Rangers have few clear options if they fire Gerard Gallant as offseason of big questions begins

It feels way too early for the Rangers to be thinking about the offseason, but that is where the club is after bowing out in the first round in seven games to the Devils.

The dust has barely settled on the catastrophic disappointment of this season, in which the Blueshirts assembled a lineup for the record books that never quite reached its full potential like everyone thought it would.

That is all the more reason to dive straight into the questions the Rangers are facing in the coming months. Here are the five most pressing topics looming over the team:

1. Is Gerard Gallant still the man for the job?

Perhaps the question should be rephrased to: Is there someone else better for the Rangers coaching job? At the moment, the answer might be no.

The headlining candidate in the 24 hours since the Rangers’ colossal collapse in a 4-0 loss in Game 7 Monday night in Newark has been Joel Quenneville. Sure, the 64-year-old is probably the top available option, but is he the right fit?

Do the Rangers want to be asking permission from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to hire their next head coach due to Quenneville’s role in the horrific sexual assault story that came out of the 2010 Blackhawks team? Does Quenneville really want to be under the bright lights of New York after the way his year has gone? He led Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles, but the fiasco that could follow a hiring like that might not be worth the hassle.

Peter Laviolette? One playoff series win since 2018? Darryl Sutter? Whose voice stopped carrying in the Flames room? The NHL’s coaching carousel isn’t that enticing right now.

Gallant helped lead the Rangers to back-to-back 100-plus-point seasons. He reached the conference final last season. It’s difficult to argue with his record and the team’s numbers in the two seasons with him at the helm. The way the Rangers finished this season, however, calls for someone to take responsibility.

2. What do the Rangers do with restricted free agent K’Andre Miller?

At the start of the season, it felt like Miller was the restricted free agent the Rangers had to prioritize re-signing early. When it became clear there weren’t going to be negotiations with the defenseman’s camp during the season, president and general manager Chris Drury was able to focus on re-upping Filip Chytil, who emerged as a critical piece down the middle that the Rangers couldn’t risk losing.

Miller has been a top-four blueliner for the Rangers, logging 20-plus minutes a night, since his NHL debut in 2020. Finding another minutes-guzzling defenseman with his reach and offensive upside would not be easy. He’s an integral part of the Rangers defensive core, but the 23-year-old lost some leverage in negotiations this season.

It was obvious just how much Miller harped on his offensive contributions, which took away from his defensive responsibilities at times. He’s still so young with room to grow further into his game, and the Rangers know how valuable that is.

3. What do the Rangers do with restricted free agent Alexis Lafreniere?

Subtracting from the Rangers core is not something they want to do, but if it means opening up cap space for impactful additions, it’s something the club may have to consider.

Two things can be true at the same time: Lafreniere set a career high with 39 points this season and the 2020 first-overall pick is still not rising to expectations. He didn’t record a single point in the playoffs after a largely underwhelming third NHL season, in which he had one strong stretch at the end of January and into early February.

It’s true, Lafreniere has never really been set up for success in New York. He has mostly played on the third line and received minimal power-play minutes. Plus, Lafreniere’s inability to make it work on the right wing represents another major obstacle for the Rangers, who are coming out of their ears in left wings.

4. Who are the Rangers’ top-six right-wingers next season?

The Rangers are likely going to be right back at square one next season in terms of figuring out who will skate on the right wings of the first and second lines. Patrick Kane is most likely moving on, and there’s a good chance Vladimir Tarasenko will, too. Kaapo Kakko had some decent stretches, but Lafreniere, Vitali Kravtsov (now in Vancouver), Jimmy Vesey, Julien Gauthier (now in Ottawa) and Barclay Goodrow never really stuck.

Unless the Rangers create some cap space and bring in new right-wing options, it looks like they’ll be running it back with that collection of players.

5. Do the Rangers need to acquire more sandpaper?

This very-short playoff run is proof that the over emphasis of skill was not the Rangers’ recipe to win a Stanley Cup.

The Rangers would probably benefit from a sort of checking third line, as well as a couple more players whose genetic makeup is more grit and grind rather than flair and skill. As Chris Kreider always says, however, the will comes before the skill. The Rangers need more players with that strong will to do the necessary dirty work to get the team where it needs to be.