The New York Rangers desperately need a fresh start. Part of that fresh start won’t come any time soon, and that is overhauling the front office. Many talk about firing him, but who would replace Chris Drury if–and eventually when–he gets fired? It won’t be for a long, long time. James Dolan has historically given his GMs long leashes, but no one lasts forever in that role. Regardless, the Rangers have had a decent run of consistency in the front office, but the time is now to hire someone from outside when the time comes to replace Chris Drury.
Funny enough, when looking to replace Chris Drury, the Rangers should take a look at their in-state rivals. The New York Islanders finally let Lou Lamiorello go and rather than hiring one of his lackeys from within the organization, they hired someone from the outside. After almost making a horrific hire in Marc Bergevin, the Islanders opted to steal Mathieu Darche from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. You know, the organization that won two Stanley Cup Finals, made a third, and are perennially contenders to make another.
Now, the Islanders are likely going to make the playoffs in Darche’s first year, in addition to already rebuilding the prospect pool in a meaningful way. Darche has done a phenomenal job.
Hiring the right leader for your organization can make a massive difference. The Rangers would be best served hiring a President of Hockey Operations first, separating those two roles. One advantage to hiring a separate President of Hockey Operations first is that it provides more options for the Rangers to explore. Someone like Chris MacFarland would not leave his role with the Colorado Avalanche to laterally be the Rangers GM, but if the Rangers offered him a chance to be the President for an original six franchise, would he consider? Especially considering Joe Sakic is likely going nowhere.
What about Brett Peterson, Assistant GM for the Florida Panthers, winners of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals? Peterson handles operations, AHL development, and more for Florida. Would a big job title and a raise lead him to consider jumping ship?
Those are just a couple of names to consider when looking to replace Chris Drury. There’s also the possibility of many across the league considering the Rangers just because they’re the Rangers. It’s a huge job that could change someone’s career.
However, the wild card in all of this is James Dolan. As stated earlier, Dolan may not be as excited to replace Chris Drury as GM. Even worse, Dolan may not have the wherewithal to hire someone who is a trending name in the hockey industry. There’s a very believable world in which someone like Lou Lamiorello, Marc Bergevin, or Brendan Shanahan is the next GM or President of Hockey Operations for the Rangers.
Overall, when the Rangers replace Chris Drury, they will need to get their next leadership hire right. That must mean new blood, not just for the organization, but within the league. New York needs to become a cutting edge organization that looks toward the future, not the past.
If not, we will be doing plenty of looking at the past as fans.