The Rangers have played 1,005 games since the NHL reopened for business in 2005-06 and not in a single one of them have they taken the ice eliminated from playoff contention, their only tournament miss over the past dozen years coming via that 2009-10 season finale shootout defeat in Philadelphia.
That means Henrik Lundqvist has never played a game in his career officially on the outside looking in, and neither have Blueshirt blueblood veterans Marc Staal, Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast.
Yet here were the Rangers in their practice locker room Thursday, being relayed the message by their head coach, Alain Vigneault, that ownership and management were officially embarking on a course in which the long-term interests of the franchise were now the priority, even if at the expense of a playoff berth this season.