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Chris Drury

Rangers Notes: Kakko, Trouba, Core

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Rangers general manager Chris Drury held his virtual end-of-season media availability today after his squad was bounced by the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. Among the topics of discussion was the future of 2019 second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko, who’s already found himself in trade rumors after being benched during the playoffs and reaching the end of his contract.

Drury compared Kakko’s situation to that of 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière last summer, saying the team will “continue to try and find everything we can do to help him reach his potential” (via USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano). Like Kakko, Lafrenière was a restricted free agent last summer but ended up sticking with the team and signing a two-year, $4.65MM deal in August.

It turned out to be the prudent choice. Under new head coach Peter Laviolette, Lafrenière was finally elevated to a consistent top-six role and scored 28 goals and 57 points while playing in all 82 games, all career highs. He was also one of the Rangers’ better playoff performers, adding eight goals and 14 points in 16 contests.

Unlike Lafrenière, though, Kakko looked to have taken a step forward last season after scoring 18 goals and 40 points but regressed heavily this year. The 23-year-old Finn averaged 13:17 per game, a career low, and mustered only 13 goals and 19 points in 61 games. Whether the Blueshirts hold onto his signing rights and attempt to continue developing him into a top-six threat or decide to move him remains to be seen.

More from Drury on the Rangers’ offseason and future:

  • He also went out of his way to defend captain Jacob Trouba, who’s drawn public ire after a poor showing in their loss to the Panthers (via The Athletic’s Peter Baugh). “Jacob’s been an excellent captain and leader for us. … He gives us everything he can every single night.” The blue-liner had three goals and 22 points in 69 games this season, tied for his lowest offensive output per game since New York acquired him from the Jets in 2019. He did have seven points in 16 playoff games but got caved in defensively at even strength, only managing to control 41.6% of shot attempts.
  • The third-year GM still believes their core of Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin can lead them to a championship after their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season. “I do believe in our players individually,” Drury said. “Now it’s part of the job to figure out if this group collectively can get us where we want to be. That process is already underway” (via Mercogliano).

Team USA Fills Out Management Group For 4 Nations, 2026 Olympics

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USA Hockey has announced the remainder of the management group that will complement Wild GM Bill Guerin for next season’s 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Rangers GM Chris Drury, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald and Panthers GM Bill Zito have been named assistant GMs to Guerin. Wild director of player personnel Chris Kelleher will occupy the same role for the national team as he does under Guerin in Minnesota.

Guerin was confirmed as the GM of both squads in February. Earlier this season, he was reportedly the subject of an internal investigation “following a human resources complaint by an employee who alleged verbal abuse in the workplace,” per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The investigation later determined he did not commit a fireable offense.

This is Drury’s fifth time holding a management role with Team USA. All his previous national team managerial experience came at the World Championship, where he served as AGM in 2016 and 2017 and GM in 2019 and 2021. Drury-managed teams have only medalled once, capturing a bronze medal in ’21.

As a player, he was no stranger to helping out the national team. In fact, he was quite well-decorated internationally, representing the USA at three Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010), three World Championships (1997, 1998, 2004), and the 1996 World Juniors. He took home two Olympic silvers and one Worlds bronze in that time and was eventually inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016, shortly after taking a director of player development role with the Rangers. He was promoted to AGM and later GM and president of hockey operations ahead of the 2021-22 season.

This is Fitzgerald’s first managerial experience with the national team. He’s held front-office roles in the NHL dating back to 2007 and was named GM of the Devils midway through the 2019-20 season. As a player, he suited up for Team USA at the 1987 World Juniors and in the 1989 and 1991 World Championships.

Zito returns to managing Team USA after GMing their World Championship squad in 2018, back when he was an AGM for the Blue Jackets. It’s his first national team nod since being named GM of the Panthers in 2020, since overseeing the most sustained period of success in franchise history.

Like Fitzgerald, the 49-year-old Kelleher has no international managerial experience, although he did have a cup of coffee as a player with Team USA at the 1995 World Juniors. He predates Guerin with the Wild by a decade, first joining Minnesota as a pro scout in 2009. He’s steadily worked his way up the ranks, earning a promotion to director of pro scouting in 2019 before being named their director of player personnel in 2022.

Metropolitan Notes: Kane, Hischier, Ristolainen

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ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported today on The Drop that unrestricted free agent forward Patrick Kane reportedly would like to make another run with the New York Rangers but at this point Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been apprehensive due to the team’s lack of cap space as well as the chemistry they’ve build under head coach Peter Laviolette.

Kane was unhappy with last season and his inability to be healthy due to his hip injury. According to Kaplan, Kane felt like he played most of the season on one leg and never had a chance to be an impact player.

