It looks like New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury cleaned up his people skills in the past year.
After his heavy-handed approach to removing Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba from the roster, not to mention the trade memo to the 31 others GMs that named Chris Kreider and leaked publicly in November, Drury was as much to blame as anyone for one of the most disappointing seasons in Rangers history.
The issue was not that Drury felt the need to turn over the roster and also create space under the salary cap. That's his job and those are his business decisions. It's more how he miscalculated the effect on the team , when he forced those two respected veterans out of town, and the lack of communication with all those involved.
Drury's turned over a new leaf this summer, though. After being praised by Kreider's camp for communicating with them every step of the way and including them in the process before consummating a trade with the Anaheim Ducks in June, Drury received similar kudos from K'Andre Miller's agent after his client was traded last week to the Carolina Hurricanes .
Ian Pulver told the PuckPedia podcast that Drury "was completely above board the whole time with the Miller situation, and very professional."
That's a mouthful, considering Pulver also represents Goodrow, who was furious last summer when the Rangers worked around his no-trade clause by placing him on waivers with an agreement that the San Jose Sharks would claim him. Drury only informed Goodrow's camp of the move shortly before he was officially placed on waivers. The Sharks, who were on the veteran forward's no-trade list, did claim him.
Related: GM Chris Drury takes blame for Rangers mess after firing coach Peter Laviolette: 'It starts with me'
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As for the Miller trade last week, Pulver noted that Drury was in constant communication with him. And the dominoes began to fall when the Rangers officially signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract at the start of NHL free agency. That was a pretty clear message that there wasn't much of a path for Miller, a restricted free agent seeking a long-term commitment, to remain with the Rangers.
"[Drury] was unsure whether he wanted to do a long-term deal, and so one thing led to another," Pulver explained. "Miller's contract was up, and at seven o'clock the night before July 1, unrestricted free agency, group two free agents are able to speak to some teams about possibilities. There were several teams that reached out and, you know, as the night went into the morning and the morning turned to noontime … [Drury] ended up, you know, signing [Gavrikov] to a long-term deal. Another left-shot D-man. And it became clear that Miller would either be a short-term Ranger or sign — or elicit an offer sheet somewhere else."
Pulver said teams reached out to him about Miller, but it quickly became clear that the Hurricanes were serious about trying to land the 25-year-old defenseman, though they didn't have the requisite 2026 third-round pick to include as part of the compensation package for the Rangers. So, the teams worked out a trade instead.
"The Hurricanes stepped to the plate, expressed interest, and then they had to construct a deal with the Rangers, which got done," Miller's agent said. "In the meantime, you know, discussions were going on with the Hurricanes to discuss parameters of a contract. And one thing led to another, and K'Andre Miller is now a Carolina Hurricane."
The Hurricanes sent defenseman Scott Morrow to the Rangers along with a 2026 first-round draft pick and a second-rounder, as well, next year. They then signed Miller to an eight-year, $60 million contract ($7.5 million average annual value) — a whopping deal that Drury and the Rangers never considered.
Since the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs ended, Drury and the Rangers have traded or moved on from 13 players who helped them win the 2023-24 Presidents' Trophy and reach the Eastern Conference Final that spring: Goodrow, Trouba, Kreider and Miller, as well as forwards Kaapo Kakko , Filip Chytil , Jack Roslovic , Jimmy Vesey , Alexander Wennberg , and Blake Wheeler , and defensemen Ryan Lindgren , Erik Gustafsson , and Zac Jones .
"Yeah. I mean, it's – uh — gosh, to play it back … I mean, it turned into a bit of a whirlwind," Pulver said. "Having said that, you know, it became more and more clear that the Rangers were kind of going through an overhaul in the last two years – to some degree, starting with my current client, but former Ranger, Barclay Goodrow."
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