Miller’s not been here for very long, so maybe he’s not that aware of what’s transpired throughout this season. But if the Rangers don’t bring their best effort in Columbus on Saturday, GM Chris Drury’s desire to remake this roster could become a lot stronger and sharper with two weeks off and a month to go until the trade deadline.
You can be sure Drury is gauging the market on at least his pending UFAs: Ryan Lindgren, Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey. There are candidates for promotion waiting in the wings — a season like this one begs for the opportunity to see Brennan Othmann in some NHL games, a return for Brett Berard now that he’s healthy after missing four games with Hartford and maybe a look at future bottom-six spark plug Adam Sykora, who’s having a decent second season in the AHL.
The Rangers sit a somewhat manageable five points back of the second wild-card spot with 28 games to go. There’s a reason to think they could keep most or all of their own guys to try and get into the playoffs, where Shesterkin could get hot and the top guys could rekindle their recent playoff magic.
Could … if … maybe. Not a lot to go on. Drury has gotten admirable results with his drastic reshaping of the roster, if perhaps he’s used questionable methods to get there. Why stop now? Especially if his team is still so maddeningly inconsistent.