The point of researching history, aside from curiosity, is to learn from it. How were things done in the past? What was successful and what was not? Ultimately, how can both individuals and society use that information to evaluate the present and make informed decisions?
For a number of reasons, it has been challenging to figure out exactly where the Rangers stand as the 2016-2017 has progressed. We still might not have every definitive answer, but with the complete 82-game regular season behind us we can analyze the team on a holistic level. Plenty of work has been done to compare all the current playoff teams, but another way to analyze the Rangers’ chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Final are by comparing them to previous finalists.