Chris Drury Autographed Card

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What a year for the New York Rangers!

They bought out future Hall Of Famer Henrik Lundqvist to make room for two rookies in net, told Tony DeAngelo to stay home, had Mika Zibanejad take two months to recover from COVID-19, which also forced head coach David Quinn miss six games, and superstar Artemi Panarin missed a fair chunk of the season as well, dealing with (possibly politically-motivated) problems in Russia, yet the team was in the playoff picture until today.

Today is a weird day, culminating with the nomination of Chris Drury as President and General Manager of the team, after serving as assistant-GM for a handful of seasons; John Davidson and Jeff Gorton, respectively, were relieved of their functions today, a day after distancing themselves from a tweet that I fully endorse and support, myself:

Honestly, Tom Wilson should have been suspended for at least 10 games for what he did to Panarin, who will not play again this season. If your owner has the balls to call the player and the NHL's Director Of Player Safety, George Parros, out, you should have the principle that standing up for your player against an unpunished criminal action is the only right thing to do.

(edit: distancing themselves from the team's statement seems to have hurried the announcement, but many sources now confirm divergence of opinions on the state of the team's rebuild and roster priorities would have seen both men lose their jobs before the next draft anyhow).

It's a safe bet Davidson will return to his previous job as President of the Columbus Blue Jackets, I just hope that doesn't mean their own GM Jarmo Kekalainen will not be in constant danger of losing his own job to Gorton.

As for Drury, after a decorated career as a hockey player that included a Calder Trophy (1998-99), a Stanley Cup (2000-01), and the captaincy of both the Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, his turn as an executive has also yielded impressive results so far, with a successful run as GM of the Rangers' AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack (2017-21) and for Team USA at the 2019, 2020 (cancelled) and 2021 World Championships, where he had rpeviously served as assistant-GM (2015-2017).

Here he is wearing the Sabres' black (away) uniform (1996-2006) on card #9 from Upper Deck's 2003-04 SP Authentic collection:

He signed it in blue sharpie near the end of his playing career with the Rangers.

Chris Drury Jersey Card

Chris Drury signed an extension as the New York Rangers' assistant-GM in March 2019, months before drafting Kaapo Kakko second-overall at the 2019 draft and a year and a half before using the first-overall selection to either select generational talent Alexis Lafrenière help or concoct a major trade with the likes of the Los Angeles Kings, Montréal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators.

Those moves combined with the signing of Artemi Panarin and having two solid goaltending prospects and the emergence if Mika Zibanejad and a strong, young defensive unit mean the Rangers' rebuild is not only well under way but almost at a point where they can seriously contend for a playoff spot, which in turn means he'll get his shot a running his own team sooner than later.

He might be on the shortlist for next Buffalo Sabres GM if Kevyn Adams' revamped lineup doesn't make a dent in the playoffs in the next three to five seasons; he'd be a great fit for the Sabres, since he captained them like he did the Rangers, and he looked pretty good in their uniform, too:

Of course, as a Colorado Avalanche fan, I remember him winning the Calder Trophy (1998-99) and Stanley Cup (2000-01) in Denver, but I kind of had forgotten they'd traded him to the Calgary Flames to bolster their defense with Derek Morris following Ray Bourque's retirement.

He was a good enough player to be inducted in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 on the strength of 615 points in 895 NHL regular-season games as well as two Olympic silver medals with Team USA and was a pretty good playoff performer when his teams made them, nearing the point-per-game mark four times in nine appearances.

Chris Drury Jersey Card

Chris Drury's had a busy spring, starting with being named co-GM of Team USA's selection at the World Championships (with Bill Guerin), then watching the New York Rangers block the Buffalo Sabres from interviewing him for their own vacant GM position, to finally being assigned to manage their AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack.

It must be pretty wild to have two teams you've captained fight for your services...

Drury is the typical All-American: a Hobey Baker winner in the NCAA (with the Boston University Terriers), a Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) winner and Stanley Cup champion (with the Colorado Avalanche) and, as mentioned previously, captain of the Sabres (held jointly with Daniel Brière) and Rangers.

Now, he will have the opportunity to show what he can achieve in a managerial position, although most of the team's player personnel decisions will stem from the Rangers' top brass (President Glen Sather, GM Jeff Gorton and senior vice-president and assistant-GM Jim Schoenfeld), and the team's record will have a lot to do with injuries to the parent team.

Here's Drury wearing the Sabres' 1996-2006 white (home) uniform, on card #GJ-30 from Upper Deck's 2003-04 Bee Hive set and Game-Used Jersey sub-set:

It features a black game-worn jersey swatch (complete with a white stitch in the middle of it) from the forward who finished his career with 255 goals, 360 assists and 615 points in 892 regular-season games, and 89 points (47 goals, 42 assists) in 135 playoff games.

Chris Drury Autographed Card

Only one player in NHL history can claim to have won the Calder Trophy ahead of future Hall of Famer Marian Hossa, and that's Chris Drury. He's also the only player in history to win the Calder after the Hobey Baker... so far.

Nearly half a decade removed from his last NHL shift, we tend to forget just how good and clutch he was; during his tenure with the Colorado Avalanche, which included a Stanley Cup in 2000-01, he was pretty much the best third-line center in the league, behind Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. And, beause Forsberg had a knack for getting injured, Drury had many chances to shine on the Avs' second line, like when he scored 11 playoff goals on route to the 2001 Cup, which also happened to catch the eye of Team USA, who named him to the 2002 Olympic team, where he won the silver medal.

He was dealt to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defensive depth, in the form of Derek Morris; after one sub-par season in Calgary (23 goals, 30 assists, 53 points), he was sent to the Buffalo Sabres (with Steve Bégin, for Rhett Warrener and Steven Reinprecht), on a team that didn't make the playoffs, enabling Drury to compete in the World Championships and earn a bronze medal.

He was so important to the Sabres' success that he was named the team's co-captain with Daniel Brière, a title both held together until they left as free agents the same summer Drury with the New York Rangers, Brière with the Philadelphia Flyers. He would win another Olympic silver medal at the Vancouver Games in 2010.

Here he is as captain of the Sabres, wearing the team's black-and-red "prequel to Buffaslug" uniform:

That's card #31 from Pacific's 2004-05 Pacific set, which he signed in (someone else's) silver sharpie. It was the final year that Pacific would produce an NHL product, as the league signed consecutive exclusivity deals with Upper Deck after each of the last two lockouts. Panini was the only brand who took advantage of a small window between both deals to produce a few years' worth of sets.