Blueshirt Bulletins: A crucial offseason awaits Chris Drury and the Rangers
Some news and notes on the New York Rangers with the dust having settled on their 2022-2023 season.
Goodbye Gallant
Just a few short weeks after Gerard Gallant became the first coach in Rangers’ history to lead the team to 100-point seasons in both of his first two years at the helm, the Blueshirts parted ways with the veteran bench boss.
Gallant’s shortcomings were on display in his team’s disheartening first-round performance, as the 59-year-old was unable to counter the New Jersey Devils’ adjustments and failed to light any sort of fire under his team ahead of Game 7.
That is not to say the players are devoid of blame and responsibility, but with the core being locked in place for the foreseeable future, the coach was left to take the fall.
Nevertheless, Gallant’s tenure was as advertised. He proved not to be a savvy tactician or motivator, and despite his billing as a “players’ coach,” his relationships were ultimately what did him in.
Not only was the relationship between Drury and Gallant tenuous, as the two were never seemingly aligned in their respective visions for this team, but Gallant also appeared to have lost the locker room, with players reportedly supporting a change behind the bench during exit meetings.
Ageless Assistants?
Interestingly, two of Gallant’s assistants, Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley, were dismissed alongside the head coach, but the other, Gord Murphy, remains on the staff alongside Benoit Allaire.
If Murphy, who has worked with the team’s defensemen over the last two years, ultimately sticks around, that could mean the Rangers are not looking to employ structural changes to the way they defend and exit their own zone.
The next head coach will likely have the option to replace Murphy if he desires, but the decision to retain him, at least for now, suggests management would be in favor of keeping things as they currently stand on the blue line.
Given the Blueshirts’ struggles in their own end in recent years, that would be a rather vexing choice.
Huge Hire
Few general managers survive more than two head coaches, thus Chris Drury’s future with the Blueshirts will likely be intertwined with that of his coming hire.
When Drury opted to move on from David Quinn in favor of Gallant, the reports were that the team’s new general manager was not all that sold on the former Las Vegas Golden Knights coach. Drury had hoped other established candidates would shake free but that never came to fruition.
With that said, Drury’s pivot from Quinn to Gallant was still likely the right move for the Rangers at the time, as Gallant was able to successfully usher out the rebuild and lead the team into its contending phase.
Now, Drury needs to find someone he sees eye-to-eye with. Someone he is confident can take this team to a Stanley Cup. He needs to find his guy.
Because the next coach will face a simple task: Find a way to win with this core group.
While I’d argue the Blueshirts’ best bet would be to take a chance on a younger, more outside-the-box candidate like Jay Leach, that almost certainly will not be the direction Drury goes given his lack of job security.
Expect the organization to cast a wide net, but if I had to make a prediction today, Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the New York Rangers.
Columbus Curse
Speaking of the core group, there is no more important member than Artemi Panarin, who disappeared once again upon the start of this year’s playoffs.
It was long reported that Gallant and Panarin never quite meshed, and Drury will certainly be banking on the next coach to find a way to get more out of his supposed superstar come the postseason.
But Panarin is not the first former Columbus Blue Jackets stud to arrive in New York and watch his offense vanish in the playoffs.
It used to be Rick Nash’s inability to find the back of the net that plagued the Rangers in April and May.
Through Nash’s first 37 playoff contests with the Blueshirts, he notched just three even-strength goals.
In Panarin’s 30 playoff games with the team to this point, he has scored just three goals at even strength.
Nash became a bit more effective in the postseason as his Rangers career went on, but he never displayed the same offensive prowess that he showcased in the regular season.
Laviolette, or whoever takes over behind the bench, better find a way to ensure Panarin avoids going down that same path.
Showtime’s Slowdown?
After an unspectacular end to the regular season, the hope was that Patrick Kane would go on to have a Martin St. Louis-esque playoff run.
Instead, Kane’s time with the Rangers was more reminiscent of that of Eric Staal.
Both came to Broadway as prized veteran additions with a Stanley Cup on their résumé.
St. Louis played two seasons with the Rangers, helping lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015 before retiring.
Staal, on the other hand, was with the Blueshirts for the 2016 playoffs, in which they were dismantled by the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games in the first round.
It never quite clicked in New York, it looked like his best days were behind him and the Rangers suffered a disappointing first-round defeat.
That goes for the tenures of both Staal and Patrick Kane.
But Staal left for Minnesota in the offseason and posted 76 points the following year.
Could Kane, with hip surgery helping him back to full strength, be due for a comparable resurgence?
If so, I imagine it would be elsewhere.
Beleaguered Bust
On the theme of disappointments, has there been a bigger one in recent memory than Alexis Lafrenière?
From 2005-2020, Nail Yakupov and Lafrenière are the only first-overall selections that have not become bonafide stars.
Perhaps a coaching change can spark the 21-year-old, who is still extremely young and has occasionally flashed.
However, it is certainly time to ponder whether it makes sense to move on from the enigmatic left wing.
The Blueshirts already have Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin on the left side, and Lafrenière has struggled to make the move to the right, where he would have an opportunity to settle into a top-six role.
Given there are very few avenues for Chris Drury to tweak this roster, dealing Lafrenière is something that the Rangers would be wise to at least consider.