Drury Retools on the Fly

To paraphrase that classic line from the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles: "Memo? We don't need no stinkin' memo!"

Regardless of how you feel about Chris Drury, he's never been one to pussyfoot around when it comes to making changes to the roster. Coming off a season in which the New York Rangers won the Presidents' trophy for the first time in nine years, Drury took a long, hard look at his team and concluded it wasn't good enough to win the Stanley Cup. So he went to work.

Barclay Goodrow was waived in June; Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December for Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick; Kaapo Kakko was traded to the Seattle Kraken - also in December - for Will Borgen and a '25 third and sixth-round pick; Filip Chytil was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, along with Victor Mancini and a conditional first-round pick, at the end of January for J.T. Miller; Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey were traded to the Colorado Avalanche in March for Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen and a '25 second and fourth-round pick; Reilly Smith, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins over the summer, was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights the day before the trade deadline for Brendan Brisson and a '25 third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks; and, then Drury sent that third-rounder to Vancouver yesterday for Carson Soucy.

In just nine months, Drury has turned over almost a third of his roster. Think about it: Jeff Gorton needed two years to "rebuild" the Rangers; his successor appears to have "retooled" it in less than half that time. More importantly, by resisting the urge to give up draft capital going after high-priced rentals at the deadline, he has put himself in position to add the pieces he needs over the summer to get this team back into contention for the 2025-26 season. And unlike that 2017-18 team, this team still has a chance to make the playoffs, even with the last two disappointing OT losses. 

Really, if you think Drury sucks as a GM, all I can say is you either haven't been paying attention or you don't know much about hockey. The fact is this is a tougher, grittier team than the one that got eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals last year. If anything, Drury should get credit for smelling the caffeine and cutting his losses. I guarantee you the same people who are calling for his head now will erect a statue to him if this team goes on to win a Cup in the near future.

The more I think about it, the more this Rangers team reminds me of the 1992-93 team. If you recall, that team also struggled after winning the Presidents' trophy the year before. Neil Smith acquired Kevin Lowe and Esa Tikkanen during the season, and even though the Blueshirts missed the playoffs, they went on to win the Cup in 1994.

Now I'm not predicting history will repeat itself here; after all, that Rangers team had Mark Messier. And as good as J.T. Miller is, no one who isn't high on crack would ever confuse him for The Captain. But there is a quality Miller possesses that this core has sadly lacked the last few seasons that is already beginning to rub off on his teammates. If Drury can add a few more players like him over the summer, who knows what could happen. If I had to grade his moves, I'd give him an A minus.

Which leads me to my first NHL post trade deadline rankings in two years. I'll just do the top five teams in each conference. 

Eastern Conference:

Florida Panthers: They were already the front runners going into the deadline. With the addition of Seth Jones and Brad Marchant, they are the prohibitive favorites to come out of the conference. 

Tampa Bay Lightning: Julien BriseBois reacquired Yanni Gourde and landed Oliver Bjorkstrand to beef up his bottom six. The goaltending speaks for itself.

Washington Capitals: What a turnaround for a team that barely squeaked into the playoffs last season. They're big and explosive, and they're well coached.

Toronto Maple Leafs: They added some beef on the blue line, but as always, it'll come down to what the fab four do.

Carolina Hurricanes: They traded a point per game player for a player who scored 6 points in 13 games. Then when that player said he wouldn't re-up with them, they traded him for a player who's scored 29 points in 59 games. BTW, they still don't have a 2C or an elite goalie, but then you already knew that.

Western Conference:

Vegas Golden Knights: They reacquired Reilly Smith, but that's about it. Truth is, they didn't need to do much to this roster. They're already loaded.

Dallas Stars: They stole Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes for two first rounders and a bottom six forward. I see a Dallas / Vegas conference final. 

Colorado Avalanche: The additions of Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle give them badly needed depth at center. Were it not for the Stars and Knights, they'd be the favorites in this conference. 

Winnipeg Jets: They might very well win the Presidents' trophy, and Connor Hellebuyck the Vezina. But I'll believe they're legit when I actually see them win in the playoffs.

Edmonton Oilers: Jake Walman will help them on the blue line, and Trent Frederic will give them some badly needed muscle up front. But Stan Bowman would've done better getting a goalie. 

And my pick for the Stanley Cup finals:

Panthers over Golden Knights 4-3

Four Worst Injuries in Rangers History

As we await the status of both Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller, I thought now would be a good time to write about what I believe are the four worst injuries in Rangers history.

1. Jean Ratelle - 1972: Throughout most of the 1950s and '60s, the New York Rangers were not a particularly good team. In fact, it wasn't until the 1967-68 season that the roster Emile Francis assembled began to coalesce into a playoff contender. Beginning in the 1970-71 season, the Blueshirts made it to the semifinals four consecutive years and the Cup finals once. That one finals appearance was in 1972.

That season, the Rangers ran a close second to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference. Their GAG line consisted of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield. Hadfield set the franchise record with 50 goals that season; a record that stood until Adam Graves scored 52 in 1994.

But it was Ratelle who was the team's star. He was on pace to finish the season with 125 points when he took a slap shot to the ankle by Dale Rolfe. X-rays revealed a fracture. Ratelle would miss the final 15 games of the regular season and the first two rounds of the postseason. 

Against Boston, Ratelle gave it his best, but was nowhere near a hundred percent. He registered one assist in the six-game series, while Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr and Ken Hodge had their way with New York. The sight of Espo hoisting the Cup at Madison Square Garden was one that would haunt Rangers fans for years.

2. Ulf Nilsson - 1979: After a three-year rebuild by John Ferguson failed to bring results, Sonny Werblin fired Ferguson and hired Fred Shero from the Philadelphia Flyers to be the team's GM and head coach. One of the first things Shero did was sign Ulf Nilsson and Anders Herberg to two-year deals. Both players were stars with the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA, and they quickly became hits on Broadway.

The 1978-79 Rangers were the surprise team of the NHL that season, with Nilsson, Hedberg and a rejuvenated Phil Esposito leading the way. But in a game at the Garden against the hated Islanders, Nilsson got his skate caught in a rut on the ice when he was checked into the boards by Dennis Potvin. The result was a fractured ankle for Nilsson that sidelined the Swede the rest of the regular season and most of what would become the deepest playoff run in seven years.

