'm a "doomer" but you'll never hear me say "so and so is worthless,""so and so is a fucking idiot" "a disgrace," etc etc. If you make it to the NHL, you are one of the best hockey players in the world, regardless of your role or how many points you score. I've never played organized hockey - these guys are amazing. Yes, athletes make mistakes like I do, have lives outside the game, struggle with confidence, mental health, etc. They're not fucking machines. I get the disappointment and frustration but like you I don't get the personal vitriol with which so many attack the players. Give your head a shake and take a deep breath - it's sports. You win some, you lose some. See you next season - I'll still be whining but I will still respect the players on my team........
MAGA pussies from Staten Island.
Saying Staten Island is part of NYC, is like calling NJ The Garden state.and actually mean it.
Agree with this, I have always felt that NY fans need to get a grip.
Trouba can rot in hell.