Kaplan didn’t rule out the possibility of Kane returning to the Rangers but said that if he were to return it would be similar to last season when Kane essentially forced a trade to the Rangers. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a trade, but if Kane was willing to take a low salary, he could force the Rangers hand as the upside of signing the three-time cup winner might be too much for the Rangers to ignore.

In other Metropolitan notes:

  • New Jersey Devils reporter Amanda Stein tweeted that center Nico Hischier will travel with the club but will not dress in tomorrow night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 24-year-old returned to practice yesterday signalling that his return could come soon as he battles his way back from an upper-body injury he suffered on October 27th in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils have struggled with Hischier out of the lineup, going 4-5 in his absence. The 2017 first-overall pick struggled to start the year with just two goals in seven games but had a career year last year with 80 points in 81 games.
  • Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was in a regular jersey at practice today, indicating that he can take contact. Ristolainen’s return to a regular practice jersey signals that he is close to making his season debut for the Flyers as he has been on the shelf since suffering an undisclosed injury during training camp. When he is healthy enough to play, the Flyers will need to activate him off LTIR and make room available on their active roster which will likely mean a demotion for a player such as Louis Belpedio.

New York Rangers Add To Hockey Operations Department

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This morning, the General Manager of the New York Rangers, Chris Drury, announced several promotions and hires to the team’s hockey operations department. The totality of the announcement is as follows:

  • Ryane Clowe has been promoted to Co-Senior Advisor to President and General Manager
  • Angela Ruggiero has been hired as a Hockey Operations Advisor
  • Christian Hmura has been hired as a Skills and Performance Development Coach
  • Mark Ciacco has been named Prospect Development Skills Coach
  • Paul Mara has been hired as a Player Development Assistant
  • Andy Hosler has been named Head Athletic Trainer
  • Brandon Rodgers has been named Senior Sports Therapist
  • Kayla McAvoy has been hired as an Assistant Sports Scientist
  • Kathryn Yates has been hired as a Manager of Performance Data Insights

Jumping off the page, the most notable promotion and hire are represented by the top two announcements. Clowe is now in his third season with the Rangers organization, who had previously been serving as a Hockey Operations Advisor since 2022. Aside from spending 10 seasons in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Rangers, Clowe spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach for the Devils, before spending just under one season as the Head Coach of the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL.

Ruggiero, on the other hand, will begin her first position for a team in the National Hockey League. She is best known for her time spent with the United States Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic team, helping the team win their first gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics. She would go on to win two silver medals in 2002 and 2010, while acquiring a bronze medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics. A member of both the Hockey Fall of Fame, and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Ruggiero will replace Clowe in her new role with New York.

 

Evening Notes: Schenn, Quenneville, Senators

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CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported today that pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Luke Schenn likely wants to remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs and he expects the rearguard to get a well-deserved raise in pay on his next contract. Dhaliwal said this today on Donnie & Dhali The Team and added that Schenn is seeking some term on his next contract as well as some no trade protection.

It makes sense that the soon to be 34-year-old would like some stability for himself and his young family as he has bounced around the league the past few seasons and played under several contracts that have been for near the NHL minimum. Schenn is coming off one of the finest seasons of his career having put up four goals and 18 assists in 70 games split between the Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks and is trying to cash in on what could very well be his last big payday in the NHL.

In other evening notes:

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that he doesn’t believe the delay in the New York Rangers search for a new coach is tied to former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Brooks lists several reasons for his thinking here including the fact that general manager Chris Drury is currently in Buffalo at the scouting combine. Brooks goes on to add that he can’t see NHL commissioner Gary Bettman meeting with Quenneville before the draft to discuss reinstatement and that the Rangers would like to have someone in place before free agency begins on July 1st.
  • The final stage in the sale of the Ottawa Senators has been going on for over three weeks and according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia there has been no indication of who will be awarded preferred bidder status. Garrioch writes that this may be a tactic being used to keep all the groups engaged in case they need fall back options should one of the bids fall through. The belief is that the final stage has been slowed by all the back and forth between the parties involved as they try to hammer down the final details in what should be the end of a very long process. Garrioch goes on to say that is does appear that this has become a three-horse race as it looks as though the Neko Sparks group is a long shot to win ownership of the club. They are having issues putting the financing in place, but at this time, they are still in the running.

New York Rangers Re-Sign Anton Blidh

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June 8: The Rangers have officially announced the contract, confirming its two-year term.

June 7: The New York Rangers have re-signed forward Anton Blidh to a two-year/two-way contract extension. The signing continues a trend for the 28-year-old Blidh as he has played under the parameters of a two-way contract for the past eight seasons. CapFriendly is reporting that Blidh will have an NHL cap hit of $775K in each of the two seasons or a minor’s salary of $350K. Should he spend the entire season in the AHL he does have a minimum guarantee of $385K in each year.