After a stunning upset of their suburban rivals in the semifinals, the Rangers faced the Montreal Canadiens for the Cup. The Habs were looking to capture their fourth consecutive championship; the Blueshirts, their first since 1940. Nilsson gave it a go in the first two games at the Forum, but like Ratelle in '72, wasn't up to it. Shero benched him the rest of the way and Montreal, after dropping game one, would go on to take the next four. It was another bitter pill for a fanbase used to disappointments. 

3. Alex Kovalev - 1997: As I wrote in an earlier piece, the years following the Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup championship were difficult ones for Neil Smith. At times he didn't know which direction he wanted to go: retool or fortify the core. His signing of Wayne Gretzky in the summer of '96 signaled that Smith was going to run it back at least one more year.

The Rangers had a mostly up and down season in 1996-97. Gretzky and Mark Messier gave the Blueshirts a one-two punch down the middle. But it was a winger by the name of Alex Kovalev, who was having the best season of his career, that would go on to have the most consequential impact on the team's fortunes. On January 27, he tore his ACL and was lost for the remainder of the regular and postseason. 

After dispensing with the Florida Panthers in four and upsetting the New Jersey Devils in five, the Rangers went up against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals. After splitting the first two games at the Spectrum, the Rangers lost the final three. Messier would bolt for the Vancouver Canucks that summer. The core Smith had assembled had finally run its course. 

There's no way of knowing what difference a healthy Kovalev might've made against Philly. Maybe the Rangers still would've lost; or perhaps they've would've won. What is noteworthy is that two months after signing Gretzky, Smith was approached by Hartford Wailers GM Jim Rutherford who offered to trade Brendan Shanahan straight up for Kovalev. Smith turned him down. Imagine what Shanahan could've done playing alongside Gretzky. Who knows? Smith might've been the first Rangers GM since Lester Patrick to boast having two Stanley Cups on his resume. 

4. Mats Zuccarello - 2015: After going all the way to the finals in 2014, the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy in the 2014-15 season. It was, by far, their best season, statistically, since the Cup year of '94. Rick Nash led the team in goals scored with 42, but the key to their success was their depth.

Mats Zuccarello may only have scored 15 goals, but his tenacity and grit made him a fan favorite. And his teammates could always rely on that tenacity and grit. 

In game five of the Rangers first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Zuccarello was struck in the head by a slap shot from Ryan McDonagh. The winger made it back to the bench but did not return. It was later learned that he suffered a fractured skull that affected his ability to talk. 

Obviously his season was over. While the Rangers didn't need him to prevail over the Pens, not having him against the Washington Capitals almost cost them the series, as the Blueshirts had to come from 3-1 down to advance. But against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they fell short, getting shut out in game seven at the Garden. 

Like the other injuries, this one is hard to quantify. Even if the Rangers had beaten the Bolts, the Chicago Blackhawks might have been a bridge too far, with or without Zuccarello. Still, there's no denying his loss was felt.

Rangers At the Break

Heading into the break, the New York Rangers record stands at 27-24-4. Their 58 points puts them just three behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot. After a horrific December in which they went 3-10-0, the Rangers have gone 11-5-3 in 2025. The power play was 26.8 percent (7th best), while the penalty kill was 75.6 percent (tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Dicks for 16th best). The team's save percentage was .897 (5th best).

Now before I get into what the Rangers need to do going forward, I wanted to take a moment or two to give a shout out to the NHL and the NHLPA. Regardless of what happens tonight in Boston, the Four Nations Face-Off Tournament has been an unqualified success. Not since 1996 have fans been treated to this kind of competitiveness within the sport in what basically amounts to an exhibition series. Kudos all around.

The only blemish has been Charlie McAvoy. The Boston Bruin and Team USA defenseman sustained an injury on a cross check in the game against Finland, which was apparently misdiagnosed by Team USA physicians. He subsequently developed an infection and was hospitalized in Boston. His presence will be sorely missed tonight against Team Canada.

Apart from that, though, if I were Gary Bettman and Marty Walsh, I would do everything in my power to make sure something like this becomes an annual event. You don't necessarily need a round robin like we saw in this tournament; but perhaps a best 2 out of 3 featuring a team from North America vs. a team from Europe would suffice.

Imagine what the lineups would look like:

Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Sam Reinhart, Branden Pointe, Mitch Marner, Cale Makar, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, both Tkachuk brothers, Jake Guentzel, Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy and Connor Hellebuyck going up against Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, William Nylander, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Filip Forsberg, Jesper Bratt, Mikael Granlund, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Svechnikov, Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Vasilevskiy. I'll gladly take that any day over what the NHL laughingly calls an All-Star game.

Now back to the Rangers.

If this team is going to make the playoffs, they need to get serious. No more blown leads like they had against the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens, all of which became OT losses. No more sleepwalking against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that was missing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And no more reckless cross-ice passes in the offensive zone with 30 seconds left in the third period of a tie game that directly led to a regulation loss to the Avs. All told, the Blueshirts have given up six points over the last six weeks; six points they can ill afford to give up. If they had just three of those points back, they'd be tied with the Red Wings right now.

Starting Saturday, the Rangers need to go on a win streak. They play the Sabres in Buffalo, the Penguins in Pittsburgh and the Islanders at UBS Arena. Anything less than 3-0 against those teams is inexcusable. Indeed, between now and the end of the regular season, they probably need to go 20-7. If that seems like a tall order, it is. But that's what happens when you dig a hole as deep as the Blueshirts have.

In order to accomplish this herculean feat, the big boys are going to have to come through. Assuming Chris Drury doesn't clean house at the trade deadline - unlikely - it's time for Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider to pull their respective heads out their asses and wake the fuck up. Since the arrival of J.T. Miller, Zibanejad has 2 goals and 6 assists over his last 5 games. He needs to keep that pace up if this team has any chance of making the postseason. Likewise for Kreider, whose shorthanded goal against the Bruins proved to be the game winner.

Adam Fox also needs to step it up. It is unacceptable for a player as gifted as he is to have only four goals on the season, and keep in mind two of those goals were empty netters. Though he was never a particularly fast skater, this season he's looked more like Carol Vadnais than the former Norris trophy winner we all know and love. Vincent Trocheck has filled the leadership void created after Jacob Trouba was sent packing admirably, but even he needs to step it up offensively.

