Hockey in the New York area has changed, and those around it can see it, and feel it.
The Rangers, Islanders, and Devils all seem poised for interesting seasons in a relatively wide-open Metropolitan Division. There is young talent amassed in Manhattan, as well as a few miles southwest through the Holland Tunnel and few more miles east through the Midtown Tunnel. The most recent time all three teams made the playoffs was 2006-07, but that could change this year if the intrigue also brings competitiveness.
“There is excitement and buzz around,” Rangers veteran defenseman Marc Staal said recently.
The Rangers beat the Islanders 3-1 in their first of two preseason matchups on Tuesday night at the Garden.
“The Islanders being successful again, and us, and New Jersey now getting some high-end talent,” Staal said. “I think it’s going to help the rivalries.”
The Rangers are just about coming out of the other side of their rebuild that started in earnest with the letter sent by management to the fans on Feb. 8, 2018. Not only do they have young players in camp vying for roster spots, but they added two high-end veterans in Artemi Panarin, who scored two goals Tuesday (one an empty-netter with 16 seconds left), and Jacob Trouba, who had an assist.
But it has been two straight seasons without a postseason appearance for the Blueshirts, who had made it 11 of the previous 12 years following the canceled 2004-05 season. With David Quinn behind the bench now for his second year, and with John Davidson taking over for Glen Sather at the top of the organization, there is a renewed hope that they can not only compete this year, but are also set up well for the future.
That same sentiment came to the Islanders this past season, when owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky were able to hire Lou Lamoriello to run the team, and he hired Barry Trotz, fresh off a Stanley Cup victory in Washington, to be the coach. The club immediately turned it around, winning just their second postseason series since 1993 before getting swept by the Hurricanes in the second round.
With a team that is almost entirely intact, the enthusiasm is stoked not only with the on-ice product, but with Monday’s official groundbreaking for the new arena at Belmont Park, set to open for the 2021-22 season.
“We had a big announcement [Monday] and it was pretty exciting for the franchise,” Trotz said Tuesday morning. “For our players, going forward, through free agency and all that, it’ll be a little bit of a missing piece. I think we’ve established something on the Island where players want to come to this area.”
The Devils, meanwhile, now have the longest-tenured coach in the New York area with John Hynes, behind the bench since 2015. They’ve had the top-overall pick in two of the past three drafts, and took American wunderkind Jack Hughes in June. Among other moves, general manager Ray Shero was able to swing a trade for flamboyant defenseman P.K. Subban — who, as managing partner Josh Harris likes to point out as often as possible, also brings some glitz and glamour with his girlfriend, skier-turned-celebrity Lindsey Vonn.
“We’re top five in new season tickets. The fans are engaging,” Harris said. “Clearly, P.K. — and the added bonus of Lindsey — and Jack, and the excitement of [new additions] Nikita [Gusev] and Wayne [Simmonds], all these people are bringing energy into the building.
“We always said we would spend at the right time. Now, having gone through this summer, we’ve put our money where our mouth is. Expect that to continue. We’re all in on this in terms of doing what we have to do.”
That seems to be the sentiment of all three teams, which each show their own glimmers of promise — now and into the future. It finally seems like an interesting hockey season has descended on Gotham and its surrounding area.
“As we move along, the games are going to mean a lot again,” Staal said. “In February or March, when there [was] no realistic shot of getting into the postseason, those games kind of flatline. So now, with all the additions and the moves that these teams have made, the expectations are a lot higher for everyone. It’s only going to add to the intensity and the emotion of the games, which is a good thing.”