Player drop BOMBSHELL on Rangers Front Office...

The Rangers organization and front office just got put on blast as eight months after being traded from the Rangers, Brennan Othman speaks out on his time in New York. He called his playing time last season egregious and said some players got more leash than he did. And then his former team, the Rangers, played against him for the last time at the Saddle Dome last night. He played only 9 minutes in the game and did not take a single shot. Now to go back on Brennan Othman, the Rangers took him 16th overall in the first round in 2021. In 42 games as a Ranger, he scored one goal. And it is pretty easy to laugh at a first round pick that did not produce and, you know, is complaining now on his way out. But from the other perspective and the other side of things, the Rangers have never really been good at developing young players or giving them an opportunity. So was Othman a bust and someone that the Rangers were right for letting go of? Or do the Rangers actually have a problem with development? I think it's a bit of both. And before we dive into all of that, a quick reminder to hit that subscribe button if you guys are enjoying the daily content on everything that has to do with the New York Rangers. You don't want to miss out on any of it, so make sure that you are subscribed to the channel. And I am giving away a jersey here on the channel to one lucky subscriber for whatever comes first, either 15,000 subscribers or the Rangers make the playoffs. Now back into the video. One thing you see a lot that was pretty prevalent with Brennan Othman in his pro career with the Rangers is whenever a player gets called up from the AHL, you'd like to see them seize that opportunity, take advantage of that opportunity. And Othman's a guy that was never really a guy to do that. He was always slow to the puck, you know, slow to making decisions. Never took advantage of those opportunities. Over three seasons at the pro level, he played just 42 regular season games for the Rangers and finished with one goal and two assists. So he had three points in 42 games. Last season, he played just 17 games with the big club at nine minutes and 53 seconds a night. His first NHL goal came on January 17th against the Philadelphia Flyers in his 34th game as a New York Ranger. However, he did produce in Hartford, to be fair. He was actually a great AHL player. In 2023-24, he had 49 points in 67 games in the AHL and 12 goals in 27 games the And then last season on that same Hartford team, because he was barely called up, although he was at times, he had 16 points in 26 games with a minus nine before he was traded to the Calgary Flames. In Calgary, where he states that he's finally getting his chance to shine and finally getting a little bit more leash and has this opportunity in front of him, he has played seven games this season and has not scored a single point. So the case against him is actually quite big. And for a player like this to come out and call the Rangers out. The front office, the coaching staff, development staff, all that type of stuff with some of the words that he used is a little ridiculous. It is a little ridiculous considering what he did here. However, there is some truth to what he's talking about, and that is the uncomfortable part for Rangers fans and this organization. So here's what Othman said in his own words. I still produced in Hartford very well. I felt like when I came up, I just never got a fair leash. Now, it was said that in 42 games with the Rangers, only seven of them did he start in the top six. And I think that's actually quite fair for the player that he is. You have to work your way up. And his debut came on a third line with Nick Bonino and Johnny Predzinski, and he skated with them. for just three games that season. And then the lines continued to get shaken up. And he said when he was playing with guys like Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck and later Will Cooley and Noah Laba, he thought he was doing well. And then the lines ended up changing around him. But to be fair, I could play really well with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. And then it was done. The Rangers ended up trading him to the Calgary Flames on March 6th for Jacob Petaglia, a 19-year-old who had 40 goals and 50 assists for Kingston. In the OHL, Othman said that a trade materializing took all year and we don't know why it took all year. And he got the call at about three 30 in the afternoon, heading into the trade deadline before he was set to play for the Wolfpack that night. Both things can be true in this situation. He was simply not good enough in his minutes with the Rangers and then not make the most of those opportunities, especially playing with guys like Panarin when he did. And he was never in a spot long enough. He kept getting set back down to actually show what he had He also said that maybe his style of game never really worked out the way that the Rangers coaching staff at the time, because of course there was Peter Laviolette and then now Mike Sullivan, that they wanted and that Calgary style is helping him develop into the player he can be, which honestly, guys, I think all of this is a bit ridiculous from a player like Brendan Othman. And then he also said of Calgary that they don't have any pressure to win or to do well. It's a different circumstance and situation than the New York Rangers, which, by the way. If you're going to play at the highest level, you want to win. Don't you want to win? Why would you want to be in the league to just skate around, man? So he wanted a quiet place to figure it out on a team with very low expectations. The New