But while the players must ultimately bear the lion's share of responsibility for this nightmare of a season, their head coach isn't without blame. The fact is Peter Laviolette has been way too patient with this group. Case in point: Alexis Lafreniere. Over the last few weeks, the young winger has looked lost; his failure to back check has led to several glaring goals against. It is high time Laviolette employed some tough love and sat him for a game or two, if not for his sake than to send a message loud and clear that lack of effort will not be tolerated. You don't have to be John Tortorella to get your team's attention. 

Bottom line: The Rangers have the horses to make the playoffs. Whether or not they do depends on how badly they want it.

Knicks At the Break

Going into the All-Star break, the New York Knicks record stands at 36-18. They are solidly in third place in the Eastern Conference, five and a half games ahead of the Indiana Pacers and two and a half games behind the Boston Celtics. Since November 15, they've gone 31-12, for a .721 winning percentage. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers have a higher winning percentage over that span. Overall, this is the best start this franchise has had since the 1996-97 season when they went 39-15 over their first 54 games. They finished that season 57-25 and went to the ECF. This season, they are on pace to finish 55-27.

Objectively speaking, the Knicks are an outstanding team on the cusp of being elite. Their starting five is arguably the best in the NBA. I say arguably because, let's face it, when Kristaps Porziņģis is healthy, the Celtics starting five is better. Still, that's pretty damn impressive. Give Leon Rose props for putting this roster together over the last three years.

But for all the accolades the starters get - and deservedly so - it's the bench that remains this team's Achilles heal. Right now, Tom Thibodeau has maybe three players he can trust coming off the bench: Precious Achiuwa, Deuce McBride and Cam Payne. And with OG Anunoby missing the last five games due to an injured foot, Thibs was forced to start Achiuwa at the four. As a result, the Knicks starting five leads the league in minutes played per game, with Mikal Bridges (38.2) and Josh Hart (37.8) leading the way.

That might help explain why they ran out of gas against the Thunder in Oklahoma City in early January after leading for most of the game, or why they are 11-12 against teams that are .500 or better. And keep in mind, they still have three games against the Cavs, who are 20-6 against those very same teams. 

With the Knicks up against the second apron, Rose didn't have the cap space he needed to bring in reinforcements at the trade deadline. The return of Mitchell Robinson - now slated for late February - is pretty much it. The 7-0, 240 pound center should provide badly needed help for a team that is ranked near the bottom of the league in both rim and perimeter defense. But how much will Robinson be able to contribute to this team? Realistically, if Thibs can get 12-15 minutes per game out of him, that's still better than nothing.

Another question is whether the return of Robinson means Karl-Anthony Towns moves over to the four? When he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, KAT played the four while Rudy Gobert played the five. That combo proved to be one of the most effective in the NBA, with the T-Wolves advancing to the Western Conference finals before eventually losing to the Dallas Mavericks. If Thibs elects to go that route, it means Anunoby switches back to the three where, frankly, he is more effective and Bridges becomes the two, with Hart coming off the bench. All of this, however, hinges on how durable Robinson is once he returns.

If I had to guess, I'd say Thibs will experiment with KAT at the four, but ultimately decide to keep him at the five. Doing that allows him to bring Robinson in off the bench where he will be the most useful. Besides, even when fully healthy, Robinson isn't much of a scorer, and against a team like the Celtics - their most likely opponent in the second round - the Knicks will need offensive production from their center position, and Towns is, without a doubt, the most prolific scoring center New York has had since Patrick Ewing.

To reiterate what I wrote above, and what I've been saying pretty much all season long, this is an outstanding team on the cusp of being elite. That Rose hasn't gotten consideration for Executive of the Year is nothing short of a crime, given the state this franchise was in prior to his arrival. There are still some holes left to fill, but I am confident they will be filled during the offseason.

Be patient, Knicks fans, the light you see at the end of the tunnel ISN'T a freight train. 

Time Was Always on the Mets Side

Well, it's finally done. The Polar Bear is coming back to Queens. After several months of intense negotiations, in which Steve Cohen verbally expressed his frustrations, Pete Alonso and his agent Scott Boras cried uncle.

To be clear, time was always on the Mets side. Boras thought he had a winning hand. He thought if he could just hold out a little longer, he would get Cohen to give in. As it turns out, though, Cohen and his GM David Stearns knew the market better than he did. So they gave Alonso two choices: a three-year deal for $71 million with no opt outs or a two-year deal for $54 million with an opt out after 2025. Alonso chose the latter. Which means we'll probably be back here again a year from now. But that's next year. 

Forget all that nonsense about those "offers" from the Los Angeles Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels are where ball players go to die. Think about it: they had Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in 2023 and still managed to win only 73 games. Can you imagine Pete playing for them? Honestly, that was an easy bluff for Cohen to call. 

As for the Blue Jays, Toronto has been, and always will be, a hockey town. They live and die with their Maple Leafs. Seriously, Alonso could win the Triple Crown and all anyone would care about was whether Auston Matthews was going to lead the NHL in goals. Why do you think Vladimir Guerrero Jr gave the Jays a deadline of February 17 to present an acceptable long-term contract offer? He wants to be there as much as a nun wants to be at a frat party. 

Indeed, the silver lining in all this is that by giving Pete $30 million up front, it gives the Mets an excuse to pivot to Guerrero Jr should he decide to play hardball with them after the season. Ya gotta love the way Cohen operates.

So now that the Mets finally have their lineup in place for this coming season, the only question is who bats behind Francisco Lindor: Alonso or Juan Soto? Either way, this will be the most potent offense the Amazins have had since that 2006-08 team, which had Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright. To paraphrase Mr. T., "I pity the fool who has to pitch to that lineup."

After the Soto signing, I thought the Mets were good, but not quite good enough to beat out the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves for the NL East. With Alonso back, and with the improvements Stearns has made to the bullpen, this might be the second best team in all of baseball.

The Flushing Faithful have waited a long time for this moment. It's finally here.

Five Worst Trades in Rangers History

Because the topic often comes up, I thought I'd give my two cents worth. As always, feel free to disagree with the order, or perhaps even add your own nominations.

1. Rick Middleton to the Boston Bruins for Ken Hodge: This trade has often been compared to the Mets sending Amos Otis to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Foy. But it's actually much worse. The Mets had won the World Series and had Tommie Agee in centerfield. Ed Charles had just retired and the Mets weren't sure if Wayne Garret could handle playing 3rd base full time, so you could almost forgive them for wanting to shore up what they perceived was a weakness on the infield. 

