The direction of the New York Rangers has taken a drastic turn this year after a disastrous run in recent seasons. The storied Original Six franchise is not far removed from having a Stanley Cup contending squad, having made the eastern conference finals as recently as the 2023-2024 season. However, the last two years have not gone to plan as the club has missed out on the postseason in both campaigns. This downturn in results has left fans not felling confident in the team’s management group.
Rangers Front Office Finishes Last in The Athletic’s Poll
The Athletic conducts a fan-driven poll every year assessing how the NHL fandom feels about every NHL team’s front office. The results were not great for the Rangers in this year’s edition as their management finished last among the 32 teams in the running. New York’s front office was given a D- grade by the sampled public.
The poll took into account six different areas when it came to the ratings. Those factors included roster building, cap management, drafting/development, trading, free agency and overall vision. The Rangers were given grades of D+ or worse in all but one, with free agency receiving a C-. The Rangers current front office is headlined by president and general manager Chris Drury, who has held the GM position since 2021. The assistant GM staff includes Jim Sullivan and Ryan Clowe. Additionally, Ryan Martin serves as an associate GM and runs the Hartford Wolf Pack management, their AHL affiliate team.
The results in the poll are not shocking, considering recency-bias at play. This past season in particular was a disappointment for the organization as they finished last in the east after expectations heading into the year that they would be a playoff-level team. This was especially the case after Drury revamped the coaching staff last summer by bringing former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan aboard.
Drury Looking to Fast-Track Rangers Rebuild
It is no secret that this Rangers team is in the midst of a rebuilding phase. Their 30th place finish in the league standings last year put them in a position to draft in the top-five, in which they selected promising defenseman Alberts Smits with that pick.
With that said, the term “retool” may be more accurate to describe the situation. The moves Drury have made this offseason indicate that the goal in New York is engineering a quick process in regards to getting this team back in contention soon. The addition of Pavel Dorofeyev to the forward core is an example of this with the star Russian sniper cashing in for $11 million per year until 2033. And the team might not be done adding to the cupboard this summer.
It is not a surprise that Drury is trying to fast-track this rebuild. With franchise pieces to build around such as Adam Fox on defense and Igor Shesterkin in net, the Rangers cannot afford to waste the primes of these top players. It will be interesting to see if this team can get back in the competitive mix this season.
Rangers Front Office Ranked Last in Fan Confidence Ratings