It's hard to call this season a disappointment for the New York Rangers, because we were never quite sure what the ceiling was for this team. They had strong depth, but general manager Jeff Gorton also seemed to make moves with a long-range plan in mind. This certainly wasn't a Stanley Cup-or-bust kind of season in New York.
But then the path began to break for the Rangers, and it was easy to see a route for this team to get back to the Stanley Cup finals. In that sense, not finding a way to get past the Ottawa Senators is a real disappointment. It was there for the taking.
It sets up an interesting offseason for Gorton, who has some tough decisions to make. Here's the three primary areas on which he should focus first:
