New York Rangers: J.D. must get creative with Dolan’s money

Now that John Davidson is running the New York Rangers, he needs to be creative financially to build a perennial winner.

The New York Rangers ushered in a new era when they hired John Davidson last month to be their new president of hockey operations. His predecessor, Glen Sather started to rebuild the organization a year and a half ago. Now J.D. must take it to the next level, but it will take a little time, some guts, and a bunch of owner James Dolan’s money to get it done.

Let’s start on the premise that the New York Rangers will not be Stanley Cup contenders in the 2019-20 season, they don’t have near enough talent. Last season was an on-ice disaster, as evidenced by their 78 points, sixth-worst in the league. In the long run, it was a necessary disaster to turn the ship around. Even so, it was hard to witness.

This season might not be a ton better, however, it may be a temporary situation if Davidson and General Manager Jeff Gorton can do things the right way. There is no reason that the Blueshirts can’t be a force in the 2021 postseason and beyond.

To hit that goal, management’s main focus should be building to that goal. How do they get there? Well, that’s the $83M question, isn’t it? There are several steps the Rangers can take right now that will go a long way towards accomplishing the mission.

To that end patience is key. Any realistic New York Rangers fan isn’t expecting to see them hoist the cup soon. At the same time, people won’t pay good money to see a crummy product on the ice either. They will, however, rally around progress and improvement. Show them that there is a plan and then let it work.