Just two seasons ago, the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and went on a run to the Eastern Conference Final in the postseason. However, they are now in last place in the Eastern Conference, and the future looks bleak after numerous disappointing trades by general manager (GM) Chris Drury. On Feb. 4, he traded superstar winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings as the team begins to rebuild.
Chris Drury’s Trades During His First Few Seasons as the Rangers’ General Manager
Drury’s tenure as Rangers’ GM started with a surprising move as he traded Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick in July, 2021. Buchnevich had 30 goals and 46 assists in 73 games in his first season with his new team, and 26 goals and 41 assists in 63 games in his second season with them. Blais, a fourth-liner with St. Louis, managed no goals and nine assists in 54 games with New York over two seasons before getting traded back to the Blues.
Despite that disappointing trade, the Rangers had success and made a run to the Eastern Conference Final. Drury had a strong 2022 Trade Deadline, acquiring Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp, and Tyler Motte in smart under-the-radar moves. In 2022-23, he went all-in at the deadline, acquiring Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Niko Mikkola while trading away many draft picks, but the team lost in the first round.
Related: Grading the Kings & Rangers’ Blockbuster Artemi Panarin Trade
In 2023-24, the Rangers had a great season and won the Presidents’ Trophy, but Drury took a much more cautious approach at the 2024 Trade Deadline and traded for Alexander Wennberg and Jack Roslovic rather than targeting star winger Jake Guentzel. It would have made more sense to go all-in at the deadline in 2023-24 than in 2022-23 since the team was having a better season, but they still made a run to the Eastern Conference Final.
Despite the disastrous return in the Buchnevich trade, Drury also made some smart moves, including signing Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract ahead of the 2022-23 season. The team was poised to be competitive last season, but when they struggled, Drury made many questionable decisions.
Drury’s Disappointing Trades With the Anaheim Ducks
When the Rangers struggled early last season, Drury made it clear that he wanted to trade veterans Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, who had both struggled after playing injured. Rather than trading them earlier in their tenure with New York, or waiting until they were healthy and their play improved, he traded them when their value was at its lowest.
Chris Drury attends the 2019 NHL Draft, June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
First, he traded Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Vaakanainen has spent most of this season as a healthy scratch, even with star defenseman Adam Fox out of the lineup, as he does not bring offense to the table and is frequently outmuscled in the defensive zone. Trouba is in the midst of an excellent 2025-26 season and has nine goals and 16 assists in 55 games with the Ducks.
Last offseason, Drury traded Kreider and a fourth-round pick to the Ducks in exchange for center Carey Terrance and a third-round pick. Kreider has 19 goals and 11 assists in 50 games with his new team, while Terrance has three goals and three assists in 43 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.
In comparison, the rival New York Islanders traded Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche at the 2025 Trade Deadline and got a much better haul in return, which included a first-round pick and top prospect Calum Ritchie.
Drury’s Key Trades During the Last Two Seasons
With the Rangers already struggling last season, Drury also decided to trade away some of his young forwards for veterans. He traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for veteran defenseman Will Borgen, who was struggling with Seattle, and a third and sixth-round pick.
After the trade, Borgen played well on New York’s second pair alongside K’Andre Miller, and Drury signed him to a five-season extension. This season, he has provided solid defensive play but has just three goals and three assists in 49 games. Kakko has done a nice job with his new team and has 51 points in 89 games with them since the trade.
Just before the 2024 Trade Deadline, Drury traded skilled but injury-plagued center Filip Chytil and a first-round pick in a deal for J.T. Miller. While the Rangers were able to get a steady center in Miller, he is 32 years old and in just the third season of a seven-year contract with a full no-trade clause. Acquiring him would have made more sense if New York were competitive, but the team was on the brink of a rebuild, so trading a first-rounder for a player signed to a big contract was not ideal.
This offseason, Drury got a nice return of a first and second-round pick, along with prospect Scott Morrow, for K’Andre Miller. He then signed free agent Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-season contract. Both Miller and Gavrikov have played well with their new teams.
This season, the Rangers struggled offensively early on, and later started to struggle defensively as well. Those issues became much worse after star defenseman Fox and starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin got injured, and both are still out. In January, Drury announced in a letter to fans that the team would be beginning a “retool”.
With Panarin in the final season of his contract, Drury traded the 34-year-old star winger to the Kings in exchange for Liam Greentree, a conditional third-round pick, and a conditional fourth-round pick. Even though Panarin had a full no-movement clause, which made it more difficult to trade him, it is disappointing not to get a first-rounder or, at the very least, a second-rounder back in the deal.
Whether the Panarin trade is a successful one for the Rangers will likely come down to how Greentree, who was a late first-round pick in 2024 and is playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, performs going forward.
Drury’s Track Record in Key Trades Is Concerning
While Drury has made some very good moves during his tenure as Rangers’ GM, he has gotten disappointing returns when trading away some of New York’s most important players. They have an aging core and a disappointing group of prospects because he has often overpaid for veterans or traded players when their value is low.
It will likely take multiple seasons to know how the Panarin trade works out for both the Rangers and the Kings, but Drury has a concerning track record when it comes to important deals. Now, it is up to him to start making smart trades, and draft and develop well as New York begins this retool.