The move is a little bit curious as the Swedish winger came over in a trade deadline deal with the Colorado Avalanche but never dressed for the Rangers at the NHL level. It appears that general manager Chris Drury views Blidh as organization depth. He is a very useful defensive player who can kill penalties and chip in occasionally as he did this past season putting up 13 goals and 10 assists in 53 AHL games split between the Hartford Wolfpack and Colorado Eagles. While he struggled early in the season in Colorado, he seemed to find a home in Hartford as he finished his season putting up seven goals and four assists in his final 17 games.

Given Blidh’s career trajectory and his inability to stay at the NHL level it does appear that he’s destined to be a good AHL player and occasional NHL call-up. In 84 NHL games scattered across seven NHL seasons he has four goals and eight assists to go along with 41 PIM.

The signing is a nice story for Blidh who less than a month ago had a scary incident in a playoff game against the Hershey Bears. In the first period of Game One of the Atlantic Division Final, Blidh collapsed on the Hartford bench and the game had to be stopped to provide him with medical attention. In the end it turned out that Blidh had the wind knocked out of him and thankfully he was okay. Fortunately, he was able to keep playing and now he will be able to continue playing for at least the next two years.

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

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Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Rangers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Alexis Lafrenière – Just under three years ago the Rangers watched the lottery balls bounce their way as they were fortunate enough to win the sweepstakes for Lafrenière. At the time the 21-year-old looked like a can’t miss first overall pick having been dominant in the QMJHL and the World Juniors. But now just three years later the Rangers are facing quite the dilemma with the young forward. On one hand he is one of their few valuable trade chips, however, given their cap crunch his cap hit will likely give them a functional player on a reasonable contract.

Lafrenière has played a lot of bottom six minutes and hasn’t really seen the offensive opportunities that other first overall picks have had, however he also hasn’t shown the same skill level or skating as some of the other first overall picks before him.

Lafrenière had a career high 39 points this season in 81 games and did a much better job driving play than he had in previous seasons. However, he also enjoyed much more favorable deployment than in previous seasons which leads one to wonder if he will have better numbers in a different role under a new head coach.

Regardless of who is signing his checks next season Lafrenière is likely to be playing under a two- or three-year bridge deal with a cap hit like the $2.1MM that teammate Kaapo Kakko is playing under.

D K’Andre Miller – Miller’s next contract is going to make for a very interesting negotiation. He is the Rangers best left shot defenseman and played at a very high level for the past two seasons including this past year where he posted nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games. While 43 points total isn’t elite for a defenseman, his 38 even strength points are. Miller saw very little powerplay time and still managed to post very strong offensive numbers.

While his offensive numbers are good, he and partner Jacob Trouba went through some long stretches this season where they couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net. While they turned it around, Miller’s defensive struggles could work against him in negotiations. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers navigate their negotiation with the 23-year-old St. Paul native. It’s unlikely they will give him the Rasmus Dahlin contract at a cap hit of $6MM, but an average annual value between $4MM and $5.5MM seems very possible.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Patrick Kane – The Rangers acquired the three-time Stanley Cup champion at the trade deadline this past winter and while things didn’t end up the way they’d hoped, they didn’t give up a lot of assets to acquire the player. Kane recently had surgery to resurface his hip and will be ready to play in 4-6 months. He makes for a curious free agent because any team that fancies themselves a contender likely won’t give out a big cap number until they can see skate again after his recovery. If this is the case, Kane could wait until after his recovery to see who the contenders are next season before inking a deal. The issue there for Kane would be that most teams will be close to the cap ceiling by the time the seasons starts. Kane is still a very productive forward (when healthy), this past season he put up 21 goals and 36 assists in 73 games during the regular season and followed it up with a goal and five assists in seven playoff games. If he were healthy Kane would probably be looking at a three-year deal worth around $6MM. But, because of his injury I think he will need to wait and sign a one-year deal closer to the start of the season or in season once he has recovers from his injury.

F Vladimir Tarasenko – Tarasenko arrived from St. Louis to a lot of fanfare in New York but couldn’t help the Rangers get over hump in the Eastern Conference. The 31-year-old put up 18 goals and 32 assists in 69 games split between the Blues and the Rangers and struggled in the playoffs putting up just four points in seven games. The Rangers would probably like to sign Tarasenko to a short-term deal but given their lack of cap space they likely can’t pursue the winger. Tarasenko will be interesting negotiation as he struggled to drive play last season and isn’t the player he once was. He’ll still find work, and a good little pay day, but it won’t be at anything close to the $7.5MM he made on his previous deal.

