Why Chris Drury will mortgage the future to win now

As we sit here and try to figure out what moves  Chris Drury will make to get the team back to the playoffs, it’s important to remember one thing.  The clock is ticking to the day that Drury gets fired.  The only thing that will extend his tenure as President and General Manager of the New York Rangers, will be a Stanley Cup championship.

There’s proof.  18 of the 31 NHL general managers have been on the job for five years or less.  Of the 13 GM’s who have lasted longer than five years, three have won Stanley Cups and you can make that four since Bob Murray of Anaheim got the big job one year after a Cup win. Four more have made it as far as the Final.

That means only five of 31 GM’s have been able to hold on to their jobs without a Cup win or a trip to the Final in their tenure. Of the five, Kevin Cheveldayoff of Winnipeg, and Brad Treliving of Calgary are all on thin ice.

About the Rangers

The Rangers were an island of tranquility in a sea of change when it came to hockey management. Glen Sather was the President and General Manager from 2000-2015.  Jeff Gorton held the GM position from 2015 until a few weeks ago.

Sather get his fair share of criticism, but his tenure has to be considered a success with the team making the playoffs nine of his last 10 years as GM including one trip to the Final.  Gorton was less successful, making the playoffs the first two seasons before the rebuild resulted in four straight years missing the postseason.  As long as Sather was President he protected Gorton since it was Sather’s moves that gutted the Rangers and resulted in the need to rebuild.

Now, the Rangers have joined the NHL’s carousel of management turnover with a whole new management team led by Chris Drury.