Chris Drury

Everyone has said it, Chris Drury has been great so far for Team USA. Defensively excellent he has killed penalties blocked shots and been a strong veteran presence for the young Americans. What may have surprised some is Drury seems to have re-found an offensive game in the Olympics as well… With 2 goals thus far (including a game winner), he’s taking shots and going to the net – Drury has been very visible on the ice.

So why can he do it for USA and not the Rangers? His performance so far asks several questions; is he being deployed right in NY? does he actually have more to give? and if The Rangers arent using him correctly what are the American coaches doing differently?

With Tortorella on the coaching staff in Vancouver one can only hope he is seeing whatever is different fellow Coaches Gordon and Wilson are doing offensively and will look to perhaps replicate it with Drury after the games in NY.

There’s no doubt that if Drury plays for the Rangers like he has done for Team USA, The Rangers immediately become a lot better.

Roenick Issues Apology

When Chris Drury was elected to Team USA, Jeremy Roenick was, for lack of a better phrase, appalled:

“Not to take anything away from the guy because he’s had such a great career, but for Chris Drury to be on the team, it baffles me,” Roenick told Toronto radio station AM640.

“I know he’s a great leader and if he’s captain of the team, he’ll be a great captain, but I just don’t see him being as good for the team as a guy like Gomez would be or T.J. Oshie. Oshie would bring so much energy to this team and this type of format in an international event, that I don’t understand how those two guys aren’t on the team.”

Now, after the US victory over Canada and the #1 overall seed in tournament play, Roenick is changing his tune. He has issued an apology:

I think being in New York, I owe a huge apology, both in the New York area or across the country, to Chris Drury, who I said probably should not have been there, here in the Olympics. [He's] been a monster for Team USA. He’s been one of their best players. I’ll eat crow when crow needs to be eaten. This is my national apology to Chris Drury. He’s just been a great, great hockey player

Team USA is the youngest in the tournament, and a veteran like Drury, who has participated in a few Olympics before, is essential to help guide the youngsters as the team focus shifts into a new generation, headed by Zach Parise, Drew Doughty (I meant Jack Johnson, oops), and Ryan Miller.

The young guns have a solid chance of earning a medal, as the qualifying round begins tonight.

Controlled Excitement

Team USA, the youngest team in the Olympics this year, was supposed to be an afterthought for the 2010 Olympics. The pool play favored the Americans slightly, placed in a pool with two very beatable teams in Norway and Switzerland. However, the young Americans were supposed to get blown away by the Canadians, the overall favorite to win the gold this year. After last night’s stunning victory, these young guns are changing the course of these games.

However, despite all the hooplah surrounding last night’s upset, we have to remain a bit controlled. This, in no way, shape or form, is comparable to 1980. So just stop with those comparisons please, you look stupid when you make them. Canada is stacked, but they’ve won a single gold medal in hockey since 1952. 1952!

Team USA does not have to play Canada, Sweden, or Russia until the gold medal game. However, they still will need to face one of the Czech Republic or Finland, both very strong teams who are very capable of beating not only the Americans, but the aforementioned powers of the other bracket. Before we get excited about a potential medal, let’s make sure these young guns beat the winner of the Swiss/Belarus game on Wednesday. At that point, and only at that point, are they guaranteed to at least compete for a medal. They would then have to beat either Finland or the Czech Republic AND Canada/Russia/Sweden. That is no easy task.

But let’s hear it for Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury. Both are playing very well, especially on the penalty kill, and have proved doubters wrong about what they bring to the team. Hopefully this will give Drury a boost after the Olympics and he can get some of those garbage goals he’s been collecting.

Olympic round up

So several teams of interest started their Olympic campaigns yesterday. A Quick look at the scores;

Team USA 3 – Switzerland 1

Team Canada 8 – Norway 0

Team Russia 8 – Latvia 2

All the Rangers involved on Tuesday were in the US game where Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan went scoreless for the US team and Andreas Ambuhl did the same for the Swiss. The goals scored for Team USA were by Bobby Ryan, David Backes (GWG) as well as a powerplay marker for Ryan Malone. Next up for the US is Norway on Thursday.

Team Canada looked impressive against the same Norwegians the US will face next. Dany Heatley got 2 goals, Jarome Iginla got a hatrick while the other scorers were Ryan ‘hows my ankle’ Getzlaf, Mike Richards and Corey Perry. Sid Crosby got 3 helpers for the Canadians but perhaps most pleasing for the home crowd was the shutout for Roberto Luongo on his home ice.  Next up for Canada is Switzerland…

Russia managed a big win over Latvia on Tuesday with Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk amongst the scorers. As befitting a side with AO in it, the Russians peppered the Baltic side with 45 shots. Next up for Russia in 2 days is Slovakia who have the ‘luxury’ of playing games on back to back days.  Slovakia, who start today against the Czech Republic are still expected to be without the Rangers very own Marian Gaborik for both games.

For those of you who watched the US game how did you feel Drury and Callahan played?

Drury Doesn’t Get A Letter for Team USA

In a surprise move, Team USA did not give a letter to Chris Drury. The captain is Jamie Langenbrunner. The alternate captains are  Zach Parise, Dustin Brown, Ryan Suter and Brian Rafalski. To me, Drury was selected because of the leadership he provides. And that was going to be rewarded with a ‘C’ or ‘A’. Here’s what GM Brian Burke had to say:

“Leaders lead,” Burke said. “Leaders don’t need letters to lead. Ron Wilson and I were co-captains together in college and it didn’t change one thing on how we acted when they put a C on us. So, to me leaders lead. If you need a letter to lead, then you’re not a leader anyhow. We know what Chris Drury can bring. He doesn’t need a letter. We’ve got a number of guys who are wearing letters in the NHL that aren’t going to wear a letter on this team. I wasn’t defensive at all about picking Chris Drury. In fact, every single guy — this will be illuminating for the people in the media that are skeptical about Chris Drury — every single guy on the selection committee had him on the team. So, I wasn’t defensive at all.

