In the NHL, there’s no such thing as a perfect season. The New York Rangers can attest to that. After setting franchise records for wins and points in a single season and then winning seven straight games to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24, the Rangers fell flat and were eliminated in six games by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, six wins shy of a Stanley Cup championship.

So as the Blueshirts look to build off their Presidents’ Trophy season and surge beyond the conference final, even the most optimistic Rangers supporter must brace for the reality that some things will not work out.

There are endless possibilities out there, but here are five plausible outcomes that could make things difficult for the Rangers next season.

5 nightmarish Rangers scenarios in 2024-25

Alexis Lafreniere fails to take next step

The hype around 23-year-old Alexis Lafreniere is likely as high as it’s been since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2020.

Bogged down by a few stagnant seasons to start his career, Lafreniere finally showed more than just a glimpse of his talent, posting NHL career-highs with 28 goals and 57 points on the Blueshirts’ top-performing line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.

After scoring 11 goals and 21 points in his final 22 games of the regular season, Lafreniere further instilled confidence with a markedly strong postseason, tying for the team high with eight goals and remaining a consistent force throughout the conference final.

Now it’s the expectation that he’ll carry on the level of play he displayed in the final three months and become one of the Rangers top producers. If he fails to take that next step, however, it will be a brutal blow to a team that needs him to continue being a force in the top six.

Through three different head coaches in his first four years, Lafreniere’s career has been marked by inconsistency, both from his own play and his usage on the team. It seems he was able to buck that narrative with stability under coach Peter Laviolette, but one can still question what his floor and ceiling truly are.

He’s still likely not cracking the top power-play unit, and though Lafreniere was a one-man wrecking crew in the postseason, his production could still dip over an 82-game sample size if Panarin and Trocheck don’t have career years again.

It’s not something to bank on, but Lafreniere doesn’t have the track record of some of the New York’s other bonafide stars to quell all the doubts.

Zac Jones struggles with increased workload

Zac Jones was a delightful surprise last season, holding his own when he filled in for Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, and Eric Gustafsson, all of whom sustained injuries at one point or another during the season.

Posting a plus-8 rating after December, Jones was finally able to put all the pieces together and show that he might be able to take the leap from seventh defenseman to an everyday piece in the lineup. That opportunity arrived when Gustafsson signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings this summer.

The Rangers could certainly use his puck-moving abilities considering the way their backend struggled against a ferocious Panthers forecheck in the postseason.

But Jones is still largely unproven and, despite his promising second half, will be a gigantic question mark as he slots into a starting role. At just 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, the smaller-framed 23-year-old is skilled offensively but will have to prove that he can replicate his sound defensive play on a season-long basis. And remember, the 31 games he played last season were far and away his most in the NHL.

He’ll likely be joined by Jacob Trouba on the bottom pair, and the captain’s had his own defensive issues the past few years. Jones may be ready to make the leap, but it won’t be easy — and a bad defensive pairing can create a world of issues.

They’ll have Chad Ruhwedel as a safety valve if the Jones experiment fails, but that would leave the Blueshirts hunting for a blueliner before the trade deadline.

Reilly Smith is more of same at right wing

The Rangers struggles to find a permanent fixture on the right wing next to Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have been well documented. An offseason trade to acquire Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins is the latest effort to solve a four-year problem.

The 33-year-old forward and 2023 Stanley Cup champion should be a clear upgrade over the likes of Jack Roslovic, Blake Wheeler, and Kaapo Kakko, who primarily manned the position last season. Though Kreider recently endorsed Smith as being “dynamic,” what if he isn’t all that?

After struggling to settle in with the Penguins last season, when he had 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games, it’s far from a lock that Smith reverts back to his 50-60 point days with the Vegas Golden Knights.

With the success of Kreider and Zibanejad’s line being such an X-Factor to getting this team over the hump and into the Stanley Cup Final, another year with middling play on their wing is the last thing this team needs.

That would leave general manager Chris Drury and the Rangers stuck in a nightmarish case of de ja vu as they hunt for a top-line winger ahead of the trade deadline for a fourth consecutive season.

Mika Zibanejad fails to produce at even strength once again

Coming into last season, all eyeballs were on Panarin, who shaved his head after a dismal performance in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and drew plenty of attention and criticism from fans and media. This offseason, that attention has been directed to Zibanejad.

The 31-year-old center had one of his weaker regular seasons with the Rangers, struggling to find consistent success outside of the power play, when he was limited to just eight goals at five-on-five. After a hot start to his postseason, Zibanejad was limited by the Carolina Hurricanes and shut down by the Panthers.

Perhaps some of this ties into the aforementioned lack of consistency with his right wing partner, but the point stands nonetheless — despite an NHL career-high 91-point season in 2022-23, there’s more to be desired from his play.

Barring any monumental trade before the season starts, the burden will fall on Zibanejad to drive the play on his line, something he struggled to do last year.

Perhaps he rebounds emphatically, just like Panarin did this past season. But if it’s more of the same, the Rangers will have gigantic questions about their top six and whether or not it’s good enough to bring home a Cup.

Devils overtake Rangers in Metropolitan Division

The Metropolitan Division provides no shortage of competition year in and year out. On top of the Hurricanes, coming off a 113-point season, and the Washington Capitals, who made big additions in the offseason, the headliner of the division is the New Jersey Devils, who look to return to the fray after a disappointing 2023-24, when they missed the postseason and dropped 31 points from the year before.

The Rangers were a force last season, edging out excellent teams like the Hurricanes and Dallas Stars for the Presidents’ Trophy, an honor that they completely earned. Certainly, an utter collapse by the Devils made things much easier for the Blueshirts in the division.

Coming off a franchise-record 112-point season and adding Tyler Toffoli, the Devils were supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender. Shoddy goaltending, subpar defense and injuries removed them from the equation entirely.

But now New Jersey has addressed their biggest issues, trading for a quality No. 1 goalie in Jacob Markstrom and bolstering their blue line with Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon. And don’t forget they’ve also reunited with Tomas Tatar and Stefan Noesen, which should make them a stronger, more complete team.

Barring a second straight unexpected collapse, the Devils should contend for the top seed in the Metro and be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender once more.

Though the Rangers should feel confident in their ability to hang with any team in the NHL, a return to dominance by the Devils is the last thing they should want to see. And unfortunately, it seems as if New Jersey is primed to do just that.