On March 7th, at the trade deadline, Chris Drury made a statement explaining his rationale and what the team needs to do going forward. He clarified that he had done his part and the rest was up to the coach and the team.
The New York Rangers have been underperforming this season in terms of their talent level. This team did better at the beginning of the season, securing wins, racking points, and climbing against other teams. What happened? The team got stuck in a hole with their game and continually lost, unable to hold a streak of more than two wins since January. The Rangers didn’t perform well against teams that shouldn’t have been a challenge based on stats.
However, New York fans remained loyal and cheered the Rangers back to victory in a long but worthwhile journey. Did Drury’s statement have a subliminal message and a suspect tone?
#NYR President and General Manager Chris Drury on the 2025 Trade Deadline: pic.twitter.com/kHkyxIFRl7
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 7, 2025
The Rangers traded the captain Jacob Trouba earlier in the season, shocking many blueshirt fans. To trade the captain was a big move from Drury. Later in the season, the Rangers lost two other high-profile and possibly future-star players: Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. Drury is shaking the team up with these huge trades with players who are fan favorites. Supposedly, Drury even put Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider on the possible trading chopping block.
The Rangers' goal this season is to get into the playoffs and have at least a chance. Drury seems to be protecting his image if this goal isn’t successful. This interpretation comes from “I am happy I was able to make some additions for them,” from his statement. The underlying message seems directed at the players, implying that it’s their fault if they don’t make it to the playoffs. He used a lot of “I” statements and even called the players “they.”
Drury’s tone in his message seems proud and implies that he did everything to get the team there, make trades, and shake up the team, but it's the team’s job to play the game and bring the New York Rangers to the map. Was his message a bit of a veiled threat? Drury doesn’t seem happy with the Ranger’s success this season, which may be why he made this statement.
This statement is for the public, but it is also for the players. Was it intended to inspire the team for the upcoming games or discuss their performance overall? Drury could have said he gave them all the ingredients, but now they must cook.
Since Drury released his statement, the Rangers have lost two games back-to-back, so it does not seem that they are “taking the bull by the horns,” as mentioned in Drury’s statement. It appears that they haven’t even gotten on the bull. Hopefully, the Rangers can get to the horns, make the challenging plays in this problematic situation, and secure a playoff spot to keep Drury and New York happy.