“It sucks. I think, obviously, this game wasn’t the problem… It’s going to take a bit to digest what just happened,” confessed New York Rangers’ alternate captain Mika Zibanejad after Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes turned out to be the final nail in the coffin that was the team’s playoff hopes. The 37-36-7 record (with two games remaining) is a can of worms that the Rangers would perhaps want to keep sealed (and maybe even toss in the Hudson).

But the mess is starting to spill.

In March, the New York Rangers got defenseman Calvin de Haan on board as a trade deal with the Avalanche. Since then, the 33-year-old Canadian was mostly kept off the lineup despite his experience inside the rink. Naturally, as the Rangers’ poor run comes to an end, the New York star has a thing or two to say about being benched ever so often.

In an X post by Spittin’ Chiclets from April 13, de Haan’s bubbling emotions were shared. The social media update shared the New York Rangers star’s statements after journalist Mollie Walker had noted just hours ago that Calvin was displeased about his treatment by the Big Apple team. Walker’s post had claimed that de Haan was relieved that the campaign was “finally over.” Per the New York Rangers’ beat reporter, de Haan hinted about his grievance of being mistreated by the franchise during Sunday’s optional morning skate, venting out “It’s f***ed,” and Spittin’ Chiclets’ latest post built on that by sharing the defender’s statement on the same.

“I said what I said because I am frustrated, and any competitor who says that they would be happy in this position would be lying to you,” Calvin didn’t mince his words. “As a player you have to respect the lineup decisions whether you like them or not, it’s just been frustrating not being able to compete and do what I love to do,” his statement read further, as de Hann made it clear that the New York Rangers keeping him as a benchwarmer didn’t sit well with him. Considering that he was off the lineup for 18 straight games since coming to New York, the acting out might not look too out-of-the-ordinary, either.

de Haan also mentioned why it was even more frustrating to be kept off the team, even after the three times he played for the New York Rangers, the team didn’t perform all too poorly. “After playing 3 games for the team and going 2-0-1 , I thought I maybe would have got an opportunity to jump into the lineup and help win some games,” he vented. His comments hit hard, and it looks like the community is also willing to lend an ear to know more about what goes on behind the curtains in the locker room of the Rangers.

Calvin’s statement on social media would also prompt the Rangers to reevaluate their operations and clear the air on where they stand in regard to prioritizing the players and the fans. However, while de Hann’s comments have understandably whipped up a storm, it’s not the first time that Chris Drury’s franchise has come under the light for how it dealt with its stars. Last summer, in what was a move to free salary cap space, Drury got around veteran forward Barclay Goodrow‘s 15-team no-trade clause by putting him on waivers and ultimately sending him to the San Jose Sharks. This obviously did not sit well with the player himself, considering it was believed that the Sharks were on that no-trade list.

And it wasn’t too long before another veteran was treated with equal ruthlessness.

Did the New York Rangers axe their own feet?

For a lot of reasons, this would go down as one of the most disappointing seasons for the New York Rangers. One of those would undoubtedly be the fact that they were eliminated from the race to lift the Stanley Cup despite winning the prestigious President’s Trophy last year. However, fans would argue that the team brought this upon themselves thanks to some controversial decisions it made over the past months. And none of those caused more raised eyebrows than the trade of former captain Jacob Trouba last December.

The Rangers made it clear that they would put Trouba on waivers if the long-time New York star did not waive off his no-trade clause. The two sides reached an impasse, and in December, Jacob was finally traded to Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakaninen and a conditional fourth-round pick. Naturally, it was a severe blow to the ex-captain, who repeatedly noted that he wasn’t looking to leave New York. But then he quickly came to terms with reality.

“It’s a rite of passage to get fired from MSG,” Jacob joked later. “Made it kind of hard to play…In my opinion, things could have been handled better. Not blaming anybody or anything, but it was just kind of an unfortunate end to my time in New York,” he added, while also noting that this presented an opportunity to turn a new page with his life and career.

When the Rangers and the Ducks crossed paths again in March this year, it even seemed like Trouba was handling things rather well. “I think I’ve moved past it. It takes some time, things happen in life, and it’s not like it turns the next day, but I think enough time has gone by that I’ve moved on, and everybody has moved on,” he said, unwilling to bad-mouth his former side. Seems like the dust has settled there.

Now, as the gaze turns to the next season, some believe that the New York Rangers have brighter days ahead. But will J.T. Miller & Co. find it in themselves to compensate for the disasterclass that was the 2024-25 season? What do you think?