The case for and against Rangers GM Chris Drury

The New York Rangers will play one final meaningless game this week, and then the season of misery ends.

Then the hard part begins fixing a team that has fallen from championship-caliber to lottery-curious almost overnight.

Arguably the biggest question facing ownership is whether or not General Manager Chris Drury deserves the opportunity to clean up a mess that is partially of his making.

There are cases for and against Drury returning as Rangers GM.

Drury's successes are home runs In Drury's tenure as GM, the Rangers have been to the playoffs three times in four years and gone to the Eastern Conference Finals twice.

They also won the President's Trophy with the best record in the league in 2023-24.

Drury has never rested on the idea that the team was good enough he's been regularly aggressive at the trade deadline and in free agency.

His first contract with Igor Shesterkin gave the Rangers arguably the best bang-for-your-buck goaltending in the league for four seasons.

Drury also locked up superstar defender Adam Fox to an eight-year deal off his entry-level contract a rarity for the Rangers.

Drury hit big in signing center Vincent Trocheck in unrestricted free agency to a seven-year deal worth $5.625M annually well below the current market value for a No.

2 center.

The latest feather in his cap: trading a middling prospect, an oft-injured center and a protected first-round pick for No.

1 center J.T.

Miller.

#NYR Vincent Trocheck now has- 7 goals 9 assists 16 points And has a point on all three NYR OT GWGs in the playoffs.

Big time player.

pic.twitter.com/c4ULZMqyC4 Drury's actions show an executive who doesn't believe in the sunk-cost fallacy.

He didn't commit to Ryan Strome following the 2022 playoffs, which looks like a win to this day.

He has also been aggressive in trying to correct his own mistakes from defenseman Patrik Nemeth to replacing coach Gerard Gallant with Peter Laviolette.

Whatever Drury's faults are and we'll get to them he's one of the most aggressive executives in a league known for ones who hate taking chances.

Mistakes piling up We've seen just how quick Drury is to try and correct his own mistakes because of how many he's made during a four-year tenure as GM.

One of his first moves is still universally hated by Rangers fans: trading budding winger Pavel Buchnevich to St.

Louis for a second-round draft pick and grinding fourth-line winger Sammy Blais.

He's done it, folks! Pavel Buchnevich is now officially a star.

And the Rangers officially traded a star for loose change.

pic.twitter.com/b7vCUPu4FD Fast-forward to 2024: Drury wasn't able to address his biggest roster flaws until it was too late, namely the $8M cap hit of defenseman Jacob Trouba.

That situation festered into the season, and the Rangers as a team responded poorly to Drury's now infamous league-wide "memo." USA Today's Vincent Mercogliano reported that this situation didn't sit well with the players adding more kindling to the fire that there was significant dysfunction across the organization, creating morale issues .

The team responded to Drury's memo with a season-defining 4-15-0 stretch across a seven-week span that would make the league-worst San Jose Sharks blush.

The J.T.

Miller trade, while a win on value for Drury, carries with it additional risk due to the conditions of the deal.

The Rangers' collapse post-trade deadline resulted in a difficult choice keep their 2025 No.

1 draft pick or give it to the division-rival Penguins to avoid the risk of losing their unprotected 2026 No.

1 draft pick.

J.T.

Miller giving #NYR a heavy forecheck, this is why you trade for a guy like him.

How many forecheck goals now on the season? @VallysView 3?? pic.twitter.com/Gzn3LrxaEq If Drury leans into his strengths, a course correction is possible.

The risk that accompanies 2025-26 being even worse will loom over and drive this entire offseason.

Reporters on the beat indicate Drury is likely staying.

One way or another, the work begins after Thursday's final whistle vs.

Tampa.

Alex Wiederspiel is a digital reporter, play-by-play broadcaster, radio show host and podcast host in West Virginia covering high school athletics, Division II college athletics, and some West Virginia University athletics.

He's an avid follower of all things hockey and football with a soft spot for prospects -- the future stars of the league.

When not consuming sports, Alex is usually doing something related to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or watching movies for his movie podcast, The Movie Spiel.

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