Chris Drury has never seen talking to the media as a high priority, and even then, limits most such conversations to virtual presentations over Zoom. Such was the case today as he spoke for the first time since the team broke up following the end of the regular season in April, providing scant details about his thoughts about the off-season, and his plans for the remainder of the Summer.
If you were hoping to watch the conference yourself, then I’m afraid that’s not even possible, with the official site not making the conversation available to the fans, though you can get reports from Colin Stephenson and Mollie Walker. As can be expected, little of substance was shared, though a couple of points worth sharing.
Braden Schneider Still On the Block?
After coming off a rough season in which he ranked amongst the worst performers on the Rangers blueline, Braden Schneider has been the subject of many trade rumors. The 24 year old 6-3 206lb defender is a strong skater, but has struggled as his workload has increased, failing to take on the pressure of facing better opponents. It’s fair to say that his game has plateaued, and it may have even regressed under Mike Sullivan’s first year as head coach, leading to suggestions that he’d do better in another organization in the same way that K’Andre Miller did this past year with Carolina.
With fellow right-handed defenseman Will Borgen traded yesterday, it opened up the possibility of the Rangers keeping Schneider around for longer to see if they could turn his game around, albeit he needs a new contract and would likely project out at around $4-4.5M on a short contract as a third pair defenseman – he’s currently an RFA with no reports yet of contract negotiations.
When asked about his thoughts, Drury had the following to say:
As you’ll note, there is no mention of intent to get a contract done, or even that they are even that discussions are planned. While Drury is notoriously opaque about such conversations, there was an opportunity for him to project out where Schneider might fit, and he noticeably was quiet on the subject.
No Timeline, Though Recognition Of More to Do
Does Drury openly admit that his job might be on the line after a long series of missteps? Does he have a timeline on when he expects the Rangers to be competitive again?
Unsurprisingly he’s non-committal, though that is clearly by design. Setting milestones as a GM is fraught with challenges given the possibility of injuries to key players – like we saw last season with Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, let alone the variabilities in performance from year to year. He also readily admits there’s more work to do.
One of the obvious areas is the need to further strengthen their top six, with newly signed Oliver Bjorkstrand currently projected as the second line right-wing following the Vincent Trocheck trade. Having struggled to generate offense at 5 on 5 over the past several seasons, the Rangers now also have to find ways to replace the play-making ability of Artemi Panarin and the additional offense that Trocheck provided. Bringing in Pavel Dorofeyev certainly helps, but expecting Bjorkstrand to also bounce back is certainly a risk.
Acquiring another top six wing or center would certainly help, and while there is no confirmation, there is wide speculation that Schneider was the main component of an offer for Mason McTavish who was ultimately traded to the St Louis Blues for draft picks.
Drury Learning On The Job
One of Drury’s biggest failings over the past few years has been his approach to player management. While there was certainly some creativity in getting out from burdensome contracts – like the one, he gave Barclay Goodrow, or that of former captain Jacob Trouba – his callous approach to handling the process clearly rankled many. It may have also contributed, along with the recent failed seasons, to make New York a less desirable place to play as we saw recently from the rebuffs of players like Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Larkin, neither of whom had the Rangers on their list of suitable destinations.
Beginning with Chris Kreider last year, and then Vincent Trocheck this off-season, the Rangers GM has made a point to keep communications open with the player throughout the whole process, and even trying to accommodate them where he could. He took the time to thank Trocheck for his time with the Rangers, closing the chapter on his tenure with the Rangers in a much more graceful way than he has done so in the past.
What’s next?
No further clues were given on what Drury plans for the rest of the off-season, though the impression around the Rangers remains that there is possibility for more moves. While he mentioned that they were thrilled to add Dorofeyev, and draft Smits, it clearly remains a work in progress and we’ll wait eagerly to see whether he can continue to undo the mess he has largely created for himself.