G Jaroslav Halák – It’s hard to believe that Jaro Halák is still chugging along at the tail end of his NHL career. He has struggled in recent years, but the veteran continues to find work in the NHL on one-year contracts. Halak hasn’t posted a .905 save percentage in any of the past three seasons but has been able to stay slightly above average in expected save percentage. Currently Halák is a good backup option for a team that is looking for average goaltending 20-25 nights of the year. He will likely be able to fetch a one-year contract at around $1MM.

Other UFAs: Niko Mikkola, Tyler Motte

Projected Cap Space

The Rangers emerged from a quick rebuild just a few seasons ago and had plenty of draft capital and a lot of salary cap flexibility. Now just a few years later the Rangers are in a very precarious salary cap situation as they have just $11.8MM in cap space with 14 players signed for next year. While that is a bit alarming, the good news for New York fans is that most of the core is signed for at least the next two years to fairly reasonable contracts. That being said, there are a few deals that general manager Chris Drury would probably like the opportunity to dump should an opening arise.

The club likely won’t have room to extend Kane or Tarasenko without moving out a very good player and given the age of both players they may want to pass on doing so. The Rangers are also two years out from having to give superstar netminder Igor Shesterkin a new deal, one which could potentially eclipse $9MM annually if he can duplicate his 2021-22 season in the next two seasons. With all of that going on, it’s unlikely that there will be big changes this summer on Broadway.

 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Talyn Boyko

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6:37 pm: CapFriendly reports Boyko’s contract carries an $851K cap hit. The full salary breakdown is as follows:

Year 1: $750K base + $82.5K signing bonus
Year 2: $775K base + $85K signing bonus
Year 3: $775K base + $85K signing bonus

5:19 pm: The New York Rangers have made a big signing – literally, not figuratively. General manager Chris Drury announced today that the team has agreed to terms with goaltender prospect Talyn Boyko on a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Boyko is one of the largest (if not the largest) goalie prospects in the league, standing at 6′ 8″ and 201 pounds. The soon-to-be 20-year-old netminder was drafted by the Rangers with the 112th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

After a rough start to the 2021-22 campaign in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans, Boyko was traded after just eight games to the Kelowna Rockets where he regained form en route to a second All-Star team nod for the WHL’s BC Division. He posted two shutouts, a .913 save percentage, and a 28-12-4 record in 46 games with Kelowna.

Boyko, who attended Rangers training camp this year, will likely play the 2022-23 campaign with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen due to the goalie logjam with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. As he’s just barely aged out of juniors, the ECHL is probably the best place for Boyko’s development regardless. His gigantic frame makes him a tantalizing prospect, but as with most goalies, it’ll be a few seasons at least before we see Boyko poised for NHL time.

Morning Notes: McCoshen, Huberdeau, Rangers

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Ian McCoshen has struggled to find his way back to the NHL in recent years and will now try his hand in Europe. The 27-year-old defenseman has signed with Assat of the Finnish Liiga for the upcoming season, after spending last year with the Henderson Silver Knights.

Selected 31st overall in 2013 and having made it to the NHL quickly after his career at Boston College came to an end, McCoshen played just 60 games with the Florida Panthers before bouncing around the minor leagues the last few seasons. The 6’3″ defenseman was only ever able to record seven points at the highest level, with his physicality not enough to keep him in the NHL. His name will be one to keep an eye on next summer, at least for open AHL opportunities.

  • New Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau has pledged his brain to science after death, following Ben Lovejoy’s lead from 2017 as the first active NHL player to do it. As Rick Westhead of TSN reports, Huberdeau is joining a group that includes former astronaut Marc Garneau, former Harvard captain (and granddaughter of NHL legend George Armstrong) Kalley Armstrong, and more than 170 Canadian Armed Forces members in the pledge, which will allow their brains to be studied for post-concussion effects and other injuries.
  • The New York Rangers have added two more people to their scouting staff, naming Garth Joy the associate director of player personnel and director of player scouting, and Andy Schneider the director of North American amateur scouting. Joy, notably, has been with the Colorado Avalanche for more than two decades mostly as a pro scout but will be getting quite the title increase as he moves to the Rangers. He was with the Avalanche when Chris Drury, now the general manager of the Rangers, was playing (and winning the 1999 Calder Trophy and 2001 Stanley Cup).

Award Notes: Jim Gregory Award Finalists, All-Rookie Team, All-Star Teams

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While there were five awards handed out on Tuesday, there is still one more to be announced.  That one is the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.  It’s voted on by all 32 NHL GMs as well as some NHL executives at the end of the second round.  Not surprisingly, all three of the finalists, who were named during the NHL Awards show, were among the four to help lead their teams to the conference finals including Julien BriseBois of the Lightning, Chris Drury of the Rangers, and Joe Sakic of the Avalanche.  Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello won the award a year ago.  The winner for this won’t be announced until partway through the first round of the draft next month in Montreal.

More news from awards night:

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