'We Couldn't Handle It': Notes from Rangers Break Up Day
Missed chances, tough truths, and summer plans—Rangers players didn’t hold back on break up day. Hear from the likes of Rempe, Lafrenière, and Trocheck as they reflect on a chaotic season.
All players were present today with the exception of J.T. Miller who was unable to attend due to legitimate personal reasons.
J.T. Miller had a close personal friend pass away, so he is not here for #NYR break-up day
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
Matt Rempe was one of the first quotes to come from the day. He noted that he was soon going to fly the Quick nest but would be staying in the area to train over the summer. Suggested he was happy with his progress this season. Jonathan Quick assured him that he's always welcome back for dinner whenever he wants.
Jonathan Quick on Matt Rempe: “He definitely knows he’s welcome for dinner whenever.” https://t.co/q4DBVW9t71
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 21, 2025
Adam Fox stated that “Everyone has to really look in the mirror” and agreed with much of what the fans have said all season long, that this season was night and day in comparison to recent years.
Adam Fox: “Everyone has to really look in the mirror. … This year was unrecognizable from the team that made the conference finals two of the past three years.”
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 21, 2025
Fox also talked about the Rangers moving on to a different coach, suggested they want there to be some longevity with who comes in to coach this team.
Adam Fox on #NYR moving on to another coach:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“It’s hard not to look at us as players and say, ‘Why is that happening?’ We seem to have a lot of success and then I don’t know, it turns. I don’t think us as players at any point didn’t like Lavi or thought his message wasn’t…
As for Chris Kreider, we all expected that his season was plagued by his lingering back issues. He revealed that there was actually quite a list of things he was dealing with throughout the season:
Chris Kreider said he dealt with back troubles early in the season, an illness that resulted in vertigo midseason, and then suffered a hand injury the first game after 4 Nations.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 21, 2025
His hand might require surgery.
Kreider was also asked whether or not he wants to return to the Rangers next season and was able to summarize his answer in three words. "This is home."
Chris Kreider on whether he wants to remain with @NYRangers:
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 21, 2025
“This is home for me. This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. So obviously this is where I want to be and this is the group that I want to help in whatever fashion.”
He also went more specifics regarding his injuries and the impact they had on his season.
#NYR Chris Kreider said he spent the first half of year figuring out his back problem, then he had a “weird illness” that “went to my inner ear” and caused vertigo coming out of Christmas break.
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
Once he felt like he was back in a rhythm, Kreider suffered a hand injury in the…
Additionally, Kreider was asked if the trade rumors bothered him, to which he gave a very Chris Kreider-like response. He also spoke to how the departures of former leaders on the team affected things for this group.
How much did the Chris Drury #NYR trade memo bother Chris Kreider?
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“I mean, that wasn’t the first time. Won’t be the last time. That kind of stuff comes out. That’s part of professional sports unfortunately. Lucky I don’t have any social media, I wasn’t really aware of it until…
Chris Kreider on how the offseason, with Barclay Goodrow’s waiving and Jacob Trouba’s situation, impacted the #NYR locker room:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“It’s part of professional sports, but, obviously, at a certain point it becomes somewhat of a distraction…Two guys that were massive leaders for us…
Mika Zibanejad also addressed the departures of Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba, chalking it up to frustration and not understanding the full story which sounds extremely watered down. The players know the game and understand that a salary cap exists better than anyone, I’m not sure how they could be naive to the decisions behind moving on from those players.
At @NYRangers locker room clean out day, it’s fairly obvious that the Goodrow and Trouba trades were huge distractions for this group.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 21, 2025
“I think [there was] frustration. I think it's just when you don't know everything, we don't know what's going on.” - Zibanejad
Zibanejad continued to speak to the shortcomings and all the chaos that surrounded it throughout the season.
Mika Zibanejad says there was "a lot of noise" surrounding the Rangers this year and cites the departure of Barclay Goodrow, Jacob Trouba, and others from last year's team as things that were difficult to sift through pic.twitter.com/Yssq6UbZcY
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) April 21, 2025
He would go on to have some of the more notable quotes as he spoke pretty in depth on how the players are the ones that need to be accountable and be on the same page about that moving forward.
Lots of interesting stuff to come out of breakup day that I’ll be deciphering through in the coming hours and days, but as you might imagine, Mika Zibanejad was one of the most introspective players to speak.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 21, 2025
He had this to say, among other things, about the divide between #NYR…
He also did not shy away from speaking about how difficult the season was for him personally.
#NYR Mika Zibanejad: “I feel like mentally, what I went through the first few months, was probably the toughest I’ve ever been through in my career.”
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
Igor Shesterkin offered some interesting insight about what went wrong this season.
Igor Shesterkin: “In my mind, something broke during the season and went the other way. We couldn't handle it.” #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 21, 2025
Calvin de Haan had some positive things to say about Shesterkin, including a candid quote about how the Rangers essentially wasted a season of good goaltending but didn't initially get into much else regarding his situation aside from wanting to prove he can still play.
Calvin de Haan on @NYRangers goalie Igor Shesterkin: “He’s probably the best player on the team. Fuck, he's good. I think we pissed away good goaltending [this season].”
