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The fact that Chris Drury will be back for a fifth season as Rangers team president and general manager didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention, but last week’s “multi-year” extension announcement officially erased any doubt.
From owner James Dolan’s perspective, the motivation was twofold: 1) A public vote of confidence to let those who have been clamoring for change know it’s not happening; and B) A message sent to disgruntled players that Drury’s way of running things still has firm support from the top.
But was it the right call? That’s a point of contention among a frustrated fan base, which spurred the idea to examine Drury’s track record as he approaches Monday’s four-year anniversary as front-office boss.
Much has been said (and written) about the organization’s fractured culture and the friction caused by Drury’s handling of players and team employees, but for the purposes of this exercise, we’re focusing on his hockey decisions and how every move has impacted team performance.
That, above all else, will determine how much longer the 48-year-old’s tenure lasts, regardless of any contract extension.
On Drury’s watch, the Rangers have accumulated a 193-105-30 regular-season record with three playoff appearances, two trips to the Eastern Conference Final and one Presidents’ Trophy. But this past season was a huge disappointment, bringing personnel choices and roster construction into question.
A flurry of transactions have unfolded each season, which I’ve combed through and grouped into the following categories:
Wins − A trade or signing that clearly benefited the Rangers and left the roster in a better place.Losses − A move that didn’t work out and left the team in worse shape in terms of results, salary cap and/or asset management.Pushes − A transaction that came with relatively equal positives and negatives, making it difficult to declare one way or the other. This especially applied to short-term deals that didn’t harm the Rangers’ asset pool and trades in which the jury remains out.
We didn’t include minor-league or entry-level players because there’s very little wiggle room with those contracts and many of the prospects are still developing, so it’s hard to pass judgment yet. We’ll also wait until a later date to grade out Drury’s draft classes.
This critical analysis is strictly focused on contracts signed − both external free agents and internal extensions − and trades executed. There was plenty there to keep us busy, with final tallies and explanations included at the conclusion of each season’s log. All transactions are listed in chronological order.
2021-22 seasonWins
Offseason
RE-SIGNED – LHD Ryan Lindgren to three-year, $9 million contractRE-SIGNED – C Filip Chytil to two-year, $4.6 million contractRE-SIGNED – G Igor Shesterkin to four-year, $22.667 million contract
In-season
EXTENDED – RHD Adam Fox to seven-year, $66.5 million contractTRADE – Acquired F Frank Vatrano from Florida for 2022 fourth-round pickTRADE – Acquired F Tyler Motte from Vancouver for 2023 fourth-round pickPushes
Offseason
TRADE AND SIGN – Acquired F Barclay Goodrow from Tampa in exchange for 2022 seventh-round pick, then signed him to a six-year, $21.85 million contractSIGNED − F Dryden Hunt to two-year, $1.525 million contractSIGNED − F Greg McKegg to one-year, $750,000 contract
In-season
EXTENDED – C Mika Zibanejad to eight-year, $68 million contractTRADE – Acquired RHD Justin Braun from Philadelphia for 2023 third-round pickTRADE – Acquired F Andrew Copp and 2023 sixth-round pick from Winnipeg for F Morgan Barron, 2022 conditional second-round pick (which became a first), 2022 second-round pick and 2023 fifth-round pickLosses
Offseason
TRADE – Sent F Brett Howden to Vegas for RHD Nick DeSimone and 2022 fourth-round pickTRADE – Sent F Pavel Buchnevich to St. Louis for F Sammy Blais and 2022 second-round pickSIGNED – LHD Patrik Nemeth to a three-year, $7.5 million contractSIGNED − LHD Jarred Tinordi to two-year, $1.8 million contractTRADE AND SIGN – Acquired F Ryan Reaves from Vegas for 2022 third-round pick, then signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million extensionAnalysis
Drury tried to take a big swing his first summer on the job by making multiple attempts to acquire star center Jack Eichel, but he ran into roadblocks from the Buffalo Sabres (specifically owner Terry Pegula) and was unable to pull it off. From there, he pivoted to locking up existing members of the core assembled by his predecessor, Jeff Gorton, with those players carrying the team to the conference finals.
Lindgren, Chytil and Shesterkin were signed to team-friendly deals that worked out quite well, but the biggest commitments went to Fox and Zibanejad, whose extensions combined for an average annual value of $18 million. Fox was coming off a Norris Trophy-winning season and still feels like a clear win, but while Zibanejad would post new career highs in points in back-to-back seasons after inking his deal, he’s fallen into the “push” category with a dramatic drop-off the last two. That contract still may end up as a loss, especially with five years remaining and a full no-movement clause for four of them.
Meanwhile, Drury’s offseason plan to make the Rangers “harder to play against” mostly flopped.
