Is It Time for the New York Rangers to Move On From General Manager Chris Drury?

2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7
2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7 | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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One of the reasons New York gets so far in the postseason is that Drury mortgages the future to try and win now. He's paid high prices for players like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Andrew Copp at the deadline and sent out packages for Alex Wennberg, Jack Roslovic, and Frank Vatrano. It's set the prospect pool of the Blueshirts back a few years by acquiring these players who became stars elsewhere.

Then there's the inability to deal with the bad contracts he inherited. This isn't entirely his fault since Jeff Gorton signed Trouba to a seven-year deal for reasons I'll never understand, but it was Drury's job to get rid of the problem contracts and continue to build again. In reality, the only problematic deal he got out of was one he signed himself in Barclay Goodrow. Even then, that was controversial at best.

In addition to that, the two coaches he has brought in to try and turn the franchise around have not found the answers to the issues with the roster he has created. Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant have both struggled to find the consistency that the Rangers want. Gallant was fired after consecutive 100-point seasons while Laviolette won the President's Trophy and set franchise records, but now he finds himself in the hot seat.

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