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

[Peltz]

Trocheck's quotes seems to confirm this.

What did Trocheck say?

 

[Atax]

He doesn't. But then don't bitch when the team's captain, who by all accounts was a pretty beloved guy in the room, is walking around like a zombie. What does it cost Drury to be a bit more open with his players? He's too busy? Got a crazy good 2 for 1 + free garlic knots at Colony Grill that needs his attention.


I mean, you can dumb it down all you want but there's organizational wide issues with this team since Drury took over and now it's bleeding out on to the ice. I get people are mad at players, they want this guy gone, this guy launched to the moon, blah, blah, blah. But he's the GM of the team, managing people and personalities are part of the job. Be better Chris, it's not that hard.

Do you wish Trouba and Goodrow were still on this team?

 

[alkurtz]

It is the responsibility of management to create an atmosphere where workers can thrive. Now sports teams are different from other workplaces in that players can be moved without permission. But still, the buck stops, as it should at the top. No matter how much the players are to blame, this is Drury's doing.

 

[Crease]

I understand being annoyed as a player about how the Trouba and Goodrow things went down.

I don’t. The players should want to win a championship.

 

[mrhockey193195]

So just correct me if I'm wrong. If Drury was nicer to Goodrow/Trouba, the team wouldn't be so terrible?
Kreider and Mika wouldn't continue to be awful at 5v5? Lets ignore Mika going a month last season without an ES goal.
Our putrid defense would somehow be different?
Our inability to score at 5 v 5 last season would somehow be better?

Listen, should/could he do things better? Sure.
But this team had serious flaws last season. Most of us knew that running it back with the same/but older team would be a disaster. Its proving to be.
It has nothing to do with how nice/mean Drury was/is.
The team is just a flawed team that relied upon Special team and its goalie.
Being kind to Goodrow doesnt change that.
Drury recognized it and is getting rid of the bad players.

This is a seriously flawed team. Despite those flaws, we should be a comfortable playoff team. We were near the top of the league with an AWOL Mika, Kreider, a piss poor defense, pedestrain Igor, etc. If we want to contend for a cup, we need some big improvements to our roster. No disagreements there.

The reason this team is the literal worst in the league over the last month is primarily because Drury has pissed off the locker room.

I guess the disagreement between us is whether or not we care that they are at the bottom of the league. Not to put words in your mouth, but I assume your mindset is "better this team tanks and we nuke the whole roster" so you're not too bothered by what's happening. My mindset was - this roster is not good enough to win a cup, but we could make a few savy roster moves to change that. Yes, getting rid of Goodrow and Trouba were savy moves that I'm a big fan of (but you could have done that without causing all of this mess to happen). We could have packaged a combination of Kakko/Miller for a great player at the deadline. We could have traded Lindgren. We could have put Berard in the lineup to inject more "jam" and pace and forechecking before the wheels fell off. etc. So I find what is happening to be unbelievably disappointing.

I also have lost all faith in Drury as the GM of the club. I don't believe he knows how to build a good roster, or how to cultivate a winning atmosphere on his team.

 

[haveandare]

I would say in the recent past this season, Kakko does nothing for the team. Nothing. We need defense. This new guy plays defense, which is our major weakness. So yeah, though not a trade to be excited about, I see the logic. Kakko would be a free agent in a year, and at that point he'd have grown wings and flown the coop. The real frustration stems from the expectations on Kakko and his failure to meet them.

He was one third of the only line that had anything like consistent success this season

 

[Peltz]

Do you wish Trouba and Goodrow were still on this team?

I mean... they didn't justify their contracts by any means, but the team was undoubtedly not in this degree of trouble with them playing.

They are not able to do anything right on the ice these last few weeks.

When Gorton sent "the letter," the team played poorly afterwards, but not like this. The fact that they're in this degree of freefall with the same roster shows that whatever the GM + Coach are doing isn't the right move.

At the end of the day, this is squarely on Drury. He has the highest position in the organization and every outcome during his tenure is ultimately on him.

Even if the team was going to take a step backwards this year, it didn't need to be this ugly and this extreme. That's on Drury.

