News Article: Do the Rangers have a culture problem? An exclusive look at what's bubbling at MSG

[McRanger92]

Winning is what creates a good culture. Fix the issues (what is taking place) then put balms on the symptoms - looks like certain players are more comfortable being bros than winning. Time (is passing) to look in the mirror and make adjustments.

PS I’d be totally ok with all of them hating GM and winning because this hate fuels them. I bet Drury too.

A lot of people here also dont remember the genesis of the Rangers blowing up the team at the time of the Letter wasnt because they were a bottom feeder. It was because they had a team of frat boys and aging leadership. The culture has always been an issue since the later AV years.

I mean, they dogged Goodrow and the captain before the season even started. Right or wrong, it's gonna have an affect on the team. Maybe Goodrow was more important than people thought. But maybe don't bring the worst f***ing defenseman on the team back for another year too.

Lindgren will be gone soon enough dont worry.

 

[romba]

Players were used to being treated like royalty, mingling with all levels of staff who stare at them all doughy eyed and getting their fannies kissed. All business now and they no likey. What a bunch of bitches, no wonder they avoid the middle of the ice at all costs.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

He was attempting to augment a roster that was a failure at its foundation. Let's see what he does now that he's not committing to that roster anymore.

Maybe don't move two of the biggest leaders on the team so close together then? Maybe start with one? I didn't have heart for Goodrow or Trouba but it seems like a lot of upheaval for a team who won 55 games last year. He seems very irrational at times. The timing of trades, the announcement of Igor's new deal. Reeks of panic.

 

[kovazub94]

Or, crazy thought, management could put the slightest effort into faking the appearance of caring about them since that appears to be important to them? You know, just actually manage the people that you brought on instead of blaming them for being themselves?

Let’s give them mental health days off too to mop some more.

 

[Machinehead]

Maybe don't move two of the biggest leaders on the team so close together then? Maybe start with one? He seems very irrational at times. The timing of trades, the announcement of Igor's new deal. Reeks of panic.

Good. We are panicking. We're sitting here watching this team chase its tail for years on end, and they were staring down a real nuclear winter if they continued to try and rent with this roster that wasn't winning anything.

This is a situation that called for urgency.

 

[JohnC]

Sure, and to be honest I'd rather them get it that some of these Fredo owners. And look, 90% of the time a guy gets traded and the other players go about their business. I'm sure it sucked to see Staal, Girardi, Zuc, f***ing Hank! go, but the team didn't crater. Which leads me to think management f***ed shit up real bad. Move the guys, but move them in a way that's not gonna destroy the room. Isn't that part of being a GM? Making sure your moves don't make things worse? I've seen and heard enough about the way Drury goes about things to believe it's more on him than the players at this point.

A really underrated point. I’m supposed to believe Chris Kreider’s been on this team for 10 years and watched a dozen franchise greats/favorites get moved out but all of a sudden he’s turned into Columbus Jeff Carter over Barclay Goodrow?

It’s clearly the way the business is being conducted because the GM has the personality of a potato.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

It's not that Drury was wrong with the decisions regarding trying to move Goodrow and Trouba stuff over the summer. Those were the right moves in a hard cap league.

I think the real issue is from the players' end, they feel that they earned the right to not see any big changes because they had a good season and got so close. They think that by having a good year they deserved the right to keep the team together and then when Drury tried to make one move and another and another each time they felt more and more aggrieved as a group and now into the season it's snowballed and festered.

I can see it from both sides but I think the players need to realize, that's not how it works. Florida won the President's trophy and a round in the playoffs and then traded their longest tenured player, in his prime, coming off a 100+ point season. I'm sure that was super painful emotionally for most of the room but 2 years later they're lifting the Cup. This is a business and the goal is to win the cup, period. Not win the cup with your best friends, not go on deep runs with your best friends, not cultivate relationships and maybe win. It's to win. You got close but not close enough so the people above you whose job it is to build the team, need to make necessary moves as they see fit - that's above your 'pay grade' (metaphorically) as a player.

 

[Graves97]

Or, crazy thought, management could put the slightest effort into faking the appearance of caring about them since that appears to be important to them? You know, just actually manage the people that you brought on instead of blaming them for being themselves?

How about the blame lies somewhere in the middle. 100% correct that management has a job to do in regards to the players and the culture, but the player also have a job to do which they haven't been doing for over a month now.

