Confirmed with Link: Drury President and GM

[Gardner McKay]

I like Drury but not more than JD and Gorton. JD had the midas touch and they're canning him after two seasons? I hate this.

Pretty much my feelings on this. I don't think Gorton and JD had done anything worthy of being fired. Obviously we don't know what goes on behind closed doors but when you look at our rebuild compared to many other rebuilds around the league, it is apparent we are doing something right.

I like Drury and make no mistake, he is absolutely qualified to fill the role of GM after being an AGM for the last what, 4 or 5 years? Under different circumstances I would probably be quite happy to see Drury take the reigns of this team. But not this way. Not over JG and JD who, in my opinion, are the cream of the crop in the NHL. Especially JD. That guy bled Ranger blue all the way and I think how this was handled is absolutely abhorrent.

If the Rangers somehow manage to win a cup under Drury's tenure, I'm sure I'll get over it. But the fact is, he will have won it with the foundation built by his predecessors while deserving credit for getting them past the finish line. Nothing would have made me happier than to see the Rangers win the cup with JD as President. Well, I take that back. Lundqvist getting a cup.

But in my 25+ years of watching Rangers hockey, and sports in general, I've never had something sports related rub me in such a bad way.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Once JD stepped in, it was difficult to tell who made which call. Gorton and JD felt like a "2 captains trying to run 1 ship" situation. Drury basically taking over both positions means we have some authority again.

Drury is responsible and accountable for everything. He will inherit a young team, with a shit ton of talent, and a shit ton of cap space next season. They're setting him up to succeed (or fail, depending on how he does).

That is a double edged sword though.

What would current leadership have been able to do if they had that cap space? If the timing of this and the Wilson incident is truly a coincidence (and honestly, it isn't), how does one overlook all the dead cap space this team had and what JG had to do in order to undo all of Sather's mistakes?

 

[duhmetreE]

I trusted Gorton and JD with talent evaluation.

IF Drury can follow suit but with a semblance of urgency, it's the best of both worlds.

Problems always start at the top. If Gorton and JD weren't showing 'urgency'... neither would the coach. If the coach wasn't, neither were the players. If you accept losing, that's a problem. It doesn't matter if you're in a rebuild or not.

The one major knock I can pin on Gorton... His locker rooms were weak.

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

I just don't see it with Dolan. I don't think he gives a shit about hockey.

I think this was a pissing match behind the scenes..

I think cocaine james is a bored billionaire owner who's crappy band can't fill earholes with poop and is seeing his primarily in person entertainment driven empire lose a ton of money and wants competitive rangers now. Now with vaccines happening, nyc opening up, and the Rangers just a few tweaks away from a playoff team anyway, all that might happen naturally and he can go back to making shitty music and ignoring the Rangers.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Pretty much my feelings on this. I don't think Gorton and JD had done anything worthy of being fired. Obviously we don't know what goes on behind closed doors but when you look at our rebuild compared to many other rebuilds around the league, it is apparent we are doing something right.

I like Drury and make no mistake, he is absolutely qualified to fill the role of GM after being an AGM for the last what, 4 or 5 years? Under different circumstances I would probably be quite happy to see Drury take the reigns of this team. But not this way. Not over JG and JD who, in my opinion, are the cream of the crop in the NHL. Especially JD. That guy bled Ranger blue all the way and I think how this was handled is absolutely abhorrent.

If the Rangers somehow manage to win a cup under Drury's tenure, I'm sure I'll get over it. But the fact is, he will have won it with the foundation built by his predecessors while deserving credit for getting them past the finish line. Nothing would have made me happier than to see the Rangers win the cup with JD as President. Well, I take that back. Lundqvist getting a cup.

But in my 25+ years of watching Rangers hockey, and sports in general, I've never had something sports related rub me in such a bad way.

Yeah, JD was a hero to me and I only really watched the Rangers with him as the color commentator for 5 seasons. And maybe it's nostalgia for my teenage years. But he seemed like such a gentleman and an excellent representative of this organization and then Dolan stabbed him in the back.

 

[ohbaby]

This news, this garbage, from who knows what sources, is the most misleading, and outright lame bull I have ever witnessed. What must they think of us, in order to shovel up this slop for us?