There is no such absolution for the Rangers. They were clearly in rebuild mode entering the 1976-77 season. John Ferguson was now in his second year as GM. Middleton was a young winger with enormous potential, while Hodge was a seasoned veteran whose best years were well behind him. Aside from the fact that Hodge had played with Phil Esposito during his Bruins days, there was simply no justification for making this trade. None.

2. J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, Vlad Namestnikov, 2018 1st-Round Pick and 2019 2nd-Round Pick: The decision by Jeff Gorton to rebuild in the winter of 2018 was, in retrospect, the correct one. The window for this core was clearly closing, so it was time to break up the band. Where he fouled up was the return he got. Steve Yzerman clearly fleeced him on this deal. Of the three players who came over from the Lightning, only Howden - now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights - has had anything remotely resembling a successful NHL career. And the draft picks the Rangers received didn't amount to much either.

McDonagh, meanwhile, played an integral role in helping Tampa win two consecutive Stanley Cups, while Miller has become one of the NHL's premier centers, albeit playing for the Vancouver Canucks. By re-acquiring Miller last week, you could say Chris Drury has at least partially atoned for Gorton's mistake, though seven years after the fact.

3. Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller to the Washington Capitals for Bobby Carpenter: On paper, this trade made perfect sense. Phil Esposito had replaced Craig Patrick as Rangers GM and was looking to make his bones. Carpenter checked all the boxes: size, speed, you name it. It should've been a slam dunk. Except Carpenter was a flop on Broadway, registering a measly 10 points in 28 games before Espo dealt him to the LA Kings for Marcel Dionne. 

Ridley and Miller, on the other hand, would go on to have successful careers playing for the Caps, while Carpenter eventually finished his career with the New Jersey Devils, a shell of the player the Rangers thought they were getting when they traded for him. The moral of the story is quite simple: the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the street.

4. Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille: The post Stanley Cup years were very difficult ones for Neil Smith. At times, he didn't know which direction he wanted to take: retool or stay with the core. After the Rangers got swept by the Philadelphia Flyers in '95, he panicked and traded two of his more talented players for an admittedly physical defenseman and a veteran forward whose best years were behind him.

Zubov would go on to win another Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, while Nedved enjoyed his best season playing on a line with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. Oh, and by the way, the Pens beat the Rangers 4-1 in the second round of the '96 playoffs. Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.

5. Jean Ratelle and Brad Park to the Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais: After the Islanders upset the Rangers in the 1975 preliminary round, it was clear this core was done. Emile Francis knew in his heart what he needed to do and that was rebuild. Instead, he swapped stars with the hated Bruins.

While Espo and Vadnais played an integral role in the Rangers getting to the finals in '79, there's no denying the fact that Boston got the better of this trade. Ratelle, Park and Middleton (see above) gave fans in Beantown years of excitement, while Rangers fans had to endure three seasons of misery until some of their younger players developed under a new front office regime.

It's Miller Time

Make no mistake about it, the New York Rangers were twenty minutes away from not only losing their fourth straight game, but from finding themselves on the exit ramp as far as the playoffs were concerned. After a crushing loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the final seconds of regulation, the Blueshirts followed that up with two uninspiring performances against the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins. The reason they were only trailing the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 going into the third period was because Jonathan Quick was keeping them in the game. Their postseason hopes were on the brink.

That's when the prodigal son came through. With the Rangers on the power play, J.T. Miller took a cross ice pass from Artemi Panarin and fired a shot towards Adin Hill that he was unable to handle. Mika Zibanejad pounced on the loose puck and deposited it in the back of the net to tie the game. A few minutes later, K'Andre Miller blasted a shot from the left point that beat Hill cleanly to give New York a 3-2 lead. And with under two minutes left in regulation, and the Rangers on another power play, Panarin scored the insurance goal to ice the game. J.T. Miller assisted on that goal as well.

In just two games since returning to the Rangers, Miller has two goals and two assists. He was the lone bright spot in Boston, scoring twice and leading the team with six shots on goal. Against Vegas, he was a plus 2 and was on the ice for three of the Rangers four goals. His presence has been felt both on the bench and on the ice. How significant has Miller been? Mika Zibanaejad had his best game of the season with a goal and two assists, playing on Miller's right side with Panarin on the left. The trio combined for two goals and six assists. It's no exaggeration to say that every time that line was on the ice they were creating scoring chances. 

Peter Laviolette has gotten a lot of criticism this season - most of it justified - for the way his team has played. But his decision to unite his three best offensive players is, for now at least, an unqualified success. Most coaches would've just buried Zibanajead on the third line given the way he's played, but Laviolette realized - correctly, I might add - that if this team is going to make a run at the playoffs, it will need contributions from number 93. Credit him for that much.

But it wasn't just the three points Zibanejad registered that was noteworthy. He looked like a man possessed out there. He battled all game long. He kept the puck in the zone on the Rangers first power play goal. Frankly, I haven't seen him play with this much intensity in well over a year. If Miller can motivate this guy, this might just go down as the most consequential Rangers trade since October of 1991. Yes, I went there. But before you get on my case, I'm not suggesting that J.T. Miller is Mark Messier. I may be old but I'm not senile. What I am suggesting is that Miller, like Messier before him, is a passionate player who can't stand losing. I'm positive that's what led to his "leave of absence" earlier in the year, which eventually led to his exit out of Vancouver. Sometimes you're the cancer; other times you're the cure. In this case, Chris Drury is hoping it's the latter.

And speaking of Drury, his detractors might end up eating crow before the season is out. Since last summer he has unloaded both Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba without retaining a cent of their respective salaries; acquired two stay at home defensemen in Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen who have solidified a blue line that was as leaky as the RMS Titanic; and landed a number one center in Miller for a player whose next shift might well be his last and a lottery protected first round draft pick. 

As a result of his wheeling and dealing, the Rangers currently have $9.3 million in available cap space, which translates to $16.5 million in deadline cap space, meaning if the Rangers actually do make a run at the postseason, Drury will have a boatload of cap space at his disposal to further tweak this roster. Maybe he isn't Mr. Congeniality, but the guy knows his shit. He's ten times the GM Glen Sather ever was. 

