Since the Rangers' strictly unofficial 2024 theme was "Stanley Cup Or Bust," somebody had to take the blame for the Bust. Right? Right! We can't blame Igor Shesterkin since he's the club's current saint. And, frankly, The Maven is tired of dumping on Chala-man Panarin nor No-Playoff-Show Mika Zibanejad. Really, the guy who should win "The Blame Game" is the one who deserves to have a sign on his desk, "The Bust Stops Here." And the man behind the sign should be The Boss – ergo: the general manager, Chris Drury. After all, it's HIS team, isn't it? In a sense, it certainly is but in another sense, N-O! Yeah, Drury is the guy who makes the trades and imports such forgettables as Chad (One Game) Ruhwedel, Alex (The Kraker) Wennberg and Tyler (Where Did He Go?) Pitlick. Stan Fischler US Hall Of Fame MSG But it's worth remembering that Drury is a relative – neither uncle nor cousin – newcomer to his MSG gig. His predecessor was Jeff Gorton who emigrated to Montreal where he's now masterminding a non-playoff outfit called Canadiens. Rangers fans have a right to love jovial Jeff if you like Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, and Bready Panarin. He immigrated them, didn't he? That said, when you think of the latest biggest migraine on the Blueshirts roster, it has to be none other than Jacob (Me In Detroit-Are-You-Kidding?) Trouba. And that's Gorton's fault, not Drury's. If you've watched Jake miss checks or get zany penalties you'd have to wonder about his contract. Wouldn't You? Blame it on Jeff not Chris. I mean what was Gorton thinking when he delivered a seven-year contract to Jacob Trouba? Did he believe he was getting the second coming of Cale Makar? And at $8 million AAV. If Jake was getting half of that it still would be too much; So, don't blame Drury for that. Jovial Jeff came up with the crazy dough. As for wheeling and dealing, we'll find out how good Drury is when he goes up against Igor Shesterkin's rep. And if Drury learned anything from the Trouba fiasco, it is that hardball negotiating is fun – but only when your knuckler is working!
