Rangers’ Mike Sullivan breaks silence on retool announcement

The New York Rangers find themselves buried in last place in the Eastern Conference as the season moves well into the second half. The Rangers did not make the playoffs last year and they are a long way from contending for a spot in the top eight of the Eastern Conference this season. As a result, team president and general manager Chris Drury sent a letter to the team’s fans saying the Rangers will be “retooling” in an effort to give the team a better chance to win in the future.

Head coach Mike Sullivan was hired after the conclusion of last year’s disappointing season. The Rangers had jettisoned previous head coach Peter Laviolette with the hope that a new voice could provide the inspiration to turn things around. That has not happened, as the Rangers went into their Saturday afternoon game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 20-22-6 record.

The Rangers have lost 5 games in a row and own a 2-6-2 mark in their last 10 games. They suffered a shocking 10-2 defeat January 10 at Boston and an 8-4 home defeat to the struggling Ottawa Senators followed. Drury sent the letter to the fans after the loss to the Senators.

Rangers will attempt to trade established veterans

Sullivan understands that the team will be looking to trade some established stars in order to gain young and talented players as well as future prospects.

“It’s probably a fairly common sensical statement to suggest that when you don’t meet expectations or you don’t have success, then change is inevitable in pro sports,” Sullivan said, per NHL.com. “We’re all human beings. We all understand the business. We all understand the game.”

Drury has already spoken to Artemi Panarin, and told him that a future contract with the Rangers is not going to be offered and the team will make every effort to trade him. After scoring a goal in the first period of Saturday’s game at Philadelphia, Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 points.

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