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New York Rangers Agree To Multi-Year Extension With Chris Drury

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The New York Rangers are sticking with the current leader of their front office. The Rangers announced a multi-year extension with General Manager Chris Drury.

In the announcement, MSG Sports Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan wrote, “I am pleased that Chris will continue to lead the Rangers hockey operations in his role as President and General Manager. Over his tenure, Chris has shown passion for the Rangers, relentless work ethic, and a tireless pursuit of excellence. While we are all disappointed in what transpired this past season, I am confident in his ability to guide this organization to success.”

Despite working for New York’s front office since the 2015-16 season, Drury has spent the last four seasons as the team’s General Manager. Although he cannot be fully credited, the Rangers have appeared in two Eastern Conference Finals under Drury, additionally winning the President’s Trophy last season.

Beginning with the draft, Drury has made three selections in the first round, with his first being Brennan Othmann from the OHL’s Flint Firebirds in 2021. Othmann has yet to break out at the NHL level, but has been extremely successful with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Drury’s most impressive selection came two years later, when the Rangers selected Gabriel Perreault with the 23rd overall pick. After an incredible two-year run with Boston College, Perreault projects to be a quality top-six forward for years to come in New York.

Unfortunately, Drury’s tenure as General Manager becomes checkered when analyzing his trade history. Drury is credited with trading away Brett Howden, Pavel Buchnevich, and Nils Lundkvist, while failing to bring back anything of legitimate value in those deals. Still, Drury can be aggressive on the trade market when he needs to be, acquiring Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and J.T. Miller while being able to move the heavy contract of defenseman Jacob Trouba.

He’s been a toss-up when it comes to perusing the free agent market. Drury signed Barclay Goodrow and Patrik Nemeth to burdensome contracts, but also locked up Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox, and Alexis Lafreniere to long-term deals.

Still, like it is for all of the Original Six organizations, the proof is in the pudding. Although some teams may feel content with two Conference Final appearances in three years, the Rangers faithful are still hungry for their first Stanley Cup banner in 31 years. Despite agreeing to a multi-year extension with the Rangers, the pressure to perform shouldn’t escape Drury.

Philadelphia Flyers Dismiss Three Coaches

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John Tortorella wasn’t the only one on the chopping block from the Philadelphia Flyers’ disappointing 2024-25 campaign. A short while ago, the Flyers announced they were not retaining Rocky Thompson or Darryl Williams as assistant coaches, nor Angelo Ricci as the club’s skills coach.

Williams is the most-veteran coach of the group, having started his professional coaching career as a video coach for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008-09 season. He spent six years in that role, as well as enjoying the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011, before becoming an assistant coach for the New York Rangers in 2014-15. He was let go by the Rangers after the 2017-18 season, the same time the organization relieved head coach Alain Vigneault of his duties.  Interestingly enough, Williams became an assistant coach again in the 2021-22 season, this time with the Flyers.

Meanwhile, Thompson has enjoyed his longest stretch as an assistant coach with Philadelphia. He briefly served as the Edmonton Oilers assistant coach in 2014-15 and the San Jose Sharks’ in 2020-21. He served as the head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and AHL’s Chicago Wolves during the in-between years outside of the NHL, and joined the Flyers coaching staff for the 2022-23 season.

Ricci is arguably the least known of the trio, having only served as skills coach for the Buffalo Sabres and Flyers. Before his move to Philadelphia, Ricci was a youth hockey mainstay in Denver, serving as the Colorado Thunderbirds U16 AAA team from 2005 to 2020.

Metro Notes: Ansons, Flyers, Nikishin

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According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review, the Pittsburgh Penguins are unlikely to issue forward prospect Raivis Ansons his $813K qualifying offer this summer. Ansons would become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and would be a candidate to return overseas to continue his professional career.

The Penguins selected Ansons with the 149th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft from the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Ansons scored 13 goals and 35 points in 60 games during his draft year, and Pittsburgh believed he could be a long-term candidate in the bottom-six of the team’s forward group.

After a year in his native Latvia and a return trip to the QMJHL, Ansons signed his entry-level contract with the Penguins in 2022 and played for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Unfortunately, his time in the AHL has been nothing short of a disaster, as Ansons has only managed five goals and 14 points in 87 career contests. Coupled with an undisclosed injury that limited him to nine games this year, the Penguins organization is seemingly ready to move on from one of their recent draft choices.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • Although General Manager Daniel Brière would like to add more pieces than he subtracts this offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers, don’t expect them to be wild spenders. Anthony Di Marco of DailyFaceoff writes that Brière will only look for specific areas of need, rather than go after the market’s biggest fish. The only hypothetical option Di Marco listed was Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche on a three-year deal, given the Flyers’ need for centers. Meanwhile, although the team may like to improve their disappointing goaltending, Di Marco doesn’t believe Brière will be interested in any of the options on the free-agent market.
  • Despite having his entry-level contract reported two weeks ago, Alexander Nikishin has yet to play a game in the Carolina Hurricanes organization. Much of that can be explained away due to his visa issues, however, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal passed along a note from Carolina General Manager Eric Tulsky indicating Nikishin hasn’t signed his entry-level contract yet. Fortunately, Tulsky pointed out they’re merely working out the deal’s finer points, and the organization doesn’t feel rushed to add Nikishin to a lineup that has won the first two games of their Round One series against the New Jersey Devils.