York Rangers are not the franchise to be doing that with. And Mike Sullivan was pretty candid. Before the game as well, he said that Otter was just a young player trying to find his way in the league. But a young player trying to find their way in the league with the Rangers isn't necessarily something that has been smooth sailing in the past. Here are the Rangers first round picks from 2017 to 2024, ranked by points for the Rangers specifically. Alexi Lafreniere went first overall in 2020 and has 270 points in 482 games. And Filip Hedl had 164. In 378. Then it falls off dramatically. You have Elias Andersen, 7th overall in 2017. We all know the story with him. He had 9 points in 66 games. Vitali Kratsov, 9th overall in 2018, had 10 points in 48 games for the Rangers. And Andersen, Kratsov, and Othman were all top 16 picks in the first round. They played a combined 156 games for the Rangers and scored a combined 22. And then there's some other players that were drafted very highly by the Rangers and left and are finding success. You have Nils Lundqvist, who had four points in 25 games as a Ranger and has 54 points in 227 games as a Dallas Star. K Karel Kaco is another recent example with, you know, the second overall pick in 2019. He scored less than half a point a game for the Rangers, and he's now just over half a point a game for the Seattle Kraken. Kevondre Miller is probably the worst example, 22nd in two 2018 went from 0.36 points a game as a Ranger. to basically half a point a game in Carolina and has won a Stanley Cup. Brett Howden also left in the summer of 2021 and was a key piece of the Vegas Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. DeAndre Miller went to the Carolina Hurricanes in return for a 2026 second round pick and current Rangers defenseman Scott Morrow, who actually looks really good right now. But then during the playoffs, Wayne Gretzky said that he's never seen a defenseman play better defensively in the playoffs. Then, Keandre Miller. Now, I don't know if I necessarily agree with that. I think he's on a really good team, and I think he has some really good defensemen around him. When he was with the Rangers, he'd... Didn't necessarily have the highest hockey IQ. But the Rangers keep signing veterans. That's what this team is known for. Not developing their own young stars. They just keep signing guys in free agency and reloading and trying to go for it. Now, it is really funny because I think some of these comments and this whole story is a bit ridiculous coming from a guy like Brendan Othman. And then the Rangers go into Calgary and beat them 3-1. So, the Rangers still get the last lap. Mika Zibanejad scored two goals. Calgary had 30 shots. And Jonas Korpisalo, with a big save in this game, ended up stopping 29 of... 30 shots in his second start of the season since coming back from injury. And Calgary actually outshot the Rangers in this game 32-24. Mike Sullivan came out after the game and said that both goalies right now, Korpisalo and Garan, are giving them a chance to win and that sharing the workload could get the best version out of both guys. Korpisalo made his Rangers debut just a couple days ago in Seattle with 25 saves and a 4-3 win. Then in Edmonton, it was a bit of an unlucky game and Sullivan said it was a struggle for whatever reason to put the puck in the back of the net, but they didn't necessarily play bad. They actually outplayed the Oilers, but ended up losing 3-0. That is two wins in three games on a road trip that you weren't expected to do well and you finally get, you know, one of your goaltenders back and now you're still kind of rolling here with your only loss coming to the Oilers, which a lot of teams have not beat the Oilers this year. And one of the next tests for some young players is already on the roster and he's actually playing very well. Gabe Perreault, who was picked 23rd overall in 2023, has 18 goals and 36 points in 74 career games for the Rangers. EJ Emery is another prospect that we barely bring up and he was He was picked 30th in the first round in 2024, still has no NHL games of experience, hasn't even turned pro yet. Now, who knows if EJ Emery is going to get a fair shake or if he's even going to bring it to that level. But one guy who is getting a fair opportunity because he has been producing with this team is Gabe Perreault. And having him in the top six has propelled the Rangers now after 20 games to an 11-8-1 record with 23 points. They're still third in the Metropolitan Division. And Othman is. He's still waiting on his first point of the season for Calgary. Now, looking at the standings here, Carolina does lead with 30 points. New Jersey has 26, and the Devils have played one less game. And by the way, if you're looking at who's behind the Rangers, the Capitals. right there and they've played less games as well and it's going to be a tough rest of the way this season because you might make the argument it's way too early to look at the standings but there's a lot of teams that have games in hand the rangers goaltending situation has been up in the air all season they've had bad performances they've had really good performances this is going to be a struggle all year to keep afloat and if you fall out of the top three Ottawa has that wildcard spot. The Atlantic Division owns the wildcard spot. And a playoff spot is one of the only two ways that a jersey gets given out here on the channel. So make sure that you are subscribed to the channel, guys. A very interesting schedule coming up here for the Rangers going back home after one more game in Vancouver. Guys, my name is Darius Dominguez. This is Rangers Digest, and I'll see you in the next video.