The case for and against Rangers GM Chris Drury

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.

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.

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.