Nobody would cry for Drury getting fired and I see plenty of calls for his head. But the man to man defensive scheme remains the immediate issue. JD almost cracked up describing it tonight if anyone heard him. This roster which on paper is not great but not terrible has given up league leading numbers of rushes and chances against 2 years in a row. That’s on Lav and Hously. Listen to Fox’s post game quote. Nobody knows who to pick up in transition. Winning teams don’t play like this. A huge issue with man D that I have not seen described here is that when you finally win possession you have no structural integrity. Guys are all over the place. This means the breakout is delayed by a second while forwards reset, allowing the defense to reset and causing you to dump in to gain the zone or go east-west to find room. It’s all connected and until that changes no GM can build a roster capable of winning. That’s why the calls for Lav are louder though both at this point can go.
I don't disagree with the D scheme being an issue, but that has been an issue for a while. Everything with the Rangers is a mess this season, I won't argue with that. I just have trouble processing how the same Pres/GM and core players have had very embarrassing weak and pathetic endings to their season 2 of the past 3 seasons, and yet somehow the head coach, who was not with the team for the first embarrassment, is the main culprit. It just doesn't add up to me. Like I said, fire the guy, I am totally okay with that after this mess, but I don't see how he can be at the top of the list over the constants between the two teams, the Pres/GM and the core players. Doesn't seem to make logical sense to me. And somehow it does make sense that Drury should be here for both embarrassments AND get to hire a THIRD head coach in 5 seasons, I just don't understand that mindset. When is he going to be held accountable. The very logical answer to me is they ALL should get fired, and if we had a real owner Drury would be fired as well, I have very little doubt about that.
Totally agree. back when Lav got hired I said Drury had to get this one right because he should not get to hire a third coach in quick succession. This was such an unmitigated disaster on the ice that I have no issue with him going along with Lav.
I believe the Igor contract was too much, but not because I don't think Igor is great, he clearly is one of the top goalies in the world. My issue is I just don't think it is smart use of money to have your goalie take up that much cap space. It leads to your team being not being as deep or balanced as it should be. It has been proven over and over again you don't need your goalie to be a top stud in the goalie rankings, or have a huge cap hit, to win a Cup. Yet that is the formula the Rangers keep going with, and it hasn't worked. I don't think any goalie, no matter how good they are, is worth the huge cap hit Igor has. This really isn't about him directly to me; it's about cap management.
I keep thinking, imagine if the Rangers had a top-level dynamic Pres/GM, boy that would be nice (at the very least we know that isn't Drury). We can dream...lol.
The Rangers letting Igor go or trading him would be the equivalent of the Giants letting Barkley go. He would go to a contender with young, developed talent and win multiple cups and we would be sitting here bitching about it. How about you draft a fucking center who can play on the top two lines, develop your young forwards properly and put in a defensive system that works, along with hiring a coach that holds dumbasses like Zibanedouche and cluster fuck K. Miller accountable for having their head up their ass.
We know that it wasn't Gorton who escapes any criticism I guess because he's JD's boy. Hard to take all the Drury hate seriously when that buffoon Gorton bears far more responsibility for the team's current state missing on 6 #1s and Jeff was an "experienced" GM. This is Drury's first GM gig and he hasn't made any mistakes close to Gorton and his odds defying draft failures. First time GM Drury versus GM with experience Gorton - the results aren't close. I've disagreed with the way Drury has handled some personnel moves but he inherited a team that needed an infusion of young talent with a farm system offering little help. I'm not going to call for Drury's head if he makes a move I disagree with as long as the results are there, most of us see the problems with the current roster and the limitations Drury has with NTCs. He'll have to improve his personnel skills to convince dead weight to move on.
I also agree with that. Igor is FAR from the Rangers biggest issue, or even close to their biggest issue. At the end of the day, I think the Rangers had no choice but to re-sign Igor. It's sort of a rock and a hard place situation, cannot afford to lose him, but also having a goalie with a huge cap hit is not ideal for cap management. We'll see if they can move Kreider and K. Miller this summer, the top two guys I want to see go, while acknowledging moving Zibanejad is going to be almost impossible due to his contract.
Just because one thinks the prior GM wasn't good at his job, isn't a reason to keep the current Pres/GM, who has overseen two embarrassing season endings in 3 years, and would be going on hiring his 3rd coach in 5 years if he is allowed to hire another coach. Think about this, most wanted Gallant fired. Seems like everyone wants Lav fired. This just in, Drury hired BOTH of those coaches, if they are/were so terrible isn't that also a big knock-on Drury. That is part of his responsibilities, not just player moves/contracts, which he has also done poorly at overall IMO.
Drury was a great improvement over Gorton, the most incompetent GM in Rangers history. that has been the point I've been making consistently. If Drury is fired tomorrow my only concern is his replacement isn't another Gorton-type Satherite stuck in the 20th century with the notion that great hockey players can only be small and speedy. I'm a big believer in Drury's philosophy of putting a grittier team on the ice, it's in line with every other successful NHL franchise.
Another reason I want Torts back. If you are going to draft big and have a bunch of 6'5 to 6'9 guys on your team, you have to play physical on a consistent basis, block shots and be disciplined on defense with a rock solid system. This team is fucking clueless defensively and there has been zero accountability for mistakes. Exactly what Torts excels at fixing. It's nonsense he can't coach young players. There were plenty of young players on the Rangers when he coaching them. Granted, we all bitch about a coach if he is here long enough. However, looking at Kreider this season, maybe he is just a bitch. Whined about Torts as his coach. Probably because Torts told him he plays like a pussy for his size. Now, I'm not saying as I posted before that I wouldn't have concerns with Torts with Perreault. However, players like Othmann, Rempe, Edstrom, Cuylle, Schneider absolutely fit the mold of players Torts loves. He developed McDonagh, Dubinsky, Miller, Stepan, Callahan, Hagelin, Girardi and Staal.
Not sure Torts is the right answer in today's NHL. All of his teams have a ceiling. If there is one owner who would not give a single fuck about any backlash resulting from bringing coach Q back to the fold, it's Dolan...
I don’t understand all the love you all give Drury for the Miller trade. Yes it was the right move BUT Miller had said he was coming here and nowhere else. Drury didn’t have to do anything other than say ok, which he did, but stop making it out like HE initiated the trade and masterminded this incredible fleecing of Vancouver.
He was initially looking to move Mika to Vancouver but Mika blocked the trade leading to Drury giving up less imo to get Miller, shade the deal any way you like Chuck but Drury got it done . I know your bias clouds any positive thoughts about Drury while defending Gorton but to me for a first time GM Chris has put a competitive team on the ice. . I compare his performance to previous Rangers GMs and I like the direction he's taking drafting bigger players and signing physical players. Carrick for $1 mil is a steal. There is a resistance to gritty play on the roster and in the Rangers organization Drury has to overcome.
100% Dump. There must be a deep relationship between JD and Gorton. What's puzzling is JD took over the draft after Gorton's repeated failures and ran the table with NHL talent but still fell on his sword for Jeff.