But all that may be irrelevant if the Rangers don't make the postseason. After last night's win, they're currently five points out. Between now and the NHL trade deadline on March 7, the Blueshirts play eleven games. All but three are against teams that are currently in the playoffs. Conservatively speaking, New York will have to win at least eight of those games in order to get within striking distance of a wildcard spot; no small feat given how erratic they've been. 

Indeed, for the Rangers to avoid being only the third team in NHL history to miss the playoffs after winning the Presidents trophy the season before, they will likely have to go 21-8-1 over their last 30 games. They would then finish with a record of 46-31-5 for 97 points. And even that might not be enough to get in. That's how tight the playoff race is in the Eastern Conference this year.

The problem with digging a hole halfway to China is that sometimes you wind up closer to downtown Beijing than you do to midtown Manhattan.

The Randle Injury - One Year Later

It was Saturday, January 27, 2024, and the New York Knicks were in the process of routing the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden for their 6th win in a row. Julius Randle was driving to the basket when he was fouled by Jamie Jaquez with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. The power forward tumbled to the floor, grabbing his right shoulder; the first sign that something was very wrong. You could've heard a pin drop in the building as his teammates helped him up and he raced to the locker room, hunched over in obvious pain. 

The preliminary reports said that Randle had suffered a dislocated right shoulder and that he would be out approximately 2-3 weeks. As it turned out, 2-3 weeks was extremely optimistic. Randle wound up missing the rest of the season, including the playoffs. He would eventually undergo surgery. 

The Knicks, even without Randle, finished with a record of 50-32, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. But depleted by injuries to other players, including O.G. Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, they simply ran out of gas against the Indiana Pacers in the second round, and lost the series in seven games, leaving their fans to wonder what might've been.

Imagine for a moment that Tom Thibodeau had pulled Randle out of the game with 5:29 left and the score 112-96? The Heat, for all intents and purposes, looked cooked that night - pardon the pun. Of all the criticisms Thibs has faced over the years, the one that has stuck is that he tends to ride his starters like a bronco bull.

Imagine a season in which Randle is healthy. Instead of winning 50 games, the Knicks win 55, maybe more. They go into the playoffs with a starting rotation of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein, with Donte DiVincenzo, Precious Achiuwa, Deuce McBride, Bojan Bogdanović and Robinson coming off the bench. They most certainly would've beaten the Pacers, and they likely would've extended the Boston Celtics to a seventh game before losing.

Of course the real question is whether, given that "what if" scenario, Leon Rose would've pulled the trigger on the KAT deal? There's no doubt that since his arrival from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns has been a tremendous addition to this lineup. And with Hartenstein signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder over the summer, he has given the Knicks something they haven't had since the days of Patrick Ewing. A center that can score AND rebound.

Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference at all. Maybe once Hartenstein bolted, the die was already cast. It's no secret that the Knicks had been pursuing Towns for well over a year. And with Robinson's return date still up in the air, I seriously doubt Rose would have entrusted the center position to a rotation of Randle, Achiuwa and Jericho Sims.

But given the lack of production from the bench, it's fair to say that a roster that included DiVincenzo would've been deeper, even if it was weaker overall, if that makes any sense. And let's be honest, some of the losses the Knicks have suffered this season were a direct result of a non-productive bench and an overworked starting rotation. This is unsustainable. Either Thibs starts trusting his bench more, or Rose has to make a trade to strengthen it. 

With the Knicks up against the second apron, it's going to have to be the former. Fortunately, Thibs appears to have gotten the memo - finally. Against the Memphis Grizzlies, he went to his bench early and often. The result was a season-high 52 points from the bench. Of course, the Knicks blew out the Grizzlies, but the point is the starters didn't have to play 38 - 40 minutes, like they've been doing most games. Brunson actually sat out the entire fourth quarter. 

The goal for the Knicks in the second half of the season should be to have the starters average no more than 34 minutes per game. To do that, the bench has to produce when they're on the court. The more they contribute, the more Thibs will trust them. But the reverse is also true: the more Thibs trust his bench, the more productive they will likely be. It cuts both ways.

For now, though, the Knicks are 31-16, pending the outcome of tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets. That's good for 5th best in the NBA, even with a low-scoring bench. When / if Robinson comes back, they will be even better and deeper. 

How the Rantanen Deal Impacts Drury's Pursuit of J.T. Miller

In the first blockbuster trade of the 2024-25 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury and two draft picks - a 2025 second rounder and a '26 fourth rounder. The Chicago Blackhawks, as part of the deal, agreed to retain 50 percent of Rantanen's salary and sent Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes in exchange for a '25 third round pick. 

Leaving aside for the moment that Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson is a shoo-in for the patsy of the year award for getting a lousy third rounder in exchange for eating half of $9.2 million and relinquishing a still serviceable forward, the Avs are the clear winners here. They get an outstanding young winger under contract next season who is having a career year and a solid checking center for a pending UFA they likely weren't going to be able to re-sign. 

While Rantanen is a better player than Necas, he's not that much better. The fact is this trade does nothing to address Carolina's two biggest needs: elite goaltending and depth at center. Two years after losing Vincent Trocheck to the New York Rangers, the Hurricanes still haven't found a replacement for him. Jesperi Kotkaniemi is at best a 3C. Not only aren't the Canes a better team, you could make the argument they're worse off now than they were before the trade. And if it turns out they can't re-sign Rantanen, this will go down as the most expensive rental in league history. 

Now for the main course: How does this trade impact Chris Drury's pursuit of J.T. Miller? In a word, it improves his chances. With Carolina now seemingly out of the picture and the Vancouver Canucks stuck in a corner, Drury's leverage to land the former Ranger has gone up considerably. Word has it that Miller is pulling a Patrick Kane by informing Jim Rutherford that he will only accept a trade to an Eastern Conference team, preferably the Rangers. If that's so, Drury can wait out his counterpart. 

Stat Boy Steven thinks an acceptable trade would be Filip Chytil, Adam Sykora and a first round pick for Miller (25 percent retained). I would go further and make the first rounder conditional on the Rangers making it to the conference finals. Otherwise, it's a second rounder only. 

Why trade Chytil, especially when he's under contract for the next two seasons at $4.43 million? The reason should be obvious enough. For all his talent, Chytil is a disaster waiting to happen. He missed all but ten games last season after sustaining a concussion in what looked like a rather routine collision with Sebastian Aho of the Hurricanes. Let's face it: every time he gets checked, it's a potential career ender. If Drury can move him for a two-way player that wins face-offs and who scored 103 points last season, he'd be a fool not to.

