So it turned out that the Rangers were eliminated by the team that ultimately won the Stanley Cup, another reminder that the Blueshirts have plenty of work to do before they’re the playoff-bearded ones hoisting the coolest trophy in sports.

But the Florida Panthers’ first-ever Cup might also be instructive to a talented Rangers team that perhaps sits at a crossroads. The Cats had the guts to make a seismic trade after winning the Presidents’ Trophy during the 2021-22 season, looking for a shakeup following a disappointing, quick playoff exit. They changed their core, one of the routes the Ranges must consider this summer, and it worked.

Florida moved its then-top scorer, Jonathan Huberdeau, in a mega-deal that landed Matthew Tkachuk from Calgary and aimed to help make them tougher and more defensive. Not that Tkachuk was solely responsible – the Panthers had other talent and adopted a more rugged style overall and their renowned forecheck bloomed. Now they are much harder to play against than they were in 2021-22.

How do the Rangers get harder to play against now? As Chris Drury put it after the team’s elimination: “Everything’s on the table.”

Here’s a look at some of the choices facing the Rangers as they try to topple the mighty Panthers and push past the Eastern Conference Final to the rarefied air where indelible memories are made.

Core exorcises?

The Ranger core, which includes the sublime goaltender Igor Shesterkin, has gotten them to the brink of the Cup Final in two of the last three seasons. Now they have to determine whether a group that also includes stars such as Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin can go beyond what’s been a Final Four ceiling.

Do the Rangers just need a few brawny tweaks or more serious alterations, via addition and subtraction? Would trading one of their bedrock pieces be a palatable price to pay to procure players who would make the Rangers a “heavier, more physical team,” as Drury put it? How will no-trade protection impact those possibilities? Finding those answers figures to be Job 1 for the summer. The rest flows from there.

Super Size Me

Even if the Rangers deem their core good enough to be the focal point of a team seeking to end a Cup drought that reaches 31 years next year, they still must add that certain something. Call it grit, sandpaper, jam, snarl, muscle or whatever your favorite term is, but the Rangers have lost their two recent ECFs to teams (Tampa Bay, Florida) that had more of a physical presence than they did. More jam would help with puck possession and the grinding work in the corners.

Some beef on the blueline might help for when the playoffs get tempestuous and maybe combat the aggressive forechecking that seemed to bump their skill players out of whack. While some wonder about the future of captain Jacob Trouba, moving the defenseman and his proclivity for punishing contact would reduce the Rangers’ abilities in the physical arena. There are internal options, certainly. Perhaps Matt Rempe, who made a splash with his size and physicality last season, can earn a bigger role. Whether it’s from within or on the trade and free agent market, the Rangers must address their sandpaper. In hockey, a little meanness, at least when it comes to the grind of the playoffs, doesn’t seem to hurt.

The wing’s the thing

Kreider and Zibanejad need a frontline forward to play with on the first line and this is where things could get splashy this summer, assuming the Rangers can fit a big name under the cap. Scorers such as Sam Reinhart, who tallied 57 goals and got the Game 7 Cup-winner for Florida, are among a studded-out class of unrestricted free agents, though Reinhart might stay in Florida. Others include Jake Guentzel – should the Rangers have beaten Carolina’s mid-season trade offer and gotten him then? Hmmm – Steven Stamkos and former Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault.

Dreamers might wonder about the Rangers trading for a Tkachuk of their own – Matthew’s brother, Brady – but why would Ottawa deal a tough guy who’s got three straight 30-goal seasons? Patrick Kane is a free agent, too, and he’s been linked to the Blueshirts as a possible reunion candidate. Whatever happens, the Rangers need a premium forward. They scored only 12 goals in the six-game loss to Florida and must improve their offense while playing 5-on-5. Getting one of the boldface-name free agents would jolt the Rangers top line. Free agency opens July 1.

Blue notes

There’s plenty of other summer business for the Rangers to handle, too, including working on a contract extension for Shesterkin and figuring a plan for restricted free agents Ryan Lindgren and Braden Schneider, a significant chunk of their present blue line. The Rangers have some capital to trade, including Kaapo Kakko, who offers cost certainty now that he’s on a $2.4 million deal. While Kakko hasn’t soared the way some Ranger fans may have hoped, he’s still only 23 years old. Maybe another team thinks they can unlock his talent better than the Rangers have. The Blueshirts also hold their first-round pick, 30th overall. That’s more trade currency in what should be an intriguing Ranger summer.

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