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 21, 2025
(De Haan also talked of his frustration in not playing, wanting to prove himself because “I’m old in hockey”)
He later went into more detail regarding the expectations the team had for him following the Lindgren trade and how that sort of counteracts their decision to scratch him for all but the first three games of his stint in New York.
#NYR Calvin de Haan said he was under the impression he would play when he came to NY, there was a verbal exchange.
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“It might have just been a teleprompter answer, frankly, just welcome to the team, that kind of thing… They alluded to the fact that I was part of a trade for a…
Calvin de Haan on communication with #NYR during his string of scratches:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“I mean, I think it could’ve been better. I was never really given a direct answer as to why. In an hour or so, I’ll hopefully get some answers. I think it can always be better, I’m not blaming the…
Artemi Panarin was again asked about the recent report that came out but said he was answering "hockey only" questions.
Artemi Panarin declined to address the report in The Athletic last week, saying he’d answer “only hockey” questions in postseason media availability.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 21, 2025
Details regarding the injury to Braden Schneider came out as he mentioned he had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum that's been an issue for longer than just this season. While it caused some limitations, he feels confident that he will be ready to go for next season and wants "no excuses" for how he plays.
Braden Schneider underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum. He said it’s been an issue for two years and he could play through it, but he felt it limited his physicality.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 21, 2025
He expects to be back for the start of next season. “I want no excuses going into next season.”
Gabe Perreault isn’t sure where he will spend the summer training but is headed back to Boston College in the meantime to finish up his sophomore year of classes. In some much needed comic relief throughout the day, he joked that he may have missed a couple of assignments along the way of making his NHL debut.
Gabe Perreault said he hasn’t decided on where he will train this summer, but it’s not quite summer for him yet. He’s going back to Boston College to finish his sophomore year of classes.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 21, 2025
Asked if he missed any assignments while gone, he laughed. “I’m sure I missed a couple.”
For really the first time since the injury occurred, Adam Edström spoke to the media. While he opted not to get into specifics about the injury, he did mention that it required surgery. Alas, he should be 100% to start next season and could have been an option down the road had the team made the playoffs.
Adam Edström didn’t want to divulge the specifics of his lower-body injury but did say he had surgery. He thinks he may have been an option had the #NYR gone on a playoff run and will hang around for a few weeks now to make sure he’s 100%. Should be full go for training camp #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 21, 2025
Alexis Lafrenière spoke to his consistency struggles and stressed how they have a long summer to work on things prior to an important comeback next season.
"Struggled to be consistent in my game. I'm obviously disappointed in my year...we have a long summer, we can work on a lot of stuff to come back next year and have a big year."
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) April 21, 2025
Alexis Lafrenière evaluates his season: pic.twitter.com/eMXy99YIeu
He also voiced his own disappointment surrounding his performance this season and referred to his big extension on playing a role in that.
How much pressure did the extension add and how does it impact his expectations of himself going forward?
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“I always expect a lot out of myself. Obviously, when you sign for more money, there’s always a little bit more pressure. I try not to think about it too much. If I make…
He wasn't the only younger Ranger to express dissatisfaction with his performance as K'Andre Miller talked about how much of a grind this season was for him both on and off the ice. He also stressed his love for the City and how he wants to be a part of things moving forward.
K’Andre Miller on how his #NYR season went:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“I mean, not just my game, I think throughout this team I think there was a lot of ups and downs throughout the year. I was obviously a big part of that. I didn’t love how my season this year, I was listening to a lot of the noise and…
No. 79 added: “I love New York. I wouldn’t want to play for anywhere else right now.”
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
Zac Jones didn't hold back from reiterating his thoughts on his situation but he did mention that everything was sort of eating away at him throughout the season. He did suggest that he shouldn't have let it unravel the way it did but came from a pretty genuine place all things considered.
Zac Jones on how he navigated coming in and out of #NYR lineup again:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“Listen, I said what I said this year — and I don’t take it back. I stand by what I said. When you’re in this role and some days are better than others and you get asked question, question, question. I know…
Zibanejad, Kreider and Fox weren't the only core members of this team in its current form to offer some interesting insight as Vincent Trocheck had plenty to say later in the afternoon. Similar to what Zibanejad said, Trocheck indicated that everything falls on the players first and foremost. He also made it a point to say how he believes in this group and knows they have the talent, that they just need to find a way to stick together and bounce back.
Vincent Trocheck on if #NYR tried to do too much: “It just starts to snowball on you. The harder you try to get out of it, quicksand, right?… You sink further. I remember when we started that little stretch of games where we were losing games, I think it was two games in and we…
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
#NYR Vincent Trocheck on all the outside noise from this season:
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
“I think it’s on us, inside this room, in order to make sure that the outside noise doesn’t get to us. Whether that’s talking to somebody individually or if it’s just sticking together as a team and as a family and…
#NYR Vincent Trocheck: “I really believe in this locker room. I believe in everybody. I obviously believe in the talent we have. I just think it’s a matter of us as a team sticking together, figuring out the right way to go about things moving into next year. And once we have…
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) April 21, 2025
Brett Berard mentioned that he is planning to become a part of the summer training group in New York that consists of Kreider, Rempe and Quick.
Brett Berard said he's planning to join the summer training group that includes Kreider, Rempe and Quick and works with local strength and conditioning guru Ben Prentiss. #NYR https://t.co/0CwzeZ0qS5
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) April 21, 2025