Of the four primary additions who were acquired that summer to play nightly NHL roles (Blais, Goodrow, Nemeth and Reaves), Goodrow was the only one I didn’t mark as a loss. He brought a culture-changing attitude and produced some big playoff moments, but it was also an overpay for a fourth-line center that led to him being waived three years later. The Nemeth signing was a disaster that would cost Drury multiple draft picks to get rid of a year later and the Buchnevich trade left a gaping hole at 1RW that hasn’t been properly filled since. He’s gone on to become an all-situations force in St. Louis, while Blais tore his ACL and managed only nine assists in 54 nondescript games in New York. Those will go down as two of Drury’s biggest blemishes.
His trade-deadline moves worked out much better. Acquiring both Motte and Vatrano for fourth-round picks added critical role players at reasonable costs. The price for Copp was much higher and gutted the Rangers of some very valuable draft picks, but he averaged more than a point per game and certainly helped the cause.
Final tally: 6 wins, 5 losses and 6 pushes
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2022-23 seasonWins
Offseason
TRADE – Sent G Alexandar Georgiev to Colorado for two third-round picks (2022 and 2023) and 2022 fifth-round pickSIGNED – C Vincent Trocheck to seven-year, $39.375 million contractRE-SIGNED – F Kaapo Kakko to two-year, $4.2 million contractTRADE – Sent RHD Nils Lundkvist to Dallas for 2023 first-round pick and 2025 conditional fourth-round pick
In-season
EXTENDED – F Jimmy Vesey to two-year, $1.6 million contractPushes
Offseason
RE-SIGNED − F Julien Gauthier to one-year, $800,000 contractRE-SIGNED − F Vitali Kravtsov to one-year, $875,000 contractRE-SIGNED − LHD Libor Hájek to one-year, $800,000 contractSIGNED − G Jaroslav Hálak to one-year, $1.5 million contractSIGNED − F Ryan Carpenter to one-year, $750,000 contract
In-season
TRADE – Acquired F Vladimir Tarasenko and LHD Niko Mikkola from St. Louis for Blais, RHD Hunter Skinner, 2023 conditional first-round pick and 2024 conditional third-round pickTRADE – Acquired Motte from Ottawa for Gauthier and 2023 seventh-round pickEXTENDED – Chytil to four-year, $17.75 million contractLosses
Offseason
TRADE – Sent Nemeth and two second-round picks (2025 and 2026) to Arizona for RHD Ty EmbersonRE-SIGNED − Blais to one-year, $1.525 million contract
In-season
TRADE – Sent Reaves to Minnesota for 2025 fifth-round pick  TRADE – Sent Kravtsov to Vancouver for F William Lockwood and 2026 seventh-round pickTRADE – Acquired F Patrick Kane and LHD Cooper Zech from Chicago for 2023 conditional second-round pick, 2025 conditional third-round pick, 2023 fourth-round pick and RHD Andy WelinskiAnalysis
Drury did a solid job of replenishing draft capital by offloading Georgiev and Lundkvist, with their performances since reinforcing the notion that it was the right time to pull the plug. On the other hand, surrendering two second-rounders just to convince the Coyotes to take Nemeth one year after signing him was a damning admission of fault.
Trocheck still stands as the most notable UFA signing under Drury. He provided an upgrade over previous second-line center Ryan Strome, who the Rangers wisely chose to let go that summer, and remains the only outside addition in four years who’s made a lasting impact. Up until recently, he was the only core member Drury could claim as his own.
Conversely, the 2023 trade deadline didn’t work out nearly as well. Landing Tarasenko and Mikkola in the same deal felt like a win at the time, even if it didn’t age as well as all parties hoped, but trading for a compromised version of Kane was overkill. Drury got caught star-gazing and lost sight of the identity he and then-head coach Gerard Gallant were trying to establish.
The Rangers parted with six draft picks at that deadline and still ended up getting bounced by the Devils in the first round. Making matters worse, Drury sold off a former top-10 pick (Kravtsov) for pennies on the dollar after tanking his value by holding him for too long.
Final tally: 5 wins, 5 losses and 8 pushes
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2023-24 seasonWins
Offseason
SIGNED – G Jonathan Quick to one-year, $825,000 contractRE-SIGNED – F Alexis Lafrenière to two-year, $4.65 million contract
In-season
EXTENDED – F Jonny Brodzinski to two-year, $1.575 million contractPushes
Offseason
RE-SIGNED – LHD Zac Jones to two-year, $1.625 million contractSIGNED – F Blake Wheeler to one-year, $800,000 contractSIGNED – LHD Erik Gustafsson to one-year, $825,000 contractRE-SIGNED – LHD K’Andre Miller to two-year, $7.744 million contract
In-season
TRADE – Acquired F Jack Roslovic from Columbus for 2026 fourth-round pickLosses
Offseason
SIGNED – C Nick Bonino to one-year, $800,000 contractSIGNED – F Tyler Pitlick to one-year, $775,000 contract
In-season
TRADE – Acquired C Alexander Wennberg from Seattle for 2024 second-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pickTRADE – Acquired RHD Chad Ruhwedel from Pittsburgh for 2027 fourth-round pickAnalysis
Interestingly, the Rangers had their most successful season under Drury in 2023-24 despite very few transactions working out.
