Igor Shesterkin #31 and Jonathan Quick #32 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
New York Rangers great Mike Richter is still confident his former team can turn things around this season.
The 2024-25 Rangers have been up and down all season long. After entering the new year with a 4-15 record in their prior 19 games, they've bounced back to compete for a playoff spot. New York is currently four points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
However, it's clear that they're a shell of what they were last season, when they finished with the most points of any team in the NHL (114 points). With a little more than 20 games remaining in the regular season, Richter – a Stanley Cup champion in 1994 – believes they can turn things around.
"They dropped off, but look – you have a target on your back when you start moving as they have over the last few years," said Richter in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his partnership with Fanatics. "They have a very talented team. They're well coached. They seem to have young guys coming up that are contributing."
Ability to Overcome Difficulties
Richter says it's going to be "ups and downs" during an NHL regular season. It's worth noting that the 58-year-old knows all about that as a defending champ. A year after they won the Stanley Cup during the 1994-95 season – the season was shortened due to a lockout – the Rangers barely squeaked into the playoffs as an eighth seed before they were eliminated in the semifinals.
"It's highly competitive," said Richter. "You're not going to walk through the season, have everything go your way. There's gonna be injuries, there's gonna be ups and downs.
I think it's just part of galvanizing a young team. You have to learn how to get through that."
The three-time All-Star goaltender speaks of the importance of bouncing back from adversity. He himself can relate from experience after the 1991-92 Rangers finished with the Presidents' Trophy. They were eliminated in the semifinals and missed the playoffs entirely during the 1992-93 season before bouncing back to win the Stanley Cup in 1994.
"It ain't gonna be easy in the playoffs," said Richter. "It will not be smooth. After you win, you always look back and say, 'Oh yeah, we just march straight through.' You didn't – there were days you weren't sure that it was gonna turn out the way you hoped to script it. It is all how you react."
The Best Two Goalies in the World
If there's anything working in favor of the Rangers is that they already know how to win. They return most of their core from last season, including guys like Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck and their two established goalies, Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick.
"That's a young team that's learning how to win," said Richter. "They might have the best two goalies in the world. There's a lot that lends itself for this team to really find its mark and play their best hockey when they need it most and that is into this stretch and right into the playoffs.
Richter re-iterates his belief that Shesterkin – a former Vezina Trophy winner – and the 39-year-old Jonathan Quick – a three-time Stanley Cup winner – are two of the best goalies in the NHL.
"One-two, Shesterkin and Quick," says Richter with no hesitation. "I really think so. Jonathan doesn't play as many games, but he has gotten so many important points for this team over the years, and he can steal a game by himself. He makes the saves he's supposed to, he doesn't give up easy ones, and he makes saves that no human being should be making, and Shesterkin's the same damn way."
Richter speaks highly of Shesterkin, who is the highest-paid goalie in the NHL after signing an eight-year, $92 million deal this season.
"You look at what he's done in those last two games and there'll be periods of games or periods of seasons where you just have to rely on certain aspects of your team," said Richter. "Sometimes it's the power play, sometimes it's the penalty kill, sometimes it's the physicality. Often it's the goaltender and Shesterkin has stood so tall and done so well.
"You are looking at a guy that is capable of steering this thing in the right direction no matter what comes his way," Richter continues to say. “That should give every Rangers fan hope."
As mentioned before, Richter believes the Rangers can turn things around and still make a deep playoff run, pointing towards their "core" from last season.
"They've been through it," said Richter. "Their core has been through it. They do have some nice young blood. I really like where they are and I still think it's one of the most exciting teams in the league and a really capable squad.
"They'll start getting a little bit of a rhythm and some confidence as this new group and everybody settles into their role," Richter continues to say. "They could be extraordinarily dangerous."
DJ Siddiqi