"According to sources, Gorton and Davidson were not involved with the issuing of that statement; it came from Dolan's office."

This is total horse hockey! The biggest bunch of baloney I have ever experienced. It's unconscionable that Dolan expects us Ranger Fans to believe that there is no connection between issuing that statement, and their immediate dismissal hours later. Their firings can be nothing but retribution for the President and GM sending that statement calling for the head of NHL player safety. And if anyone thinks otherwise, they are an Idiot with a capital I.

You would never do those two things, statement and firing so close together, if you weren't trying to send a strong message that they are connected. Dolan could have released them after the season. What was the rush? Our playoff hopes were dashed.

JD and Gorton have been perhaps the best management team this club ever had. And they won't say a word against Dolan, or who really issued the statement, if they ever wanna work in the NHL again.

I am in shock, and fear where the future might lie with a Dolan puppet in charge. How Drury survived this is obvious.

The owner of the NY Rangers just crapped all over their devoted fan base to save face with the NHL brass.

My love for this team will never be the same. Just a horrible turn of events all due to an inexcusable non-action by the NHL.

My heart hurts.​

 

[Pizza]

Drury is an absolute snake,

Every one has their detractors I guess, but snake is not the sense of Drury that I get.

Where does this take come from?

 

[Rempe73]

Drury has been Gorton's protégé for a few years now. I have a hard time believing that you can like Gorton's approach but dislike Drury's approach, unless he goes off the rails. My biggest concern is how involved will Dolan be and how much autonomy Drury will have...

The approach is great. The execution will be different imo.

 

[ohbaby]

.....But in my 25+ years of watching Rangers hockey, and sports in general, I've never had something sports related rub me in such a bad way.

You're not kidding. I'd like nothing better than for this to come back and bite Dolan in the ass. Such an impetuous spoiled brat. I'd like to take him over my knee and give him what he deserves. Guy was handed a golden spoon at birth, being the son of the Cablevision founder. Dolan battled drug and alcohol problems and was reportedly known for having a volatile temper. Does that seem familiar with the rapid firing of his GM and President after a scathing letter to NHL Brass which he is a part of?

Did you know two months ago, Dolan had a fan removed from a Knicks game at MSG for wearing a t-shirt reading, "Ban Dolan"? He is such an insecure, impetuous, spoiled brat.

The firing of his GM and President hours after a scathing letter, and then misleading the public (he owns media outlets) leaking word that the letter came from his office and had no connection to the firings, is right up his alley and seems exactly like his MO.

To think he can pull the wool over NYer's who can smell bull from miles away, is even more egregious than the firings themselves.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

That is a double edged sword though.

What would current leadership have been able to do if they had that cap space? If the timing of this and the Wilson incident is truly a coincidence (and honestly, it isn't), how does one overlook all the dead cap space this team had and what JG had to do in order to undo all of Sather's mistakes?

I agree there. I think Gorton had to work with what he was given. A bad legacy. And Drury gets to work with a young team full of talent ready to break out, and dead cap coming off the books starting this summer.

I'd have to look this up but how many teams have a president that is as hands on as JD was in his 2 years here?

Ultimately it comes down to how Drury uses that cap space, and the assets given to him but Gorton had to clean up a big mess twice, and set up a team for success twice without being there to see it through. It sucks.

 

[NYSPORTS]

That is a double edged sword though.

What would current leadership have been able to do if they had that cap space? If the timing of this and the Wilson incident is truly a coincidence (and honestly, it isn't), how does one overlook all the dead cap space this team had and what JG had to do in order to undo all of Sather's mistakes?

this is a horrible situation. Was all in on J.D and Gordon and certainly didn’t want to see change.

cap space or no cap space they could have handled some situations differently imo
- resigning Kreider sent a message they were closer to winning
- the Carolina series indicated what was missing and they really did not address any toughness
- Quinn was making too many mistakes, odd timing of line changes and combinations
- i know it’s not one guy but a Howden didn’t help while limited cap dollars were tied up in Jack Johnson and TDA not playing

Awful situation and now what? Not sure anybody knows what’s in store but i’m betting some kids we really like are going to be moved for age. Hopefully that age isn’t north of 30.

