New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury is not open to making bold statements or making his plans known to the media.
This matter has been made clear in his first two months as the New York Rangers team president and general manager. It is also clear that the new manager is prepping for a busy July.
Without making his intentions clear to the public, Drury made this known in a conference call with reporters on Monday. He said via casino games online: “I’ll put it this way: We’re always looking every day at ways we can be better and ways we can reach our goal next year. We’re going to look at every single way we can (improve), whether it’s trades, draft, you name it.”
The work began for the team during the weekend, as Drury was able to quickly acquire winger Barclay Goodrow from the Tampa Bay Lightning while forward Brett Howden was shipped to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It took the New York Rangers a six-year with an annual cap of $3.6 to convince Goodrow not to enter the free-agent market, and Drury confidence in the deal made us realised that the deal was imminent. He said: “I don’t anticipate any issues with getting him under contract.”
Although that could be considered pricey for a bottom-six winger, it also clearly states that the Rangers are more than determined to strengthen up their roster for the coming season.
The Rangers are even willing to give up their No. 15 overall picks in the first round of Friday’s NHL Draft if it helps achieve “our goal of being a playoff team this year.”
“That’s a piece we have,” Drury said to the media. “If we can make the team better with moving that pick – or another pick or players – we’ll look at everything.”
There are several players in the team reported to be involved in trade talks, but Pavel Buchnevich is currently taking the most attention in the market.
The 26-year-old forward has been impressive in the last five years with New York Rangers, and 2021 could be said to be his best season yet as he was able to post 48 points (20 goals and 28 assists) in 54 games for the franchise while slowly becoming one of the team’s best two-way forwards and a top penalty killer.
“He’s a terrific player,” Drury added via online casinos. “He’s done so much here and in the life of his Ranger career in terms of growth. You can see how he was used the last few years, and he just keeps getting more and more responsibility.”
As always Drury refused to go into the specifics concerning contract negotiations with Buchnevich. When asked about Buchnevich’s future, Drury said: “We’ll keep trying to figure out what’s best for the group as a whole.”