Drury Knocks It Out of the Park

Going into Wednesday afternoon, Chris Drury knew two things: 1. Andrew Copp was likely going to sign a multi-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings; and 2. Evgeni Malkin had agreed to a four year extension to remain with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The latter was significant because it meant that Drury's number one target in this year's free agent draft, Vincent Trocheck, was his for the taking, provided he could come to the table with an acceptable offer.

With only about $10 million in available cap space and knowing he still had to re-sign Kaapo Kakko and find a backup goaltender and a fourth-line center, the Rangers President and GM rolled up his sleeves and went to work. In the end, the two sides reached an agreement: $5.625 million x 7 years. While the term was longer than Drury would've preferred to go, it was necessary to keep the dollar amount manageable. Anything above $6 million and Drury would likely have walked away and gone with Filip Chytil as his 2C next season.

Does Trocheck make the Rangers a better team? In a word, yes. Unlike Ryan Strome and Copp, Trocheck is one of the better two-way centers in the league. He's good in all three zones, is quick on the puck, isn't afraid to park himself in front of the net and - this is crucial - wins face-offs; 52.1 percent over his career. The one knock on him is that he's not a particularly gifted scorer, but then he's never played with someone as talented as Artemi Panarin before.

It cannot be overstated the impact Panarin can have on a player's stats. For instance, before his arrival in New York, Ryan Strome averaged 35 points per season. Since he was paired with Panarin three years ago, his season average has gone up to 54 points, and one of those seasons (2020-21) was shortened by the pandemic. During his brief stint with the Blueshirts, Andrew Copp scored 18 points in 16 regular season games. Before that, he was a half a point per game player at best. Having a world-class playmaker on your line has its advantages. Now those advantages will be Trocheck's to enjoy.

But while the Trocheck signing was significant, Drury wasn't done, not by a long shot. He found someone to take Patrik Nemeth's contract off his hands. When the Rangers failed to exercise their option to buy out the defenseman the day before, the feeling was that maybe he could be sent to Hartford, thus giving the team a modicum of cap relief. Instead, Drury pawned Nemeth off on the Arizona Coyotes. The price? A 2025 second-rounder and a future conditional pick. He even managed to swindle the Yotes out of a prospect to complete the deal: Ty Emberson, K'Andre Miller's defense partner from his Wisconsin days.

Just like that, $2.5 million in cap space was freed up; cap space that Drury then used to sign backup goalie Jaroslav Halak ($1.5m x 1) and center Ryan Carpenter ($750k x 1). For shits and giggles he even signed Pens third-string goalie Louie Domingue - yeah, that Louis Domingue - to fill out the Hartford roster. Assuming Kakko re-ups for $2.3 million, and assuming the Rangers elect to go with only 21 players on their roster, they would have about $1.5 million in cap space when all is said and done. And that will be important should Drury wish to add a player at the trade deadline.

I will be compiling a list of winners and losers in this year's free agency class. Suffice to say, the Rangers, thanks to Chris Drury, will be among the winners.

The Rangers Find Their Man and, Oh Baby, Does He Have A Lot On His Plate

The search for Glen Sather's replacement has officially come to an end. John Davidson, former President of Hockey Operations for both the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets, is coming to the New York Rangers to become their President of Hockey Operations.

Let's cut to the chase. This isn't a repeat of 1986, when the Rangers' braintrust turned the keys of the kingdom over to Phil Esposito, a former player and team announcer who thought he had what it took to build a Stanley Cup championship team. However, a series of bad trades - most notably Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller for Bobby Carpenter - set the franchise back years and Esposito was eventually fired after only three seasons. But while Espo bombed on Broadway, Davidson won't. That's because this isn't his first rodeo. He has already successfully built two teams in both St. Louis and Columbus; the latter having completed a sweep of this year's President Trophy winner Tampa Bay Lightning. He knows the league inside and out and is well respected by his peers. The Rangers appear to have struck gold here.

That being said, Davidson has quite the challenge on his hands. As a result of a purge that started two seasons ago, the Blueshirts have more kids on their roster than the freshman class at Hofstra, as well as two picks in each of the first two rounds of this year's NHL draft. Thanks to a fortuitous bounce in the lottery, their own number one just happens to be the second overall pick. The last time the Rangers had a pick this high was 1966, the year they selected Brad Park. The pressure couldn't be greater.

Assuming they don't pull a Gettleman and go for some obscure player that won't play for maybe three years and is at best a second rounder - unlikely - they will probably wind up with either center Jack Hughes or right wing Kaapo Kakko. Kakko, at 194 pounds, is the more developed player and could conceivably make the team this season, so let's hope the Devils take Hughes at number one.

But apart from the draft, Davidson will have to contend with a depleted bench and whether or not to use the team's considerable cap space of $20 million to address areas of need via free agency. It's no secret that the Rangers have had their eyes fixed on free agent Artemi Panarin of the Blue Jackets for quite some time. Davidson traded for him two years ago, and while the smart money has him going to the Florida Panthers, it's possible J.D. could convince him that the bright lights of Broadway would be a better place for him to lace up his skates than the palm trees of South Beach.

Panarin will not come cheap, though. He's probably looking for a long-term deal somewhere between $10 and $12 million per, and based on his stats he's worth every penny. At just 27, he could easily play another 8 or 9 years, and yes, he's a winger in a long line of wingers on a team that desperately needs a center, but couldn't you just see him playing on the same line with Kakko on the right and Mika Zibanejad in the middle? Now that would be something to behold.

But even if Davidson and G.M. Jeff Gorton can't entice Panarin to come to Broadway, one thing they must not do is entertain the thought for even a second of trading for Pengiuns center Evgeni Malkin, who will be 33 next season and is coming off a down year in which he missed 14 games. No matter how tempting the offer might be - and let's be honest, for Pittsburgh it would basically be a salary dump - Malkin is a terrible fit for a young team like this. If he were five years younger yes - make that definitely yes - but with the Rangers at least two years away from possible contention, it would rank as one of the dumbest moves this franchise has ever made; and, let's not forget, this is the same franchise that gave away Rick Middleton for Ken Hodge.

Then there's the decision about whether to buy out the contract of Marc Staal. At 32, Staal is clearly showing his age. He has two seasons remaining at $5.7 million per. If the Rangers buy him out it they would have to carry four years of dead cap space, the majority of which would be in the first two years: $2.9 million and $3.7 million respectively. That's $6.6 million for a player not even on the roster. On the bright side, they would free up $2.8 million this season that they could put towards acquiring a player like 28 year old Matt Duchene, the center the Blueshirts desperately need and who, as an unrestricted free agent, will command a healthy raise from the $6 million he made last season with Columbus. Let's say Davidson offers $11 million to Panarin and $10 million to Duchene and they each accept. That would give the Rangers two outstanding lines going into next season. Not bad for his first month on the job.

Think about it: a solid draft, two significant signings, a contract buyout, plus a trade or two, and just like that the 2019-20 Rangers could have themselves a fairly promising season.