1. When Chris Drury canned Gerard Gallant, the Rangers had GG's successor all lined up in Hartford. His name was – and still is – Kris Knoblauch.

2. The brilliant GM bypassed Knoblauch and hired Peter Laviolette who had just miserably failed in Washington with Alex Ovechkin underperforming.

Connor McDavid And The Rangers, Plus Playoff One-Liners <b>1.</b> Connor McDavid is not that far away from free agency and you know what that means to The Maven: Or do You? I'm wondering whether The Wonderman ever could become a Ranger.

3. Good soldier that he is, Knoblauch bided his time and along came an offer to coach the Edmonton Oilers.

4. So, the guy the Blueshirts should have hired winds up in the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. What's more, the Oilers chances of winning the prize are better than ever.

5. Knoblauch has no beef with Drury. Kris told me he thanks the Rangers for all that the franchise did for him. Too bad he wasn't able to do it for the club that nurtured his coaching skills in the minors. Drury blew it again!

6. The Maven doesn't know what the Vegas oddsmakers think but I figure that Chris Kreider will be the first Ranger to get the heave-ho. 

7. There's no reason at all for Kreider to stay. Drury made it clear last year he wanted the vet out. Considering Kreider's mediocre 2024-25 season, the club does not need that kind of dead wood in the 2025-26 hoped for revival year.

8. Don't be surprised if Brennan Othmann winds up in one of Drury's package deals. As my expert analyst Jess Rubenstein notes, Othmann was a Jeff Gorton signing. Seems that Drury unloads any Gorton guy he can.

9. Another ex-Blueshirt heading into the Cup Final is that very fine Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola. Any Drury excuse for not re-signing Mikkola when Niko wanted to remain a Ranger goes under the heading of APPLESAUCE.

10. The more MSG's Jim Dolan's Knicks win, the better it is for Chris Drury. While The Boss focuses on his hoops, the less accountable the hockey side.