They were cap-strapped heading into that offseason and went bargain hunting with a quartet of sub-$1 million contracts for veterans nearing the end of their careers. The risk was limited, but the only “win” signing was Quick. Wheeler looked slow and ineffective before getting hurt, while Bonino and Pitlick were both waived by midseason.
The in-season trades didn’t help much, either. I marked Roslovic as a push, mainly because the price tag was so low, but he never clicked in the top-line RW spot they acquired him to play. And Wennberg managed only five points (one goal and four assists) in 19 regular-season games, then another two (granted one was a game-winning goal) across 16 playoff appearances. That’s nowhere near the production the Rangers were hoping for when they gave up a couple draft picks to get him.
The move that made the biggest impact was the hiring of head coach Peter Laviolette, who brought much-needed structure and a hard-working mentality. That pushed the team to a Presidents’ Trophy and second conference finals trip in three years, but those good vibes would vanish the very next season.
Final tally: 3 wins, 4 losses and 5 pushes
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2024-25 seasonWins
Offseason
SIGNED – C Sam Carrick to one-year, $3 million contract
In-season
EXTENDED – Shesterkin to eight-year, $92 million contractTRADE – Sent RHD Jacob Trouba to Anaheim for LHD Urho Vaakanainen and 2025 fourth-round pickTRADE – Acquired F J.T. Miller, RHD Erik Brannström and LHD Jackson Dorrington from Vancouver for Chytil, RHD Victor Mancini and 2025 conditional first-round pickTRADE – Sent Lindgren, Vesey and LHD Hank Kempf to Colorado for F Juuso Pärssinen, D Calvin de Haan, 2025 second-round pick and 2025 fourth-round pickPushes
Offseason
RE-SIGNED – Kakko to one-year, $2.4 million contractRE-SIGNED – RHD Braden Schneider to two-year, $4.4 million contractRE-SIGNED – Lindgren to one-year, $4.5 million contract
In-season
TRADE – Sent Kakko to Seattle for RHD Will Borgen, 2025 third-round pick and 2025 sixth-round pickEXTENDED – Borgen to five-year, $20.5 million contractEXTENDED – Vaakanainen to two-year, $3.1 million contractEXTENDED – Quick to one-year, $1.55 million contractTRADE – Sent F Reilly Smith to Vegas for F Brendan Brisson and 2025 third-round pickLosses
Offseason
TRADE – Acquired Smith from Pittsburgh for 2027 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick
In-season
EXTENDED – Lafrenière to seven-year, $52.15 million contractTRADE – Acquired LHD Carson Soucy from Vancouver for 2025 third-round pickAnalysis
It’s too soon to tell how some of these moves will age, which is why we ended up with eight pushes, but this past season represented Drury’s most sweeping changes after three years of keeping the core mostly intact.
Waiting this long to put his stamp on the roster came back to bite him, with the Blueshirts crumbling before our eyes and missing the playoffs for the first time in four years. But while the ensuing scramble left the locker room in a state of disarray and brought Drury’s management tactics into question, most of his on-the-fly trades graded out fairly well considering the self-inflicted circumstances.
Finding a team to absorb Trouba’s full $8 million cap hit for the rest of this season and the next caught many around the league by surprise, while the value Drury netted for Lindgren and Vesey − a couple of pending UFAs everyone knew he had no intention of re-signing − was also better than expected. And while there is certainly risk involved with taking on J.T. Miller, who’s already 32 and carries five more seasons at an $8 million AAV, the trade instantly made the Rangers better while infusing their lineup with the tenacity Drury struggled to acquire in previous cycles.
The Kakko trade will require more time to properly evaluate. Selling low on a former No. 2 overall pick is never a great look, especially if he continues to blossom in Seattle. But it will ease the blow if Borgen has an effective stay in New York after inking a five-year extension.
The Soucy deal could be viewed in a different light by this time next year, but he looked like a bad fit during the initial 16-game sample. Adding his $3.25 million cap hit for next season feels like a hasty decision that will limit the Rangers’ ability to improve a flailing D corps.
And then there’s all the extensions Drury handed out. Giving Shesterkin a record-breaking deal for goalies was a necessary evil to ensure his most important player didn’t hit unrestricted free agency this summer, but he could have waited on Lafrenière. The fear was that his price tag would skyrocket if he produced a big season, but instead the former No. 1 overall pick raised red flags with only 38 points (13 goals and 25 assists) in 75 games after signing the October deal. His defensive lapses and negligible all-around impact were equally concerning.
It all leaves Drury in a difficult spot, with an understanding that more roster surgery will be required and at least one or two more big fish added to prevent this aging, stagnant core from bottoming out. It’s been a mixed bag to this point, with a dearth of moves that made a lasting mark and some glaring missteps, but his tenure will ultimately be judged by how he proceeds at this critical juncture.
Final tally: 5 wins, 3 losses and 8 pushes
Four-year tally: 19 wins, 17 losses and 27 pushes
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.