You may say it's the player's fault, but they play for the organization. Drury is the president of that organization and GM. They + the coach answer to him. And if he isn't getting the results, it's on him.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Do you wish Trouba and Goodrow were still on this team?

No. I'm glad Drury moved them. I'm upset that Drury doesn't understand human emotions and pissed off the whole locker room because he couldn't be bothered to meet with his employees in person a few times. And now the team is in free-fall instead of sustaining a playoff spot and in a position to make additions to the roster at the deadline.

These are not mutually exclusive concepts.

 

[fm]

Does White Castle have a diarrhea problem? An exclusive look at what's bubbling at the Crave Kingdom​

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Do you wish Trouba and Goodrow were still on this team?

No. Maybe Goodrow for another year as I don't think his salary would have stopped them from doing anything this season, especially with Trouba gone. Whether it's illegal or not, Drury did Goodrow dirty and I can see why the players are pissed. My issue with Drury is, he's a fake tough guy. Be a man and talk to these guys like a man. Maybe the fallout wouldn't have been so severe. Big, big, picture, he's made this team worse this year.

 

[Takeahnase]

It was broken by the athletic a few years ago. No questions were ever asked about it but everyone pretty much just ran with it as a fact as far as I know. Personally, I think it happened and didnt mind it. 19 year olds need a kick in the ass sometimes. i sure as shit did.

Yeah but if someone tells me an incident is well documented I expect a level of detail more involved than whatever miniscule detail the Athletic provided. Basically this…

 

[Atax]

No. Maybe Goodrow for another year as I don't think his salary would have stopped them from doing anything this season, especially with Trouba gone. Whether it's illegal or not, Drury did Goodrow dirty and I can see why the players are pissed. My issue with Drury is, he's a fake tough guy. Be a man and talk to these guys like a man. Maybe the fallout wouldn't have been so severe. Big, big, picture, he's made this team worse this year.

Goodrow didnt have a NMC. He got put on waivers. How is that doing him dirty? Because he didnt sit down and have a fireside chat with him?

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Goodrow didnt have a NMC. He got put on waivers. How is that doing him dirty? Because he didnt sit down and have a fireside chat with him?

lol, be serious fella.

 

[Atax]

lol, be serious fella.

I am. How did he do him dirty?

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

I am. How did he do him dirty?

You think it's a coincidence that Drury waives him and he gets claimed by San Jose? A team on his no-trade list with a GM that was a teammate of Drury at BU? Really?

 

[LokiDog]

Amazing how we hate our longest tenured homegrown player.

Chrissy Poo didn’t do himself a single damn favor though in all of this…

 

[Atax]

The reason this team is the literal worst in the league over the last month is primarily because Drury has pissed off the locker room.

Sorry its a bit hard to respond when everyone is replying. I get what your saying and do understand it. I just think its a massive jump to say that the primary reason the team is playing poorly is because of Drury.
I see a ton of fight in the young guys.
I see an awful defense continue to be awful.
I see a bunch of vets who couldnt score at 5v5 last season, still unable to.
The team has just aged and fallen apart.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Sorry its a bit hard to respond when everyone is replying. I get what your saying and do understand it. I just think its a massive jump to say that the primary reason the team is playing poorly is because of Drury.
I see a ton of fight in the young guys.
I see an awful defense continue to be awful.
I see a bunch of vets who couldnt score at 5v5 last season, still unable to.
The team has just aged and fallen apart.

Appreciate the response. I get what you’re saying. The team didn’t look great even when we were 12-4-1. But that being said, there still is a HUGE difference between how we looked in those first 17 games vs the last 14. I don’t think the team got old and regressed in the last six weeks,

 

[Atax]

Appreciate the response. I get what you’re saying. The team didn’t look great even when we were 12-4-1. But that being said, there still is a HUGE difference between how we looked in those first 17 games vs the last 14. I don’t think the team got old and regressed in the last six weeks,

No problem and always appreciate someone being cordial. It was a stark jump for sure. I don't even think they were playing well when they were winning. (Igor). I'm not even sold on Drury. He's made some poor decisions for sure. I think the difference is I saw this core being done after the FL series. Watching the end of something is never pretty.

But anyways, back to POE 2 for me. Maybe things will get better. Or maybe Avery takes over and we all die on in the inside.

