Is Rangers' demise a one-year blip after winning Presidents' Trophy?

It’s been a stunning fall from being Presidents’ Trophy winners and Eastern Conference finalists last year to not making the playoffs this year – any kind of loss to the rival Islanders Thursday at UBS Arena would make that official – but the question for the Rangers now is: Can they make the 2024-25 season a one-year blip, and return to the playoffs, and the quest to win a Stanley Cup, next year?

“I think the mindset – at least the mindset for me – goes to have a bounce-back year (in 2025-26),’’ forward Mika Zibanejad told Newsday in a one-on-one interview this week. “Yeah, it hasn't been good, but I truly believe that there's still a lot of good hockey left here. I think we've shown it (at times).’’

But a return to the playoffs a year from now is certainly not something that can be assumed, despite all the supposed talent and the high salaries on the Rangers’ roster. And general manager Chris Drury will have a myriad of questions to answer, holes to patch, and upgrades to make in order for it to happen.

As defenseman Adam Fox told Newsday last week, when talking about chasing a playoff spot a year after finishing first overall: “You can't just say, 'Oh, we had a really good record last year, so, you know, we'll win these games and be fine.' Because that’s not how it works.’’

Drury has quite a mess to clean up this summer. The presumption is that coach Peter Laviolette will pay the price for the team missing the playoffs and won’t be back, which means Drury – assuming his own job is safe – will be looking to hire his third coach as he starts his fifth year on the job.

Once the coaching position is settled, then it’s on to figuring out how to remove veteran forward Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger and one of the franchise’s greatest players, from the roster. Kreider is third on the team’s all-time goals list, with 325, and entering Thursday, was tied for first (with Camille Henry) on the team’s all-time power-play goals list, with 116. He was second in game-winning goals (50, two behind Rod Gilbert).

But since the story leaked in November that Drury had sent a leaguewide memo alerting the other general managers that he was looking to trade Kreider and captain Jacob Trouba, it’s been clear that Kreider’s time with the Rangers is up. But Kreider revealed to the media after that – in opposition to team policy – that he was battling back problems, so it’s hard to imagine a lot of teams wanting to trade for a guy with back trouble who turns 34 on April 30 and has two years left on his contract at a cap hit of $6.5 million.

He entered Thursday with 21 goals – down from 39 last season – and just five assists. Getting rid of him won’t be easy, or painless.

Drury also has to decide what to do with defenseman K’Andre Miller, a restricted free agent-to-be who has had an up-and-down year but still is clearly the No. 2 defenseman on the team, behind Fox. If Drury signs him, does he make him Fox’s partner on the top defense pair? And if Miller isn’t going to be Fox’s partner, does Drury have to bring someone in to fill that hole?

Then there is the question of what to do about Zibanejad, who had been the team’s No. 1 center, but doesn’t seem to be that anymore, since Drury traded for J.T. Miller. Zibanejad has had a down year, entering Thursday with 17 goals and 56 points in 78 games. But his game picked up when Miller arrived and Laviolette shifted him to the wing, and played the two on the same line.

So, is Zibanejad, who is under contract for three more seasons, at an $8.5 million cap hit, a right wing, now? Or is he a third-line center, behind Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller? Can you have a third-line center who carries a cap hit of $8.5 million?

Notes & quotes: D K’Andre Miller, who missed the two previous games due to illness, returned to the lineup for the Rangers. Zac Jones was scratched… Gabe Perreault, who signed with the team last week, after his college season at Boston College ended, was scratched for the second straight game. Brennan Othmann also was a scratch, with Juuso Parssinen taking his place.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.