Rangers GM Chris Drury learns from past mistakes – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

Towards the end of the COVID-shortened 2021 season, the New York Rangers made headlines when they fired President of Hockey Operations John Davidson and General Manager Jeff Gorton. The man who took over both positions was Chris Drury. Before his promotions, he served as both assistant and deputy general manager. Now, it was his job to lead the Rangers out of rebuilding and get them back in position to become Stanley Cup contenders.

Like most people who get a new job, Drury doesn’t like to look back at the beginning of his tenure, as he made some big mistakes that still affect the team to this day. However, over time, he learned from his mistakes and became a very good general manager in the NHL. In this article, we look back at his start as Rangers GM and see how he has evolved over the years.

Early mistakes: trade Pavel Buchnevich and sign Barclay Goodrow

The 2021 offseason was not a very good start for Drury as GM. Two of the biggest mistakes he made early on happened on back-to-back days. The first move was signing Barclay Goodrow to a six-year contract worth $3,641,667 per year. He had won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was considered a key backup player, used primarily on the Lightning’s third line. At that point, the Rangers wanted to toughen up and add more experience to the lineup. They accomplished that with this move, but the deal they made with him was way too much for a bottom-six player. He played three seasons with the Rangers before they decided to terminate his contract and place him on the waivers list earlier this offseason. He was signed by the San Jose Sharks and Drury was able to get out of that deal without having to trade him for assets to terminate his contract.

His second and even bigger mistake was trading the restricted free agent (RFA) rights of Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues. At the time, the Rangers were one of the teams going after Jack Eichel and it seemed like they might end up getting him. They needed to make room on their roster and Buchnevich fell victim to that. He was traded for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He was the Rangers’ best right winger at the time and worked very well on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Since that trade, Drury has tried to fill that void and nothing has worked out and now Reilly Smith will be the next player they try in that role. Buchnevich has had success in St. Louis and just signed a massive contract extension. This can be considered the biggest mistake Drury has made in his time as GM.

Great opportunity to find valuable players through trades or free agency

Over the years, one of Drury’s greatest strengths has been his ability to find players with good value and get them cheap, whether through a trade or by signing them as free agents. Two of the most recent examples occurred last offseason when he signed Erik Gustafsson and Jonathan Quick to one-year deals, both players signing for under a million. Gustafsson was a solid third-line defenseman for the team last season, even stepping in when Adam Fox got injured and missed 10 games. He scored six goals and 31 points in 76 regular season games. He struggled in the playoffs, recording just three assists in 16 games, and signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings this offseason. Quick made a career comeback with 18 wins, a 2.62 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. His play earned him a contract extension and he will look to have another great season with the Rangers in 2024-25.

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One of the best trades Drury has made so far was trading a 2022 fourth-round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Frank Vatrano. At the time, it seemed like just a depth trade for the Rangers, but he turned out to be a great addition. He became arguably the best right winger to play on the line with Kreider and Zibanejad since Buchnevich. He scored eight goals and 13 points in 22 regular-season games and followed that up with five goals and 13 points in 20 playoff games. He was fast and had a great shot and became a fan favorite in his short time in New York. In the 2022 offseason, he signed a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks and since his departure, there have been so many rumors that he might return, but it hasn’t happened yet. Drury turned a fourth-round pick into a first-line player and he has a knack for finding valuable players where others might not.

A look into the future and the difficult path ahead

The upcoming season and offseason could be Drury’s toughest yet in his time as GM. The Rangers want to compete for the Stanley Cup once again and he needs to use his assets wisely to improve the team. One move he tried to make this summer already backfired when he wanted to trade Jacob Trouba and his $8 million salary, but Trouba used his trade protection to block the move and now he needs to reconcile with his captain and hopefully move on.

The next offseason will be very difficult to navigate. The Rangers will not have much cap space and will need to extend the contracts of key players. These players are Alexis Lafreniere, K’Andre Miller and most importantly Igor Shesterkin. Even if a player like Kaapo Kakko has a stellar season, he will also need a new contract. With the lack of cap space, Drury will have to get creative and hopefully he will be able to accommodate all of these contract extensions, especially for these three key players as they will be the core of the team going forward.

Drury is now entering his fourth season as GM of the Rangers and this season will be the most important of all if they are to bring the Stanley Cup back to New York. With the core players getting older and this being Shesterkin’s last season on a “team friendly” contract, now is the chance to win as the future is still uncertain. Drury has developed into a very good GM over the last three seasons and now he needs to take what he has learned and hopefully make the right moves that will help this team. If he can do that, they may be the ones left standing when the Stanley Cup is awarded next June.