Cheers, mate.

 

[Levitate]

Mollie Walker's latest article says Drury has been meeting with team leadership, has met with all the individual players, and met with the team as a whole today before practice

 

[JimmyG89]

I categorically disagree with this. The leadership does not believe they have carte blanche. They are pissed that their management won't show them the bare minimum decency of meeting with them in person and talking to them. The most basic and fundamental things in a healthy work

Every single player has exit interviews, especially those that have letters. Trouba also needed to communicate to the team what teams were on his no trade list. Clearly that was done because he got to block a deal.

We are not privy to those meetings, but I don't think Drury said see you in September for either of them.

The thing is Drury is trying to rip a band-aid past due to be ripped off. It's hanging on by a thread. We can see the wound, but can't fix it.

Drury was proven correct in his assessment of the team. It could have been avoided. Both the players moved and Drury could have handled it better. We're also getting a one sided story from the players not in the organization any longer. We'll likely never get the full details of everything.

But that being said, there still is a HUGE difference between how we looked in those first 17 games vs the last 14. I don’t think the team got old and regressed in the last six weeks,

At the same time, wouldn't the start of the season also negate the on-ice performance stemming from Goodrow? It's more likely they faced adversity and folded.

 

[nyrage]

I wanted Kreider to be the captain. He didn't want it though.

He seems like a good teammate, but he doesn't have the demeanor on the ice to be a good captain.

Ah yes, because if you as a fan don't see something happen, it obviously doesn't happen. Kreider can't possibly be a vocal leader and beloved amongst his teammates. He also can't possibly be someone who speaks up to management and represents the team in closed-door settings.

Who said anything about speaking up to management or behind the scenes? He can be Norma Rae all he wants, but on the ice, he is lazy and doesn't lead by example. It's kind of hard to demand the most out of your teammates when you float on the ice. He's also too laid back except in rare circumstances.

Plus as Mike wrote above, he doesn't want to be captain which should tell you enough about his personality for someone you want to be the leader of your team on the ice.

 

[Nickmo82]

Culture problem? Obviously. It's common knowledge that fading stars love to come here to collect a fat paycheck. Less of a problem in more recent times, but it's still there.

We just traded a guy away - struggling but useful - because he dared to speak the truth to the press regarding the easy ride the "key" guys get at the club. Does the Kakko trade save the season? Or improve the team? Or is it just Drury and Lavi sending the bad man away because he spoke out?

They gave Shesty an albatross contract in a year he's playing like shit - that isn't leverage to get a more team friendly deal?

The team is rotten to the core at management level if you ask me... by which I mean Drury is straight ass as a GM.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Anaheim was on his no trade list and he waived it. That had to have been discussed.

Correct. All those conversations happened across ~24 hours on Friday & Saturday. Some order of "you're going on waivers unless you accept a trade" and "you've been traded to Columbus" on Friday, and then "you've been traded to Anaheim" on Saturday. My understanding is there was zero communication from Drury to Trouba in the ~5 months between July 1 and Friday.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Who said anything about speaking up to management or behind the scenes? He can be Norma Rae all he wants, but on the ice, he is lazy and doesn't lead by example.

This season? Yeah, he has a pretty awful back injury that's he's been playing through. He looks terrible out there (happy to have a separate conversation about the absurdity of hockey culture and the fact that players feel compelled to play through injury).

The last several seasons? Dude has been one of the hardest workers on the ice, one of the most consistent players, and - importantly - one of our few players that has actually shown up in the playoffs. Do we really have such bad memories?

It's kind of hard to demand the most out of your teammates when you float on the ice. He's also too laid back except in rare circumstances.

How on earth do you know that? To my earlier point - just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't happening.

EDIT: I'm realizing you might only be referring to his demeanor on this ice, in which case I take back ^. I don't see his on ice demeanor as problematic, but I can understand why some do. I thought you were referring to him being laid back as a leader in the locker room and elsewhere, which I take exception to.

Plus as Mike wrote above, he doesn't want to be captain which should tell you enough about his personality for someone you want to be the leader of your team on the ice.

Kreids thinks so highly of his teammates to a fault. My understanding is that's the reason he didn't want to be captain - he thought Trouba deserved it more than him.