 

[egelband]

Is it true that Dolan wants Messier as president? Someone said the Post mentioned that.

They would have left the President position open if they were looking elsewhere. If Drury were a place-holder for either role, it’s for GM.

 

[Crease]

No to Messier. His heart is in the right place, but he can be an egotistical maniac, and for whatever reason thinks it’s beneath him to gain professional experience before stepping into a major role.

I can see Lundqvist back in a “special assistant” role sooner than later.

 

[egelband]

Yeah, JD was a hero to me and I only really watched the Rangers with him as the color commentator for 5 seasons. And maybe it's nostalgia for my teenage years. But he seemed like such a gentleman and an excellent representative of this organization and then Dolan stabbed him in the back.

Yeah. I feel the same. I love JD. He was done dirty here. I have no idea what went down but I refuse to believe JD did anything that warranted being unceremoniously dumped with 3 games remaining in the season. JG too, really. But especially JD. The more I think about it, the more upset i feel.

 

[AirGut]

No to Messier. His heart is in the right place, but he can be an egotistical maniac, and for whatever reason thinks it’s beneath him to gain professional experience before stepping into a major role.

I can see Lundqvist back in a “special assistant” role sooner than later.

It's just sad man.....who's out there to really help this team? Messier is the only name I can think of with enough passion to try and help out the organization get back to being a contender.

 

[Unusual Suspect]

Randoms:

The only hope for Drury carrying out the essential rebuild strategy authored by Gorton/Davidson is if those two were fired exclusively, or nearly so, for the insubordination Dolan perceived in any calls they made to other execs disclaiming responsibility for words that came from Dolan. (And no, they didn't back away from supporting their players in the Wilson incident; they almost certainly were specifically horrified by the personal remarks about Parros being unfit for his job). In any other circumstance, Drury would only be retained IF he expressed a willingness to significantly deviate from the program currently in place.

Messier is laughable. Stop it.

Finally... I'm not much of a Quinn basher. Plenty has gone right under his leadership, and some other areas have been questionable. But I suspect, despite him and Drury having that Boston love thing going on, he'll be next. You'd also think a course correction would lead away from another rookie NHL coach and toward a known name, one noted for liking a harder style of play. But... Drury has put in a lot of time with Kris Knoblauch, and was even behind the NYR bench with him for a while this season, a time when the team seemd to respond unexpectedly well to the abrupt changes behind the bench. I'm not seeing Knoblauch mentioned in any posts as a likely candidate to replace Quinn but I think he needs to be considered as a legitimate one.

 

[DolansKazoo]

I think cocaine james is a bored billionaire owner who's crappy band can't fill earholes with poop and is seeing his primarily in person entertainment driven empire lose a ton of money and wants competitive rangers now. Now with vaccines happening, nyc opening up, and the Rangers just a few tweaks away from a playoff team anyway, all that might happen naturally and he can go back to making shitty music and ignoring the Rangers.

He plays a mean Kazoo, trust me I know.

 

[savebyrichter94]

He plays a mean Kazoo, trust me I know.

Username checks out

 

[Machinehead]

I actually hated Drury as a player.

But as an executive, him having never felt an emotion might be a good quality!

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I'm putting aside my emotions regarding Gorts and JD. I just have to.

As I've said earlier the only silver lining in this whole thing is Drury is a fantastic candidate as successor to Gorts.

I have a lot of confidence in him, IF, however, the job is left up to him to perform it as he sees fit. He is a winner and always has been and hopefully that translates onto the ice taking this roster to the next level.

In some ways I am excited to see what will happen - in other ways I am terrified. It all depends on the leash Dolan gives Drury. If Dolan wants to suddenly become Jerry Jones we are absolutely f***ed. IF not, things could continue to get better.

A few tidbits from the Athletic write up on Drury being named GM:

Chris Drury ascends to New York Rangers GM job, where he was perhaps always meant to arrive

“I feel like it’s a weird situation for Chris to walk into, but then you have to separate the two and think of Chris Drury the hockey person and I think he’s going to be really, really good,” Biron said.