We're in a situation where its become a pissing match between both groups with us the fans being the ones that ultimately suffer because we actually care about the team and arent getting paid millions.

 

[kovazub94]

The main difference is that they're getting paid a lot more money than we are to tolerate things we all have to tolerate.

Being in top 0.1% earners should hold them to the higher standards, not lower. Are they humans and have human feelings - sure but because of their pay they owe more to the rest of us to suck it up and perform.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Good. We are panicking. We're sitting here watching this team chase its tail for years on end, and they were staring down a real nuclear winter if they continued to try and rent with this roster that wasn't winning anything.

This is a situation that called for urgency.

I don't agree. I would have moved Trouba, not resigned Lindgren, and kept Goodrow. If they're as bad as you contend, you could have let the season play out (they weren't winning anything anyway, right?) and started dealing at the deadline when you could have driven up the price on some of these players. And maybe the guys with NTs would be more willing to go to a contender. Obviously Drury hates the roster, what makes you think the guy was going to rent at the deadline?

 

[nyrage]

Nice to wake up to the Rangers have a culture problem and the Jets owner is a problem stories today.

Yeah, no shit. Tell me something I don't know.

Drury & Dolan being assholes and the Rangers players being soft babies isn't mutually exclusive.

Frankly, I want the Rangers to blow it up. We will never win with this core. Unfortunately most of the core has a no or partial trade clause. Even worse, it's Drury in charge of trying to rectify this problem.

If this was Interstellar, I would be ready to go down for the long-nap. Unfortunately I don't have a hyper-sleep pod, so endure we must. Hopefully all these bums (Drury included) are off the team in 2 years or less.

 

[will1066]

A really underrated point. I’m supposed to believe Chris Kreider’s been on this team for 10 years and watched a dozen franchise greats/favorites get moved out but all of a sudden he’s turned into Columbus Jeff Carter over Barclay Goodrow?

It’s clearly the way the business is being conducted because the GM has the personality of a potato.

Then why did he take the extension and NTC with such a bad work environment?

 

[haveandare]

How about the blame lies somewhere in the middle. 100% correct that management has a job to do in regards to the players and the culture, but the player also have a job to do which they haven't been doing for over a month now.

We're in a situation where its become a pissing match between both groups with us the fans being the ones that ultimately suffer because we actually care about the team and arent getting paid millions.

Yea I 100% agree the players are at fault and need to find a way to muster up a shit for themselves, each other and the fans.

Just saying the management stuff is real and not just about trading players away

Let’s give them mental health days off too to mop some more.

Ok, keep treating them like disposable assets - it’s really doing wonders as we can all see

 

[will1066]

Nice to wake up to the Rangers have a culture problem and the Jets owner is a problem stories today.

Yeah, no shit. Tell me something I don't know.

Drury & Dolan being assholes and the Rangers players being soft babies isn't mutually exclusive.

Frankly, I want the Rangers to blow it up. We will never win with this core. Unfortunately most of the core has a no or partial trade clause. Even worse, it's Drury in charge of trying to rectify this problem.

If this was Interstellar, I would be ready to go down for the long-nap. Unfortunately I don't have a hyper-sleep pod, so endure we must. Hopefully all these bums (Drury included) are off the team in 2 years or less.

Does every hour on Planet Rangers feel like 7 years back in reality?

 

[Guyute]

Nice to see Vince write an interesting article. Not likely going to win him any favors with Drury though

 

[fm]

Anyone ever work for a dysfunctional org?When the ship is starting to go down? A company where layoffs or firings are imminent? City Hall when indictments are flying around?

Clique A leaks that Clique B is dogging it. Clique C affirms that clique A is full of shit.

We’ve seen separate news stories now insisting that the players are dogshit, that the GM is a buffoon, that the sins of previous admins are to blame, that the coach is mismanaging the situation.

Where does the buck stop?

 

[nyrage]

Does every hour on Planet Rangers feel like 7 years back in reality?

Lol, every game this past month feels like we're being swallowed into Gargantua. No light is getting out.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Being in top 0.1% earners should hold them to the higher standards, not lower. Are they humans and have human feelings - sure but because of their pay they owe more to the rest of us to suck it up and perform.

This is true in theory. Yet, this shit still affects them, regardless of what we fans think. They are people. Sergei Zubov would be holed up in his room in the Penn Hotel chain smoking cigarettes on game days because he was so nervous about being traded the year they won the Cup. And as a GM, you need to know the temperature of the room because well, that's part of your job. And if it hurts your chances of winning, what's the point?