I know what you're saying - I read your posts on Twitter. Another 31 year old center who's under contract through the 2029-30 season. What on Earth could Drury be thinking saddling the organization with that much term? At least Neil Smith had a Stanley Cup to show for his eleven years in the front office. All Drury has to show for his efforts is two trips to the Eastern Conference finals. But ask yourself this question: if Chytil had been healthy during last year's playoff run, how many more games would the Rangers have won? Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference against a team like the Florida Panthers, or maybe it would've made all the difference in the world. The point is we'll never know. 

What we do know is this: betting on Chytil not to get injured again is like playing Russian Roulette with a loaded chamber. Aside from his leave of absence earlier this year, Miller has missed a grand total of five games over the last four seasons. That's about as durable as it gets in today's NHL. On his first day back in a Rangers uniform he'd be the team's number one center.

Bottom line, unless Vancouver is unreasonable, Drury needs to pull the trigger and make the deal. After going through a hellish December, the Rangers have turned their season around this month. The playoffs are now very much in sight. But making the playoffs is not the goal; winning the Cup is. If J.T. Miller can get them closer to that goal, it's worth taking a shot.

Cohen and Stearns Are Taking a Huge Risk

"The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch." 

- The Hunt for Red October

If the reports we're hearing are to be believed, the New York Mets have decided they're not going to flinch at all. Their "final" offer of three years, $70 million to Pete Alonso was rejected by his agent, Scott Boras. They have now pivoted to Plan B. Part One of Plan B was the re-signing of Jesse Winker yesterday to a one year, $7.5 million contract. Winker hit .253 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs last season. He will platoon for the DH spot with Starling Marte. The second part of Plan B is addressing the bullpen. With the signing of A. J. Minter to a two-year, $22 million contract, pending a physical, they appear to have done that. Minter was 5-4 with one save and a 2.62 ERA. He should make an ideal set up man for Edwin Diaz. 

Look, do I think Boras overplayed his hand here? Without question. He gambled that the demand for Alonso would be so great that the Mets would have no choice but to acquiesce to his demands. Obviously that didn't happen. And now with pitchers and catchers only a few weeks away, Alonso appears to be on a desert island with few, if any suitors.

That's not the Mets fault. It's not their responsibility to manage the financial affairs of one of their own free agents, even if he is an overall good guy who's popular with his fellow teammates. And it's not the obligation of Steve Cohen to overpay for an asset that the market has already determined isn't as valuable as the player's agent thinks it is. How do you think Cohen got to be so rich in the first place?

But that doesn't mean that Cohen and his GM David Stearns aren't taking a huge risk here. Let's face it, while Juan Soto is a much better hitter than Alonso, without the Polar Bear in this lineup, the Mets are ostensibly repeating the same mistake the Yankees made last season when Soto and Aaron Judge were the primary run producers on the team. That worked out so well that Soto couldn't wait to get the hell out of the Bronx.

Mark Vientos had an outstanding 2024 season. In his first full year in the majors, he batted .266 with 27 HRs and 71 RBIs playing third base for the Mets. There's no guarantee he'll be as productive in his second full year; there's also no guarantee he'll be able to make the transition to first base. Alonso may have had his shortcomings but he was a good first baseman who could be counted on to hit 40 plus home runs per season. Even in a down year, he still managed to hit 35 dingers. His production will be missed.

Maybe all this is just a ploy to get Alonso to reconsider. Get him to realize that the ship is leaving port with or without him, and maybe he'll come to his senses. With Boras as his agent that isn't likely to happen. The only thing old Scott thinks about is his wallet. If he could get $500 million for Alonso to play on the moon he'd do it in a heart beat. That's the problem with choosing agents like Boras. They never consider the interests of their clients; only their own bottom line.

Then there's the rumor - and let's be polite and call it a rumor - that Stearns is pursuing a trade for Vladimir Guerrero, Jr from the Toronto Blue Jays. The 26 year old first baseman batted .323 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. He signed a one-year, $28.5 million deal to avoid arbitration. Forget for a moment that any team looking to land him would pay a king's ransom in prospects, he's a pending free agent after this season. And while he probably won't command the same money Soto did, he's not going to be cheap. Think $500 million over 12 years. And keep in mind, before Soto hit the market, I thought his contract would come in around $600 million. I was off by $165 million. To paraphrase Bill Murray in Ghost Busters, "No salary is too high" when it comes to baseball.

For now, this is the Mets projected lineup for the 2025 season:

Francisco Lindor - SS
Soto - RF
Vientos - 1B
Brandon Nimmo - LF
Winker / Marte - DH
Jeff McNeil / Luisangel Acuna - 2B
Francisco Alvarez - C
Tyrone Taylor / Jose Siri - CF
Brett Baty - 3B

Not bad, but hardly the 1927 Yankees. And if the starting rotation doesn't pan out, or if Soto struggles in his first season with the team just like Lindor did in his first season, the Mets will have a tough time competing for a Wild Card spot, much less the division.

Far be it for me to tell Steve Cohen how to spend his money, but I think he should reconsider his offer to Alonso. Maybe Pete isn't worth what he's asking for, but let's be honest, was Soto really worth $765 million? You and I both know the answer to that. If Boras rejected $70 million over three years, try upping the ante to, say, $90 million over three, with an opt out after the first year. We're talking about a home grown player who's third in team history with 226 home runs. That has to count for something, even in these cut throat times.

Bottom line, the Mets lineup is stronger with Alonso hitting behind Soto than Vientos. Cohen knows it, Stearns knows it, Boras knows it, Carlos Mendoza knows it, and Pete knows it.

Re-sign the Polar Bear. It's the right thing to do.

Knicks Hit a Road Block

When the New York Knicks beat the Utah Jazz at the Garden on New Year's Day, it was their 9th win in a row. They were 24-10 overall - 19-4 in their last 23 - and only a half game behind the Boston Celtics for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. After a rough start, they were finally "rounding into shape," as I wrote at the end of December.

Well two days later they played the Thunder in Oklahoma City. For most of the game the Knicks were the better team. They led 66-54 at the half, 88-80 after three, and 97-92 with 6 minutes to go in the 4th. They were on the verge of a signature win that would catapult them into legit contender status. Even their most ardent skeptics would have to take them seriously now, right?

