‘Something broke’ for the Rangers, Shesterkin says after missing the playoffs and coach being fired

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — A year ago, the New York Rangers were starting a playoff run to the Eastern Conference final and did not clean out their lockers until June, after losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida.

It was far different this time around, when players met with reporters Monday in the aftermath of missing the playoffs and coach Peter Laviolette getting fired over the weekend.

After a season that included trading away captain Jacob Trouba and others who played important roles in previous years, there weren’t many concrete explanations for the team’s drop to 39 wins and 85 points, including a midseason 4-15-0 swoon that essentially cost them a chance of getting in as a wild card.

Franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who had the worst season of his six-year NHL career, losing 34 of his 61 starts with a 2.86 goals-against average and .905 save percentage, feels like he and his teammates never established the same rhythm they did in 2023-24.

“In my mind, something broke during the season and went the other way. We couldn’t handle it,” said Shesterkin, who next season is starting an eight-year, $92 million contract that makes him the highest-paid goalie in league history. “Probably not too much confidence.”

Shesterkin was far from the only problem. No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and defensemen Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller struggled, Laviolette paid the price and the Rangers will soon have their fourth coach since 2021.

“We had long stretches of games in which we didn’t perform well,” said Fox, whose 61 points were his fewest since the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. “If we did our job, the coach would still be here.”

Zibanejad’s production also dipped to 20 goals and 42 assists for 62 points, also his fewest since ’21.

“Overall, I just think we just didn’t get to the level of play we needed to get to,” said Zibanejad, who has five years left on his contract with an annual salary cap hit of $8.5 million. “There was a lot of I would say ‘noise’ around our team this year. I’m not saying that it is the cause of it. We didn’t have the calmness we had the year before.”

Veteran Chris Kreider said he grappled with back issues, a bout of vertigo and a hand injury, but the 33-year-old forward who has spent his entire career with New York expressed eagerness to return next season.

“This is home for me. This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream,” said Kreider, a first-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2009 who has two years left on his contract. “I’ve developed so many relationships and spent so much time in this area. Obviously, this is where I want to be. This is the group — in whatever fashion — I want to help win hockey games.”

Kreider also alluded to off-ice situations that made it a tumultuous last 10 months around the organization. Gritty forward Barclay Goodrow was put on waivers last summer and claimed by rebuilding San Jose, and after drawn-out public drama, Trouba was traded to Anaheim in December.

“It’s part of professional sports, but, obviously, at a certain point it becomes somewhat of a distraction,” Kreider said. “Two guys that were massive leaders for us and a big part of our room … it was certainly challenging.”

The Rangers’ vaunted power play that ranked third in the league in ’23-24 plummeted to 28th of 32 teams this past season, which leading scorer Artemi Panarin blamed for missing the playoffs despite the same core in place.

“This year was hard,” Panarin said. “If our power play worked better, we make the playoffs.”

NOTE: Defenseman Braden Schneider had a sling on his right arm and said he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in that shoulder. Schneider said he expects to be fully healthy for training camp.

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