BOSTON — When the Rangers articulated their reconstruction principles via the Feb. 8, 2018 Letter and in subsequent press conferences, it became clear that management had little enthusiasm for bottoming out through an extended process.
At the time, it was compared in theory to the remodeling the Bruins underwent a couple of seasons after their early-decade run that included a Stanley Cup championship in 2011 and a trip to the final two years later. The B’s lost in the first round in 2014 and then missed the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
But as soon as 2017-18, the B’s were legit contenders, losing in Round 2 to the Lightning in one of those unfair early matchups created by Sixth Avenue’s crazy playoff structure.