Every offseason, hockey media speculates about how teams will perform in the upcoming season. Most years, the New York Rangers are labeled as a team on the decline that could fall out of Stanley Cup contention.
The Rangers have been mislabeled in the past, for example when their blue line was classified as one of the strongest in the league when it was an ineffective mess. Dan Girardi was viewed as this incredible shot-blocking, defensive defenseman – a title that he did earn earlier in his career, but should have been quickly stripped of after the 2013-14 season when his decline became so glaringly obvious.