And then all of a sudden the wheels came off; the Knicks, who had their best quarter of the season in that first half, missed shot after shot, with their captain Jalen Brunson the prime culprit. OKC outscored New York 25-10 the rest of the way to win the game 117-107.

Though disappointed, the Knicks remained confident. It was just a bad ending to what was an otherwise strong game. They decided to put it behind them. Then came the game against the Bulls in Chicago. Like the game against the Thunder, the Knicks were ahead at the half. Only this time, the collapse didn't occur in the final six minutes; it happened much earlier. The Bulls ran roughshod over the men in orange and blue 41-17 in the 3rd quarter and won the game 139-126.

Words like "low energy" and "fatigue" were used to describe what the problem was. Not to worry, the Knicks reassured us, now that they were home, they would be fully rested and ready to go. Then the Orlando Magic - a team that more closely resembled a MASH unit than a basketball roster - came to town and beat them 103-94. The losing streak was now three. Alarm bells were starting to sound at the Garden.

What was happening? I mean losing to the best team in the Western Conference was understandable; even losing to the Bulls could be chalked up to a team simply running out of gas after a long road trip. But how do you explain losing to a team that was missing four starters from its lineup on your home court? You can't. 

When then Knicks defeated the lowly Toronto Raptors 112-98 two days later, the fears were temporarily allayed. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the rematch with the Thunder at the Garden. New York had some unfinished business with OKC. This time, they would close the deal. 

But it was the Thunder that closed the deal, and decisively. They raced out to a 31-17 lead after one, and 70-43 lead after the first half, on their way to a 126-101 rout. It was the most humiliating loss of the season for the Knicks, and it was as baffling as it was thorough. 

All of a sudden this team that Kendrick Perkins thinks is the second best in the East looks very pedestrian. While they are still in third place in the conference, there are some major concerns that aren't going away.

Ian Begley shared some of them on Twitter after the game:

With tonight's blowout loss, Knicks fall to 0-5 vs. teams that entered play tonight w/a better overall record than their 25-14 mark. They are 9-11 vs teams that entered play tonight w/record of .500 or better (including 3-1 vs ORL). NYK is 1-6 vs top 8 teams in NBA standings.

While contenders don't always beat other contenders, they typically don't go 1-6 against them. For example, the game before they beat the Knicks, the Thunder lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-122. The Cavs had a one-point lead going into the 4th quarter and actually increased it.

So what's wrong? In a nutshell, the Knicks are struggling on both ends of the court.

On defense, while they still have the league's 8th best points against average at 110.5, there have been huge lapses in their coverage on the court. Way too often, opponents are left wide open to hit three pointers, or convert back-door plays under the basket. Last season's team was relentless on defense. Opponents generally feared playing the Knicks because of the way they made them work for their baskets. This season, opponents rarely break a sweat looking for an open shot.

On offense, while there's no doubt that this starting five is better than last season's, there have been inconsistencies. Over the last 10 games, the Knicks are shooting only 29 percent from downtown. They normally shoot 38 percent from three. When the Knicks are winning, they excel at ball movement. They are 7th in the NBA in assists with 1060. However, when they lose, it's usually because they hold onto the ball too long, making it easy for opponents to double team them. 

The lack of depth on this roster is another cause for concern. Without Deuce McBride the last few games, and with Mitchell Robinson still several weeks away from returning, Tom Thibodeau only had two players he could count on coming off the bench: Cam Payne and Precious Achiuwa. At this point Jericho Sims is practically an afterthought. What this means is that not only are the starters playing more minutes than they should, when they are on the court they have to produce. There's no way the Knicks can win with Mikal Bridges scoring zero points and OG Anunoby scoring only four.

Look, the Knicks are not the only winning team that's struggling right now. The Boston Celtics are just 6-6 in their last 12 games. I'm sure there are concerns in Beantown, but I doubt they're panicking. And neither should the Knicks. There's plenty of time to correct what's wrong. If Leon Rose has proven anything it's that he won't hesitate to make changes if it will improve the roster. With the Knicks up against the second apron he will have to get creative though.

Bottom line, the Knicks aren't quite where they want to be, but they're getting there. Trust the process.

Will the Real New York Rangers Please Stand Up

For most of the 2024-25 season, the New York Rangers have been a shell of the team that won the Presidents' Trophy and came within two wins of advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2014. After getting off to a 12-4-1 start, the Blueshirts went 6-16-1 over their last 23 games going into last night's game against the New Jersey Devils at the Garden. They were 5-10-1 against teams that made the playoffs last season, and two of those losses came against the Washington Capitals - the team they swept in the first round last year.

The numbers were growing alarming. The goal differential over this stretch was a league-worst minus 31. How bad is that? The Chicago Blackhawks were a minus 21 over the same stretch, and they're one of the worst teams in the NHL. The once vaunted power play converted on only 8 of 62 attempts for a putrid 12.9 percent. The penalty kill wasn't that much better. In 56 times shorthanded, the Rangers successfully killed off the opposing power play 77.8 percent of the time. And as if to add insult to injury, the team's save percentage - the one stat that they could always point to with pride - was a woeful .881 - 7th from the bottom.

Talk about slumming. The wheels were rapidly coming off on the season. Titanic? Try Lusitania. It was looking very much like Chris Drury was going to be a seller at the trade deadline.

And then the Rangers did something peculiar; something we haven't seen them do in a very long time; they played their best, most inspiring game of the season against a team that in the last two meetings outscored them a combined 10-1. Last night's 3-2 OT win over the Devils was as exciting as it was unexpected. The power play went 2 for 3; the penalty kill 4 for 4. And even though they didn't score at 5v5, they dominated most of the play - especially in the 3rd period - outshooting New Jersey overall 32-23, and out chancing them 29-25; 10-8 in high-danger chances.

I don't want to get too carried away here; after all, it's only one game. But I don't want to minimize it either. It's one thing to get outplayed and have to rely on Igor Shesterkin to save the day, which pretty much has been the formula the last three seasons; it's quite another when the 18 skaters in front of him collectively hold one of the most explosive teams in the NHL to two goals. To put this in perspective, the last time the Rangers played the Devils in December, they managed just one HD scoring chance to New Jersey's 11. To say they phoned it in would be putting it mildly.

