Goal Line Report
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Setting a Role for Chris Drury
by Patrick Hoffman on 07/26/10 at 12:12 PM ET
Comments (4)
Back in the off-season of 2007, Glen Sather went out and signed the two-headed free-agent moster of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury.
At the time, they were the two most sought after free agents on the market and Sather did his part by throwing a boat load of cash and years (Gomez now spending it in Montreal) to the duo. Unfortunately, for the Blueshirts, both have come up short in their end of the deal, in particular Drury since Gomez is no longer a Blueshirt.
The reason why Drury is struggling on Broadway is because Sather signed him to be a scorer and point-producer. Sure, Drury had 37 goals one season (2006-07) in Buffalo but that is NOT who he is.
Drury is a guy that can help on special teams, in particular the penalty kill, score big goals, make key defensive plays and play well on both sides of the puck. These traits are good for a second, third or fourth liner.
When Drury was moved down to the third line late in the season, one could easily see a difference. He was more focused on playing his game rather than putting points up on the board. Obviously, any points he can score will be more than welcomed but right now, it’s about making the team captain comfortable.
Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella needs to use that philosophy heading into the upcoming season that the team can maximize Drury in the best way possible. Put him as a third line or even fourth line center and let him go out there and block shots, put some pucks on the net, play responsibly on the defensive end of the puck and may be score a few goals.
In an article in Newsday this weekend, sports/hockey writer Arthur Staple said that Drury wants to himself and the team to learn from their mistakes and become a better hockey club:
“It was just awful, knowing that was it. But you want to be able to learn from it,” Drury told Newsday in a phone interview on Thursday. “You have to be able to know why we were there.
“When we had success, it was because we figured out how hard we had to play and how smart we had to play. When we only did one or the other, things didn’t go as well, and the result of the season was what we got.”
In the same article, Torts said that Drury will play better if he has a more defined role:
“Dru and I really got to know one another, and I love the guy,” Tortorella told Newsday. “I think we really bounced him around last year, because the guy will do whatever is asked of him, whatever we need him to do. I want to be able to put him in a more consistent role.”
If Torts can stay true to his word and play Drury where he is most comfortable and where the role is defined, the team may have a more productive Drury. A more productive Drury may also lead to a more productive Rangers hockey team.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Chris+Drury, New+York+Rangers,
Comments
Same story as Bobby Holik all over again. Get a shut down, two-way center and pay him like he is a first line offensive dynamo then complain that the numbers are not equal to the point production. Blame Sather once again for thinking if you raise a guy’s salary then his point production will follow.
Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 07/26/10 at 03:20 PM ET
Personally, that “role” should be one of buying him out. Correct me if I’m wrong, but to buy out the two final years would cost $9.45MM. If you disperse that salary over four years, they would be on the hook for $2.36MM for four years. That would afford them roughly $4.7MM in space for the next four seasons. If you assume a 5% increase in cap space, that would be covered plus extra come next summer…
I just don’t think that they can afford to have Redden & Drury (awful production for a combined $13.55 on the roster. Sadly, the Blueshirts are stuck with Redden. Arguably, the worst contract ever. Cut your losses and sign Frolov and start with a youngster or look for cheap UFA talent for a short-term deal…
At the end of the day, $7.05MM is far too much for 32 points. Time to cut him loose.
Posted by Unicorn Force from DC (but like everyone here, I'm not a local) on 07/26/10 at 06:41 PM ET
Amen. Put Redden in his lap and shove them both out the door. You can’t make Chicken soup out of Chicken feathers ( bet you thought I was going to say something else lol) There are several reasonably priced players out there Andy Sutton? etc who would help the Rangers. But no, Sather gives a human statue millions to play 2 minutes a game, goons like Boogard are passe but then again so is Glen Sather. He’ll be signing Gretsky up one of these days. It’s clear that the parade has passed Mr. Sather by, it’s time to leave him at the dog track and he can take “Bulging Veins” with him. That style of coaching went out with Woody Hayes.
Posted by 13 user names on 07/26/10 at 11:52 PM ET
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Its true Drury fits the role of 3rd line C much better than in a top 6 role but the issue is who takes those top two center spots? Two of Dubinsky, Anisimov, and Christensen? Dubinsky doesn’t seem fit for a top line spot but he could swing second? A breakout year from Anisimov would be great but its certainly nothing to bank on and I think a full year of Christensen playing a top 6 role will show why he’s never stuck with other teams.
Posted by JBM on 07/26/10 at 01:55 PM ET