3 turning points that derailed New York Rangers’ 2024-25 season ft. botched Trouba trade

The New York Rangers had a precipitous fall in 2024-25. The Blue Shirts went from the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24 to a playoff miss in less than 12 months. The team was picked to win the Stanley Cup last season.

But the outrageous fall from contention has led to significant questions about the club’s ability to get back into playoff contention this past season. So, here’s a look at the three turning points that derailed the New York Rangers’ 2024-25 season.

3 turning points that derailed the New York Rangers’ 2024-25 season

3. Cold November-December

The New York Rangers got off to a strong start, going 12-4-1 by mid-November. It looked as though the Blue Shirts were getting poised to cruise into the playoffs.

But then, the wheels slowly came off. The team won four of its next 19 games and just couldn’t get back on track. While there were stretches in which the Rangers seemed to put solid games together, the team couldn’t translate that into a consistent winning streak.

In the end, the Rangers ran out of time and couldn’t close the gap on a playoff spot.

2. Leaked memo

News broke of a leaked memo in late November in which New York Rangers’ GM Chris Drury had sent out to all other NHL clubs, informing them of the players available for trade.

A piece from November 27 by Vincent Mercogliano detailed the situation. The biggest question mark was, why would Drury purposely send the memo, knowing the likelihood of it getting leaked was high?

That situation spilled over into a number of botched trades in which Drury failed to land significant pieces for the players he ultimately unloaded. In particular, the botched Jacob Trouba trade was arguably the lowest point in the team’s season.

#1 Botched Jacob Trouba trade

By the time Drury was able to find a trade partner for Jacob Trouba, the noise had gotten so loud that Trouba was willing to waive his no-trade clause just to get out of New York.

The Rangers ended up dealing Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on December 6, 2024, for a depth defenseman and a fourth-round pick. The trade did little to stop the noise. The club was forced to move Kaapo Kakko two weeks later.

The desperation culminated in the J.T. Miller trade, one that failed to light a spark despite Miller playing well.

Overall, the optics of the Trouba trade were so bad that it became impossible for the Rangers to find any sort of leverage in trade negotiations moving forward.