 

[SA16]

Wait a second here I thought people wanted the organization to "make players lives miserable" in order to convince them to waive their NMC and get rid of the country club style environment but now that they have instituted some more restrictive policies they are completely wrong for doing so?

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

It's not that Drury was wrong with the decisions regarding trying to move Goodrow and Trouba stuff over the summer. Those were the right moves in a hard cap league.

I think the real issue is from the players' end, they feel that they earned the right to not see any big changes because they had a good season and got so close. They think that by having a good year they deserved the right to keep the team together and then when Drury tried to make one move and another and another each time they felt more and more aggrieved as a group and now into the season it's snowballed and festered.

I can see it from both sides but I think the players need to realize, that's not how it works. Florida won the President's trophy and a round in the playoffs and then traded their longest tenured player, in his prime, coming off a 100+ point season. I'm sure that was super painful emotionally for most of the room but 2 years later they're lifting the Cup. This is a business and the goal is to win the cup, period. Not win the cup with your best friends, not go on deep runs with your best friends, not cultivate relationships and maybe win. It's to win. You got close but not close enough so the people above you whose job it is to build the team, need to make necessary moves as they see fit - that's above your 'pay grade' (metaphorically) as a player.

Florida moved players and made the team better. Drury moves players and makes the team worse though.

 

[will1066]

Lol, every game this past month feels like we're being swallowed into Gargantua. No light is getting out.

Matthew McConaughey watching Rangers games

 

[eco's bones]

If there's a Drury problem and it wouldn't shock me at all then get rid of him. Some of the players have stuck their necks out a little far and they might need to go too. If every time a trade is made some player needs to criticize it....WTF! As well as players who are underperforming because they just can't cut it on a good team anymore. That seems to be where Mika is at. I'm sorry....he used to be a really good player but he's not now and if it's his music ventures or his diet factoring into this then he needs to stop those activities and/or habits or he and his cap hit can retire and he can do what he likes. No one is holding a gun to his f***ing head and he should have plenty of money.

But to go back to this Kakko trade....when you hear multiple teams are interested....including several (3/4?) west coast teams and the best you can do is a 3rd pairing contract expiring defenseman and a 3rd and a 6th in a so so draft I just find that a little hard to believe that that's the best he could have done. Maybe Chris just wanted to get it over and took whatever to make it happen the fastest. Personally I think he's every bit a part of this shitshow melodrama too. I'm pretty much annoyed at him and the better part of the team.

 

[nyrage]

Matthew McConaughey watching Rangers games

That's funny. I had just changed my profile pic to another one from that scene.

 

[will1066]

That's funny. I had just changed my profile pic to another one from that scene.

hahahahaha

 

[B17 Apricots]

I think my main takeaway here is that I don't like Dolan, Drury or the players at this point.

Hex, Spies, and Smaller Plates - A Final Analysis of the Flyers' firing of Ron Hextall

Work in and around professional sports long enough, and there are always going to be stories you cannot tell publicly. It’s the nature of the beast. Keeping some stories under wraps is how you build trust. It’s how you develop relationships with sources. It’s how you become an “insider,” so to...

www.crossingbroad.com

Does anyone remember this absurd story from a few years ago about the Flyers internal issues. Our situation is beginning to remind me of this... and interestingly enough? Gord Murphy was Hextall's little snake. Why did we hire him? When that story came out it never sat right with me that Gord Murphy was brought into the organization. He was brought in under Gorton, but Drury was the assistant GM and the GM of Hartford. They hired Gord Murphy after the Philly fiasco and made him an associate head coach in Hartford. Drury promoted him to assistant coach in NY when he brought Gallant in. He's gone now, but I'm curious what his real role was here? It's a small blip on the radar but it kind of makes you wonder the sort of headspace we're dealing with here when someone with that sort of history is willingly brought into the organization.

We're hearing about some of these things about Drury, and largely probably an extention of Dolan... but it seems like we're trending in the direction of Hextall in Philly. It's like we had this shitty country club environment, and now Drury/Dolan are pushing it too far in the other direction... much like what happened in Philly. And I don't mean by strong arming unnecessary players off the team for cap purposes. I'm talking about these stupid little things we're hearing about that make for a toxic work environment. There's a balance to be had.