The New York Rangers' season is over, and there are only two things left to look at: the season coming up in September and the season that was supposed to be great but wasn’t.
One of the more notable storylines from the 2024-25 debacle was just about everything surrounding President and General Manager Chris Drury. The former Rangers captain turned front office captain made headlines a number of times this season. It is safe to say that his antics did not help the abysmal play on the ice.
Let's give his performance from the 2024-25 season a grade.
Expectations
This season was supposed to be one of the greatest in team history. After having the best season in franchise history in 2023-24, winning the Presidents' Trophy and making it to the Eastern Conference finals against the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the Florida Panthers, the vibe was that this was "the year".
Everyone lauded Drury as a genius for bringing in now-former head coach Peter Laviolette. That was one of the reasons why the 2023-24 Rangers were so successful. Drury was a mastermind for bringing in one of the best coaches in NHL history, and it led to a fantastic season.
Then, the puck dropped on the 2024-25 season, and disappointment ensued.
Performance
In 2024-25, the Rangers were awful, enraging, and flat-out dissapointing. It was not a good season, whatsoever, as they lost so much more then they gained. The locker room was lost, leadership has been diminished, and the future of this franchise is in question. All thanks, in large part, to their General Manager, Drury.
His handling of the Jacob Trouba situation was blown out of proportion, primarily due to Trouba's comments following his trade to Anaheim. Then, Kaapo Kakko spoke out against his playing time and moved to Seattle not long after. Those two things, as well as naming Chris Kreider as a trade target for teams in the media, set the locker room on fire with no fire extinguisher. Once Drury was done talking to the press and disclosing many behind-closed-doors comments, nothing remained but embers.
The only saving grace for Drury's performance is his re-acquisition of J.T. Miller at the trade deadline and securing a solid defenseman in Will Borgen from Seattle. Both of those players will be significant members of this team's future.
Where does he go from here?
There is an uncertainty to the future successes of the Rangers, but Chris Drury will be in charge for a long time to come. He recently signed a contract extension on April 23.
The Rangers have made the playoffs in three out of four tries with Drury in the big chair. Times might be scary right now, but it isn't like this team is in the bottom-tier of the NHL. They have a chance to return to glory in 2025-26, but it has to be a lot different then this past season. That has to include Drury, and the way he handles the comments to the media.
While Drury did get a C for this year's performance, he has bought himself some breathing room with the hiring of Mike Sullivan to coach the Rangers in 2025-26 and beyond. There's a chance he will earn a better grade next season if that move has the intended effect for the Blueshirts, and it will be interesting to see what other moves he has up his sleeve to try and push the team back into contention.