“He has that aura,” Biron said of Drury. “That high character, that winning mentality. I was impressed from the get-go. He changed our team. He and Danny working together, they changed our team.”

“Chris is not someone that makes decisions lightly. He’s very detailed,” Brière added. “He’s very serious in everything that he does. That’s how he was as a player. The way he prepared for games was remarkable. It helped me in my career just watching him get ready for games. He brings the same thing to the management side.”- Briere

“People who know Chris feel the same way about him,” Brière said. “He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been. He brings that presence. Nothing else but winning matters. I think he’s going to do a great job.”

“He doesn’t hold up your phone,” Riley Armstrong said with a laugh. “He’s just straight to the point. If he wants a player he goes after that player and tries to get him.”

“He’s honest,” Armstrong added. “He is. A lot of people in hockey try to feed you a line and try to sell you on things.”

“At his core, Chris is a very, very hard worker,” Biron added. “He’s a very, very motivated guy. He’s a very, very good person. And he’s high character. That’s it.”

 

[UnSandvich]

I'm putting aside my emotions regarding Gorts and JD. I just have to.

As I've said earlier the only silver lining in this whole thing is Drury is a fantastic candidate as successor to Gorts.

I have a lot of confidence in him, IF, however, the job is left up to him to perform it as he sees fit. He is a winner and always has been and hopefully that translates onto the ice taking this roster to the next level.

In some ways I am excited to see what will happen - in other ways I am terrified. It all depends on the leash Dolan gives Drury. If Dolan wants to suddenly become Jerry Jones we are absolutely f***ed. IF not, things could continue to get better.

A few tidbits from the Athletic write up on Drury being named GM:

Chris Drury ascends to New York Rangers GM job, where he was perhaps always meant to arrive

Damn, i was just checking through the thread to see if anyone'd posted this yet.

 

[leetch99]

Good for Chris. The shadow of this weeks events shouldn't be cast over the fact that he's worked his way up and earned this position. I'm happy for him, but my concern is that his boss is going to have too much pull in the decisions he's going to make in the coming months/years (if he's lucky). Impossible for me to be excited at all right now know that and sitting on what's transpired over the past few days though...

What exactly has Drury done that makes him such a great choice for this .....? I'm just trying to get my head around his selection and why he would be that much better then Gorton .

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Pretty much my feelings on this. I don't think Gorton and JD had done anything worthy of being fired. Obviously we don't know what goes on behind closed doors but when you look at our rebuild compared to many other rebuilds around the league, it is apparent we are doing something right.

I like Drury and make no mistake, he is absolutely qualified to fill the role of GM after being an AGM for the last what, 4 or 5 years? Under different circumstances I would probably be quite happy to see Drury take the reigns of this team. But not this way. Not over JG and JD who, in my opinion, are the cream of the crop in the NHL. Especially JD. That guy bled Ranger blue all the way and I think how this was handled is absolutely abhorrent.

If the Rangers somehow manage to win a cup under Drury's tenure, I'm sure I'll get over it. But the fact is, he will have won it with the foundation built by his predecessors while deserving credit for getting them past the finish line. Nothing would have made me happier than to see the Rangers win the cup with JD as President. Well, I take that back. Lundqvist getting a cup.

But in my 25+ years of watching Rangers hockey, and sports in general, I've never had something sports related rub me in such a bad way.

This is all really well said.

 

[dshea19]

I have no problems with Drury. My biggest concern is the removal of JD. I liked Gorton, but with Drury there, it is not as big of a concern as JD. Of course, the biggest concern of all is that Dolan is the one guy who isn't going anywhere. Ugh.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Not a fan of this. Zero experience.

Walking back my emotional hot take already. I see reasons to be positive. Drury was in demand from other clubs and decided to stay. I wonder what was said to him, or what he observed about others in the org, when he decided to do that.

I am concerned, if you take all the reports at face value, about Dolan going fire and brimstone on calls for patience. I do have concerns about a completely green GM facing that type of pressure from ownership. And I am disappointed beyond belief as someone who thought they were finally getting the true, proper rebuild they had hoped for for years. But I do recognize that if they do make a bunch of dark years shortcut trades, that runs way deeper than a reflection on Drury.