I get that, but if you pick Chris Drury because he’s Chris Drury, Captain Clutch, you give him a letter. Maybe I’m just being biased as a Ranger fan. But, he deserves a letter. And he didn’t get one.

Callahan, Drury Make Team USA

Good news for Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury: They have made the US Olympic team. Drury was pretty much a given. Callahan was on the bubble. Good for them. They’ll most likely play a checking/3rd line/penalty killing role on Team USA.

Drury Maybe, Christensen In

As per Andrew Gross, Erik Christensen will be in tonight for the injured Vinny Prospal. Chris Higgins will be on the top line with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik. Hopefully it will help him get some bounces to go his way.

Chris Drury may or may not play tonight, so Aaron Voros will partake in the warmups, and will play if Drury cannot go tonight.

Which Rangers Will Be In The Olympics?

With the Olympics around the corner, and the announcement of rosters just days away, it’s time to break down which Rangers will be heading to Vancouver.

MORTAL LOCKS:

Henrik Lundqvist, Sweden

Marian Gaborik, Slovakia

What, you thought these guys would be staying home?

ON THE BUBBLE:

Chris Drury, USA

Ryan Callahan, USA

Vinny Prospal, Czech Republic

Marc Staal, Canada

I think Drury’s recent hot streak helps him. He’s an unbelievable penalty killer. And a great leader. But, he may not score enough to make it. Same with Callahan. Will he provide enough offense for USA to take him? He’d be a hell of a 3rd liner, though. Prospal is interesting. He probably wasn’t on the radar at the beginning of the year. But, he’s had a such a good year, and he can really set up some of the big stars. Staal is probably a long-shot. He hasn’t had a great year, offensively, but he can be a shut down defenseman. I think 2014 is more likely for him.

Anyone I’m missing?

The Captain Is Back

It’s safe to say that Chris Drury is back. Scoring-wise, he’s on Dave’s fantasy radar. He’s been awesome on the penalty kill. But, more important than that, he knows how to lead:

Hopefully I don’t have an ego in that sense. I never come to the rink thinking I’m better than anyone else,” Drury told The Post. “What kind of a teammate would I be if I had reacted with, ‘Oh [expletive deleted], what am I doing on the fourth line?’ What would that say to Brash [Donald Brashear] and Brian Boyle, who are usually on the fourth line?”For me to react negatively to being given that assignment would be disrespectful to the team, to my teammates, and specifically to the guys who play that role every night. It would show up guys like Brash and Brian.

Where Sather Went Wrong: Both Drury and Gomez

This is now the second part of a multi-post discussion about the decisions of General Manager Glen Sather. Sather has come under some real heat lately, as the Rangers are in what appears to be a free fall, and have no cap room to make any adjustments. The highest paid players on the Rangers have been, to be delicate, disappointing. Sather’s strength during his tenure with the Rangers has been his ability to make trades, but this does not overshadow his weakness of evaluating the market and making the best decision for the team. In this series, I will analyze where Sather went wrong, and where he lost the fans.

It was the summer of 2007, and the Rangers were facing a dilemma. Michael Nylander, coming off a good Ranger career, was going to be let go. The Rangers had a gaping hole at center that season, and this departure was going to create an even larger hole. There were many prime centers hitting free agency, including Danny Briere, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Ranger fans were assuming that Glen Sather was going to land one of these centers.

Late in the afternoon on July 1, Ranger fans were stunned by the news they received. In a matter of minutes, the Rangers had signed both Drury and Gomez to monster contracts. Many were thrilled, as the problem down the middle had supposedly been solved. The Rangers committed over $14.5 million in salary cap space to the two centers. The problem was that both were second line centers who parlayed one good year into mega bucks.

To say that Gomez and Drury were/have been disappointments in the Big Apple wouldn’t be stretching the truth much. Both centers struggled in their first year on Broadway, and neither put up the numbers that fans were hoping for. Drury (+4.2 GVT in 2008-2009) has struggled mightily in his two-plus seasons on Broadway, and hasn’t been able to match the performance he put up in Buffalo that earned him his $7 million a year salary.

Gomez, slated to be the top center, never found chemistry with Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka, and while many attributed this to a difference in playing style, those opinions were quickly silenced by how quickly rookie center Brandon Dubinsky clicked with the Czechs. Gomez improved the following year, but underperformed considerably, especially considering his $7.5 million cap hit (a -14.3 GVS, good for 10th worst in the league).

Hindsight is always 20/20. But this one is too glaring to miss. The Rangers would have been better off signing just one of the centers, letting Dubinsky develop as a 2nd/3rd line center, and using Matt Cullen, as a significantly cheaper option, as the other center, and to play the point on the powerplay. Cullen was the type of player the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Rangers were lacking, a cheap, quick 2nd/3rd line center that can play the point on the powerplay. Would it have solved all the problems? Of course not, but I’d rather have a cheap option fail to an extent than an expensive option fail miserably.

Don’t misunderstand, the Rangers needed to sign one of those players, not both. Say all you want about the size of the Drury deal (the only relevant one now), but that contract value was set when Daniel Briere signed with Philly for more money. The problem was signing both to these overvalued contracts, and eating up significant cap room that hurt them at both the trade deadline and in subsequent offseasons.

Luckily for Sather, he was able to rectify this mistake by dealing Gomez in the 2009 offseason, making room for Marian Gaborik, and acquiring Ryan McDonagh in the process. This is a very rare occurrence in the NHL, and Sather is lucky that he was able to not only dump Gomez, but get a great return in the deal.