Even before last night's game there were signs of life. Against the Dallas Stars, the Rangers were less than 3 minutes away from a 4-3 win before K'Andre Miller turned the puck over in the defensive zone and the Stars tied the score, eventually winning in OT. Apart from Miller's mistake, they played well enough to win that game. Indeed, the Broadway Blues have played only one bad game the entire month of January. After a horrific stretch, the Rangers are slowly beginning to resemble, if not that Presidents' Trophy team, at least one that can make the playoffs.

What is responsible for this turnaround? Put succinctly, the core is producing. Mika Zibanejad has awakened from his season-long coma. He has a five-game scoring streak, with two goals and three assists. Artemi Panarin has a goal and three assists in his last three games. Vincent Trocheck has three goals and two assists over that same stretch. Alexis Lafreniere finally broke his 13-game goal drought with a pair against the Stars. And Adam Fox scored his second goal of the season; his first was an empty netter against the Sabres in Buffalo on December 11.

Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Is this turnaround for real, or are we simply in the eye of a perfect storm that was in the process of destroying the entire season? After all, even bad teams are capable of having good stretches, right?

I suppose we'll know soon enough. The Rangers hit the road to play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Colorado Avalanche and the Utah Hockey Club before returning to the Garden to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. Every one of those teams has a winning record; Vegas currently has a league-leading 59 points. They finish the month at home against the Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes. If the Rangers are going to make a push, they will have to do so against some of the toughest teams in the NHL. As Steve Valiquette said after last night's win, the easy part of the schedule is over.

The problem with digging a hole is that sometimes you can't climb out of it. You eventually run out of runway, to use another analogy. But for now, at least, this team has apparently decided to put up a fight. They look nothing like the team that slept walked through December and most of November. 

At the half-way mark of the season, the Rangers record stands at 19-20-2. They currently sit in 5th place in the Metropolitan Division, four points out of the second wild card spot, with four teams ahead of them. Their task is indeed daunting, but it's one they brought on themselves.

As a friend of mine is fond of saying: "How do you deal with a sink full of dirty dishes? One dish at a time."

John Mara Stays the Course

Doug Pederson's record over the last three seasons:

2022: 9-8
2023: 9-8
2024: 4-13
Total: 22-29

Brian Daboll's record over the last three seasons:

2022: 9-7-1
2023: 6-11
2024: 3-14
Total: 18-32-1

Guess which coach got fired Monday?

The below attachment will answer that question.

As a rule, I don't subscribe to the theory that the first arrow out of ownership's quiver should be firing the coach or manager. The fact that it has become the default option for so many underperforming teams over the last couple of decades explains in large part why some franchises succeed while others continue to spin their wheels. 

But for the life of me, I cannot comprehend the reasoning behind this decision by Mara. It makes absolutely no sense. Anyone who was paying attention knew full well that Daboll had lost the locker room. For all intents and purposes his players quit on him weeks ago. Think about it: Had the Indianapolis Colts not been so inept last Sunday, the Giants would've lost their last 12 games of the season. You don't keep coaches who preside over that kind of collapse. You thank them for their service and show them the door as quickly as possible.

To be fair, Daboll is not solely to blame for this disaster. He had some help. The guy who hired him, Joe Schoen, took a team that was already bereft of talent and somehow managed to make things worse. It pains me to admit it, but the 2022 team that beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card game consisted primarily of players drafted or signed by Schoen's predecessor, Dave Gettleman. If it's ok to criticize Gettleman for taking Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, it's equally ok to ask why Schoen elected not to take a quarterback in a draft that was loaded with QBs.

Whoever said you can't draft a quarterback if you already have one obviously never bothered to check in with the Atlanta Falcons. They took Micheal Penix Jr with the 8th pick in last year's draft after they had already signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract. Well, after Cousins struggled over the first 14 games of the season, Penix took over. The rookie competed 58 percent of his pass attempts for over 700 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 3 picks. And if his coach was a halfway decent clock manager, his team would've been mathematically alive for a playoff spot going into week 18. 

Bo Nix was taken by the Denver Broncos with the 12th pick in that draft. He threw for 3775 yards with 29 TDs and 12 INTs. In his rookie year he managed to get the Broncos into the playoffs for the first time in nine years. As good as Malik Nabers was this season, who would you rather have, him or Nix? The point is Schoen blew it by not taking a QB last year. The fact is neither Shedeur Sanders nor Cam Ward are as talented as Nix. And Schoen would have to trade up from the 3rd pick in order to get a shot at either one of them. 

This is the group Mara wants to keep intact? These two guys? I'm all for keeping the faith and showing patience, but this is ridiculous. Rewarding Schoen and Daboll with another year at the helm is an insult to the fans who have had to endure more than a decade of humiliation. Since the Giants last Super Bowl title in the 2011 season, they have had three winning seasons and two trips to the playoffs. For a franchise that has been in existence for 100 years that is simply unacceptable.

And keep in mind, I'm not even blaming Schoen for his decision to re-sign Jones over Saquon Barkley. We've been over this, but the fact is there was no way to franchise tag Jones and still keep Barkley. There just wasn't enough cap space. But even allowing for that, as a talent evaluator, Schoen leaves much to be desired.

The sad truth is there isn't one position on this roster that doesn't need serious attention. Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was supposed to be the next Carl Banks, took a major step backwards this season after an impressive 2023 campaign in which he recorded 11.5 sacks. While Brian Burns was a nice addition, the defense as a whole was terrible. They had only 5 interceptions on the season. Only the Cleveland Browns (4) had fewer. Offensively, the 273 points the Giants scored was the second worst in the NFL. Again, only the Browns (258) scored fewer. They had only three first quarter touchdowns the entire year. Shameful doesn't begin to describe this season. If this is the process Mara was referring to in his statement, I can only imagine what he was smoking when he wrote it.

I'm old enough to remember the Andy Robustelli Giants of the 1970s. They never finished higher than 4th in the NFC East. Wellington Mara was the owner back then, and he was as tone deaf as his son when it came to the boo birds. It wasn't until "The Fumble" in '78 that Wellington and his nephew Tim were finally shamed into making a change. Pete Roselle convinced them to hire George Young as GM, and it was Young who assembled the roster that eventually went on to win two Super Bowls. 

By the way, Young's first pick in the 1979 Draft was a little known quarterback out of Morehead State by the name of Phil Simms.