Ranger fans have every reason to be skeptical of Chris Drury, and this offseason hasn’t done much to change that.
On paper, the Rangers have clearly upgraded their roster. That part is hard to dispute.
But for a fan base that has watched Drury tear apart a team that reached two Eastern Conference Finals in three years, improvement alone doesn’t wash away the unease. The bigger issue is whether he can stick with a plan once the season starts going sideways - or, just as dangerous, once it starts going right.
That’s the tension hanging over everything. Even after the moves that made the roster better, there’s still a sense that Drury could get pulled into chasing a “Cup run” for a team that isn’t really built for that yet. The offense, as things stand, still doesn’t have the kind of depth that makes true contender talk feel realistic.
For this season to go exactly right, a lot has to break the Rangers’ way. Adam Fox and Igor Shesterin need to stay healthy.
The young forwards - especially Gabe Perreault, Alexis Lafreniere, and Noah Laba - need real offensive growth. Pavel Dorofeyev has to look like a 40-50 goal scorer.
JT Miller has to bounce all the way back to at least a point per game. The coaching and lineup choices have to avoid self-inflicted damage.
And the team has to keep its possession and xG shares above 50% while scoring more than 280 goals.
That’s already a long list, and it still doesn’t account for every variable. Albert Smits and Scott Morrow are wild cards, and so is Liam Greentree. If all three force their way into the picture too, then maybe the Rangers really are in good shape.
But stacking that many outcomes together is exactly why the optimism stays guarded. Even if each one has a realistic shot of happening, the odds of all of them hitting together are still slim.
That’s the whole parlay problem: a bunch of individual bets can look fine on their own, and still leave you with long odds once they’re all tied together. And in this case, none of those outcomes feels like a lock.
That’s why the trust issue keeps coming back to Drury. He made his first real swing at young talent by sending two first-round picks to get 25-year-old Pavel Dorofeyev.
Then he followed that with another first-rounder going to Vancouver for 30-year-old defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The Pettersson move can be defended, sure, but it also fits the same pattern that bothers fans: futures getting shipped out for older players.
The Rangers did what they set out to do this offseason. They got better.
They’re not the same team they were a year ago. But being better is not the same thing as being ready for the kind of success everyone actually wants.
Even if everything breaks perfectly, there are still questions about whether this group can handle Carolina, Tampa, or even Buffalo. At least then there would be a fair argument to buy at the deadline.
The real anxiety starts if the Rangers are sitting 3-5 points out of a playoff spot at the deadline in a weak Metro Division. That’s when the pressure on Drury really kicks in.
Does he start sacrificing more futures for rentals? Does he stay patient?
And if the playoffs slip away, is his job on the line? If it is, that creates a dangerous setup for the organization, because an executive trying to save himself can burn through the next few years of a retool or rebuild in a hurry.
There’s also a broader concern about how this organization evaluates defensemen. The Rangers have struggled with that for a while, and Drury has kept that trend going. John Lilley has identified a group of solid young blue liners who could help change that pattern, but that doesn’t solve the issue at the NHL level, where Drury - and to a lesser extent Mike Sullivan - will still be making the key roster and lineup calls.
One move could tell fans a lot about whether that thinking has really changed: Braden Schneider. If the Rangers manage to turn Schneider’s high trade value into something useful, there will be more reason to believe they’re seeing things clearly. If they keep holding on, the doubts only get louder.
That’s where this all lands. One good offseason doesn’t erase the history.
It doesn’t automatically earn trust. Drury still has to prove he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
In Other News...
Gabe Perreault Now Carries A Huge Rangers Question
Artemi Panarins departure leaves the Rangers searching for a new top forward, and Gabe Perreault is suddenly right in the middle of that conversation. The young winger showed real progress last season, especially in the way his production climbed as he got more comfortable, and theres a growing sense that a larger role could bring even more out of his game if the opportunity follows.
What makes Perreault such an interesting case is that the upside is easy to see, but the path to it is still debated. Some analysts believe he is ready to become a bigger offensive piece if the Rangers give him more playing time and a better look on the power play, while others remain cautious about how his game will hold up over a full NHL season. For a team trying to replace elite scoring, the next step for Perreault may end up being one of the most important storylines on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Prospect Liam Greentree Suddenly Has A Real Camp Opportunity
Liam Greentree arrived in the Rangers organization as part of the Artemi Panarin trade with the Kings, and now he has a more interesting path than a typical prospect adjustment period. Greentree has mostly worked as a winger, but the Rangers are looking at him in a different light heading into training camp because of the way their center depth has shifted this offseason.
That positional rethink matters because it changes the stakes for a player who is already known for his scoring touch. If Greentree can handle the transition and show he can help down the middle, camp could become more than a learning experience, with a real chance to push his way into the conversation for a roster spot. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rempe Is Running Out Of Room In The Rangers Picture
Matt Rempes first full run in the NHL has not given the Rangers much reason to carve out a bigger role for the 6-foot-9 forward. Injuries and limited ice time have kept him from making the kind of impact that would force the issue, and the clubs growing group of depth options has only made the path steeper as training camp and the new season approach.
The harder part for Rempe is that the roster mechanics are not working in his favor, either. With a one-way deal in place, the Rangers cannot just shuffle him down without consequence, which leaves his standing tied to a crowded picture on the big club and a likely extended stay in Hartford. At this point, he does not look like the first name the Rangers will reach for when they need reinforcements. [Read more 🡒]