New York Rangers Have An Organizational Problem

These players were brought in and drafted to be part of a plan that never saw its full destination because owner James Dolan heard whispers in his ears that Gorton and John Davidson were not the right men for the job. Not to mention there were arguments between Drury and Gallant on player personnel decisions during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Yet somehow, they reached the Eastern Conference Final with this group of players in year one of Peter Laviolette. The season started off well too. However, management felt the record was deceiving.

Now the Rangers are grasping at straws here as they continue looking for answers. The problem is those answers may not lie within the organization. Drury has to look outside to fix this. And the fix starts inside the locker room.

A “soft” mutiny is happening, whether you want to call it that or not. However, you can see that the New York Rangers players are not happy with how Drury has conducted business. They felt the Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba situations needed to be handled better.

In addition, the fact that Drury sent a memo to the 31 general managers in the NHL stating that Trouba and Chris Kreider were available. The list became public, so everyone knows the Rangers want to move players and won’t help them.

The players felt things were kept in-house and not made so public. Just look at Trouba’s comment after the trade. “It is a right of passage to get fired from Madison Square Garden.” That quote is quite telling coming from the former captain of the New York Rangers.

Remember, the NHL is a business. Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon said so with his quote, “I’m in the winning business, not the hockey business.” 

If the Rangers really want to turn this around, they have to rally and use their dismay for the general manager to be productive on the ice. Remember, the players still have a job to do. But if the reports are true, they want Drury gone. Then maybe the players need to look in the mirror and see if they want to be a part of the New York Rangers moving forward.

Everyone is at fault here, from the players to the coach to the GM. The New York Rangers are a mess; massive changes could come if things don’t turn around quickly. However, the coach should not take the fall for the players who do not want their GM to be there anymore. That is just a bad look all around.

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