As inconsistent the New York Rangers' season has been, they are still in the thick of the playoff hunt. Yet, it's hard for fans to give them much of a chance considering the lack of consistency. Due to this, much of the consternation hasn't been with head coach Mike Sullivan. Rather, they've voiced their displeasure towards general manager Chris Drury, to the point of calling for his job.
Those fans may have been holding out hope that the Rangers could eventually move on from Drury if the team heads in the wrong direction. However, team owner James Dolan put an end to those thoughts on Monday.
Dolan appeared on WFAN in his first public interview since 2023. When asked by host Craig Carton if he still believes in Drury being the right person for the job,
“Chris Drury is a winner and competitor,” Dolan said, h/t The Athletic. “He can’t stand to lose.”
James Dolan's vote of confidence in Chris Drury ends Rangers fans' hopes of change at GM
Dolan said that there have been signs of progress in the Rangers, as evidenced by the team's dominant winter Classic win over the Florida Panthers last week. But he said that Drury and Sullivan are trying to build and instill a culture on the Rangers, and that he was going to be patient with the duo.
Drury took over as the general manager of the Rangers back in 2021 after the dismissals of John Davidson and Jeff Gorton. Drury's first task was to build a tougher roster to contend with Tom Wilson, who had been a menace to the Rangers. That resulted in them trading away Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues for Sammy Blais and signing the likes of Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves. The moves did not pan out for the Rangers, as Wilson still tortures them, as evidenced by his three-point performance on New Year's Eve and him injuring rookie Noah Laba on a huge center-ice hit.
Those moves didn't necessarily help Drury's case of endearing himself to the Rangers. That's not to say that Drury didn't do a good job. Let's not forget about the 2023-24 season, where they were just two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. His trades for Tyler Motte and Jack Roslovic did pan out and helped them in their deep run to the Eastern Conference Final.
But the following season, the Rangers began to regress. A team that fell well short of reaching the playoffs. Still, Drury didn't try to sell at the trade deadline. Instead, he acquired J.T. Miller in hopes he'd provide a spark to help them make a late push. That didn't happen.
Let's not forget that Drury had been ruthless in his quest to trade away big players on big contracts. Goodrow was the first, as he was waived by Drury, due in part to his 15-team no-trade clause. Goodrow found out just before the waiver announcement. Goodrow was claimed by the San Jose Sharks, who were on his no-trade list. That didn't sit well with Goodrow and players on the Rangers.
Trouba was the next to go, as he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Trouba publicly ripped Drury, saying he wasn't happy that the trade discussions went public, and claimed he was threatened by the general manager to either accept the trade or be placed on waivers.
Most recently was the Chris Kreider trade. In an effort to make changes to the locker room and to free up cap space, they convinced Kreider to waive his no-trade clause to move to Anaheim. The move backfired, as the Rangers struggled to score goals, while Kreider had put up 13 goals in his first 22 games with the Ducks. Kreider has cooled off, but given the Rangers' early scoring struggles, the trade looked awful in hindsight.
Not to mention, the return on some players they received in some trades haven't paid off thus far.
The Rangers fanbase must accept now that Drury is here for the long haul, given Dolan's vote of confidence. All fans can really do is hope that Drury can find ways to really turn things around and construct a roster that can win their first Stanley Cup since 1994. So far, the results haven't been great for the exec.