The New York Rangers signed Chris Drury to a multi-year extension on Wednesday to remain as the team’s president and general manager.
Rangers owner James Dolan is sending a clear message by doing this: Drury is here to stay whether you like it or not.
It also confirms that despite all the dysfunction and turmoil going on within the Rangers organization, Dolan still has full faith in Drury.
It’s been a long year for Drury, who faced a lot of backlash for the way he ran Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba out of town while his league-wide memo indicating he was interested in making moves to shake up the core had a poor effect on the team’s performance.
Throughout this disastrous season for the Rangers, Drury traded multiple players including Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Reilly Smith, Ryan Lindgren, and Jimmy Vesey.
By the way Drury was operating and trading veteran players on expiring contracts, it seemed as if his job was safe and ultimately that was deemed to be true based on this contract extension.
It’s unclear what Drury and Dolan’s conversations have been behind closed doors, but after firing three coaches since 2021, Dolan still believes in Drury’s vision for the future of the Rangers.
With Drury still at the top of the helm, this offseason should be interesting for the Blueshirts. His attempt to restructure the roster in order to get younger yet remain competitive has already started.
We could see the Rangers take a more youthful approach going forward. While players such as Igor Shesterkin, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox, and Artemi Panarin will likely still be the cornerstones of the team, there should be a younger energy in the locker room come next season.
Rangers Reward Chris Drury With Multi-Year Contract Extension
The New York Rangers have agreed on a multi-year contract extension with team president and general manager Chris Drury.
Prospects the likes of Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, and Brett Berard may see a more expanded role. Young players including Will Cuylle and Braden Schneider will also continue to carve out substantial roles.
This contract extension gives Drury time to breathe and maybe not make panic-type moves that would hurt the young players’ development.
This will be Drury’s true test. Peter Laviolette is gone and if things continue to go south, there will be no one else to blame but him.
It’s nice to have this job security, but the pressure and all eyes shift to Drury to see if he can fix this mess that he helped create.