Rangers staff and players rebel against management's plan to tear it all down!

In an unexpected and rare move in the National Hockey League, New York Rangers' Glen Sather and general manager Jeff Gorton announced in a tell-all letter on Thursday that a major rebuild and focus on the future is coming to the Big Apple, meaning several veteran players will be on the move ahead of the deadline. 

While fans might have appreciated the honesty of the club's management, the team's staff and players might not feel the same way. Despite their current slump and the signs hinting at the Rangers missing the postseason for the first time in eight years, it looks like the players are standing up and rebelling against the plan to tear the team down. 

“I’m not here to criticize anybody, but it’s only their opinion,” Mats Zuccarello told The New York Post following Friday's game. “No one on our team thinks the season is over and no one is going to approach these games any differently than we would under any other situation.

“We know we haven’t played well enough this year. Obviously we haven’t been good. But there are still [27] games to go, we’re not far behind, and we’re going to go out and do our best, block shots, sacrifice for each other and try to win games.

“That isn’t going to change because of what happened on Thursday.”

The top forward, whose name has been circling in trade chatter recently, made sure to mention that the entire team was feeling this way, as the season is not over, until it's over. They hope to see management adjust their plans to prevent a total rebuild and see veteran players like Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh shipped out. 

“We had talks among ourselves; different guys talking to each other,” Zuccarello added. “The coaching staff and us, we’re not giving up. The guys in this locker room are going to play for each other and hopefully we can show [management] enough that we can change their minds a little bit.”

It sounds like it will be an intense few weeks ahead, as the trade deadline fast approaches. But Rangers fans can could on Zuccarello and his teammates to give their all and prove to Gorton and Sather that they are not giving up. 

“There’s a lot to play for. It’s not just for us, it’s not even just for the badge on the front of the shirt. It’s for all the great players who have been here before us. It’s for a lot.

“And we’re not going to give up.”