Since the moment Chris Drury ascended to the top job in New York, some fans questioned his decisions. At times, those criticisms have looked petty and far-sighted. Even when criticism was warranted, owner James Dolan seemingly always had Drury’s back. Now, after two consecutive subpar seasons during what was supposed to be the Rangers’ contention window, Chris Drury’s job security might finally be really in question.
Vincent Mercogliano, Rangers beat writer for The Athletic, wrote as much this week. Mercogliano had just finished documenting his annual top-10 rankings for Rangers prospects when he noted a curious line about the Rangers’ aggressive retool.
“He’s attempting to thread a difficult needle, with his job security depending on it.”
Typically, beat writers have not suggested Drury’s job is in jeopardy. That might be changing.
Chris Drury’s Job Security Never Seemed in Question
James Dolan believes in Chris Drury. It remains to be seen if his son Quentin, now in the top day-to-day ownership job, does too. From the outside, it often seemed like the Rangers were going to anoint Drury. He rose through the organization, ultimately becoming the assistant general manager to Jeff Gorton. In the wake of the Artemi Panarin-Tom Wilson tussle in 2021, Dolan released a statement blasting the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and its leader, George Parros.
Dolan then fired president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton. Then Athletic beat reporter Rick Carpiniello reported Dolan didn’t fire them over the letter. Rather, Dolan expressed his displeasure at the lack of progress in the rebuild, Carpiniello reported. As a result, Dolan promoted Chris Drury to both positions. He noted Drury was ‘heavily’ sought by other NHL teams.
It was true at the time. Drury had interviewed elsewhere, as any rising front-office figure would do. It wasn’t yet clear what type of executive he would be.
Drury’s Curious Combination of Success and Failure in New York
Drury played a curious role in the post-rebuild Rangers’ success. Some of his moves, like letting Ryan Strome walk and using the cap savings to sign Vincent Trocheck, look shrewd and calculating. Trocheck proved superior to Strome in both the short and long-term. Drury traded Trocheck this summer for a moderate haul that brought back a top-four defenseman, a solid center prospect and a draft pick. Strome, conversely, cost a future seventh-round pick in a trade between Anaheim and Calgary.
Other moves, like dealing Pavel Buchnevich for Sammy Blais and a second-round pick, earned Drury a lot of heat with the fanbase. Drury’s early moves likely don’t matter for his job security now, but fans usually don’t forget the moves they hate.
Later, the infamous late 2024 memo that revealed the team was open to dealing Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba leaked. The New York Rangers may fire Drury in the next year. If they do, that memo will likely be remembered as the spark.
Why This is Coming Up Now
Most executives can’t survive two seasons where the team is public and open about failing to meet the expectations of being a championship contender. In the New York Rangers’ case, they didn’t just fail. They crashed and burned. Chris Drury still having a job, let alone only tepid questions about his job security, is surprising.
Sure, there were extenuating circumstances in 2025-26. Below the surface, some of the New York Rangers’ analytics (particularly defensively) don’t look so bad. Plus, plenty of teams can’t say they lost their two best players to long-term injuries on the same day in the same game. Including that OT loss to Utah, where neither Igor Shesterkin nor Adam Fox finished the game, the Rangers finished on a 2-11-1 spiral heading into the Olympic break.
Under the most generous interpretation of Drury’s time, it’s fair to give him a chance to ‘retool’ the Rangers as he’s attempting to do now. After all, Drury ascended to the top job in the midst of somebody else’s rebuild. Yet, Drury’s made numerous mistakes. And while he’s typically been quick to acknowledge his mistakes and aggressive in fixing them, each one seems to stack like firewood.
It’s why, ultimately, the memo that fractured the locker room and precipitated waves of unending bad press might be the spark that ignited the kindling Drury laid.
Drury’s Job Security Depends on Home Run Swings
The New York Rangers allowed Drury to trade three first-round picks this summer, including two that represent potential ticking time bombs. Admittedly, it could really come back to bite the organization.
After the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, Drury made it clear that the Rangers needed to improve. Drury noted that the New York Rangers needed to improve at five-on-five to become a true championship contender. His first two attempts at that have failed wildly.
Once again, the New York Rangers organization is gambling on Drury’s ability to finally finish that job. They’re trusting him to build a winner around a superstar Vezina-winning goalie and Norris-winning defenseman.
Maybe the third time’s the charm. It must be to quell questions about Chris Drury’s job security.
New York Rangers GM Chris Drury’s Job Security Becoming Clearer