NHL Insider reveals the departure of several veterans broke the New York Rangers organization
Photo credit: NHLPA
The New York Rangers' dysfunction in play can be traced back to GM Chris Drury's hubris. His decision to not only waive Barclay Goodrow against his will, but trade Jacob Trouba are the moves that broke the camel's back in Madison Square Garden.
It could be argued that two moves made by GM Chris Drury led to the turmoil that caused the team to miss the playoffs this season.
He started the offseason by waiving Barclay Goodrow, after he blocked a trade to the San Jose Sharks. His inclination was that he'd be returning as Ranger in 2024-2025, but he was taken aback by how quickly the scenario played out.
Following up the cold-blooded move to waive Goodrow, he put out feelers leaguewide in order to move Captain Jacob Trouba.
Trouba, like Goodrow, blocked a trade elsewhere, according to reports in the summer. Drury would again weaponize his ability to waive players if they didn't accept a trade, and this time, instead of Detroit, it was Anaheim. Kreider's name would be the next one Drury would advertise as another veteran to be moved, but due to injuries, he had no takers, fortunately.
After all of this, is it really surprising that the drama permeated throughout the locker room, and players ended up despondent this year?
«It's part of professional sports, but obviously at a certain point it does become somewhat of a distraction,» Kreider said. «Two guys that were massive leaders for us and a big part of our room.»
It seems as if the gap between the players and the front office couldn't be more apparent, as Drury shipped off two players who had a positive impact both on and off the ice.
What really threw Mika Zibanejad off was the team's lack of communication with the players.
«I can't speak to everyone else, I think everyone deals with it differently,» said Zibanejad. «Everyone has a different relationship to it. But, when it happens, frustration. I think it's just when you don't know everything. You don't know what's going on.
In the end, it was Trouba himself who admitted he may not be up for the task, given how prominent his name was in trade rumors. He felt disheartened and, as a result, wasn't able to put forth the effort on the ice we'd seen out of him before.
«I mean, even Troubs admitting it was hard for him to kind of lead this team in his situation,» Adam Fox said. «Maybe a lot of it is subconscious, too. You don't really think, but I guess when your captain has that thought and feels that way. It's a guy that has changed games for us in terms of the energy he's brought and being able to change it with a hit or a fight. I think sometimes that could affect the team that sees that.»
While the collapse of the 2024-2025 Rangers has been witnessed and recorded for history, the true beginnings lie in the offseason where Barclay Goodrow was shipped out, and in December when Jacob Trouba's time came at an end here in New York.
While the collapse of the 2024-2025 Rangers has been witnessed and recorded for history, the true beginnings lie in the offseason where Barclay Goodrow was shipped out, and in December when Jacob Trouba's time came at an end here in New York.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 25 | 1446 ANSWERS NHL Insider reveals the departure of several veterans broke the New York Rangers organization Do you think GM Chris Drury of the New York Rangers is the true origin of all the dysfunction? | ||
| Yes | 1174 | 81.2 % |
| No | 272 | 18.8 % |
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