Evening Notes: Kane, Klingberg, Team USA, Backlund, Alexeyev

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After giving up six goals on 30 shots, it was clear throughout Game One that the Edmonton Oilers could use some reinforcements. According to Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels, that could be a realistic possibility relatively soon.

Michaels publicized a note from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch indicating that there’s a “very good possibility” Edmonton will have forward Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg for Game 2 in their opening-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Neither player offers much in the defensive zone, but could prove valuable on the Oilers’ forecheck.

Kane will be the most interesting of the two to reinsert into the lineup. Despite letting in six goals, Edmonton still produced five, meaning Kane could give them the offensive edge to win the one-goal contests if their defense and goaltending struggle. Meanwhile, Klingberg failed to garner much offensive consistency with the Oilers in limited action this year, scoring one goal and four points in 11 games.

Other evening notes:

  • Earlier today, USA Hockey announced the rest of their coaching staff for the 2025 IIHF World Championships. According to the announcement, Mike Vellucci (Pittsburgh Penguins), Kevin Dean (Chicago Blackhawks), and Adam Nightingale (Michigan State University) will serve as assistant coaches to head coach Ryan Warsofsky. Meanwhile, Thomas Speer has been named the team’s goaltending coach, while Nick Gialdini (San Jose Sharks) and Lawrence Feloney (Nashville Predators) will be the team’s video coaches.
  • On the other side of the bracket, the Calgary Flames announced an important for Team Sweden this afternoon. The Flames shared that captain Mikael Backlund will participate in the World Championships for Sweden for the first time in seven years. Backlund delivered an outstanding performance in the 2018 IIHF World Championships, scoring two goals and accumulating nine points in 10 games, which helped lead Sweden to consecutive gold medals.
  • Despite winning in overtime in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals had an injury scare late in the third period when defenseman Alexander Alexeyev left the game due to being high-sticked by Jake Evans. Fortunately, Alexeyev’s absence will not be lengthy, as Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports he will rejoin the lineup tomorrow night. It’s an important injury update for the Capitals as the team recently lost defenseman Martin Fehérváry for the postseason due to knee surgery.

Central Notes: Foligno, Heiskanen, Robertson, Bridgestone Arena

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In an engaging article from Joe Smith at The Athletic, Smith performed a deep dive on the injury-plagued seasons of Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno over the past few years. Foligno’s injuries, largely in his core abdominal muscles, began negatively impacting his life off the ice, leading to doubt concerning his playing career.

As Smith points out in the article, Foligno’s play style has a part to play. He’s been an aggressive forechecker for his entire career, amassing 2,614 hits (2.98 hits/game) in 875 regular-season contests. That aggression only increases in the postseason, where Foligno has delivered 154 hits (5.31 hits/game) in 29 playoff appearances.

Unfortunately, as Foligno puts it in the article, his tenacity on the ice caught up to him off the ice. Smith quoted Foligno saying, “There were some dark days going through that stuff and thinking about the future and thinking about, how are you going to manage through this injury? You’re thinking about it: ‘Will this (surgery) really solve all my problems?’ You’re really banking on coming out of it. There’s always a bit of gray area, little bit of fogginess where it comes to like, ‘Am I going to be the player I once was before these injuries started piling up?’”

Now that his surgery is in the rearview mirror, we know how the surgery turned out for Foligno. The 14-year veteran appeared in 70 or more games for the first time since the 2021-22 season, scoring 14 goals and 29 points. Meanwhile, he set a career-high in hits with 253, placing him in the league’s top 10.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • After splitting the first two games in Dallas, the Stars and Avalanche are headed north for Game 3 and Game 4 of their opening-round matchup. According to Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports, defenseman Miro Heiskanen will travel with the team while forward Jason Robertson will not. Given that he’s already returned to skating, there’s a strong chance that the Stars will welcome Heiskanen back at some point in Colorado. Meanwhile, Robertson’s recovery is only a few days into a week-to-week prognosis, meaning there’s very little chance of him returning during Round One.
  • Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, is getting a major makeover (Article Link). The arena announced a $1B renovation set to take place over the next 15 to 20 years that “aims to increase seating capacity, introduce new seating options, and create various fan communal areas.” The project will begin after the 2026-27 NHL season and will start with replacing the outer concrete of the building with glass walls facing Broadway.

San Jose Sharks Sign Matt Davis To AHL Contract

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For the second time in as many years, the San Jose Sharks organization has signed another National Championship-winning netminder out of the University of Denver. The Sharks AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, announced they’ve signed goaltender Matt Davis to an AHL contract through the 2025-26 season.

The news comes exactly two years and 12 days since the Sharks signed Magnus Chrona out of the Pioneers program. Davis, who played as Chrona’s backup for his freshman and sophomore campaigns, won the first National Championship of his career in 2022. Once Chrona transitioned to professional hockey, Davis was given the reins in southern Denver once the 2023-24 season began.

It’s a move that worked out well for the program. Davis was flat-out electric in his first season as the Pioneers’ starter, managing a 25-5-3 record in 34 games with a .917 SV% and 2.34 GAA, including two shutouts. He backstopped the University of Denver to a second-place finish in the hotly contested NCHC Conference. He helped knock out the University of Massachusetts, Cornell University, Boston University, and Boston College en route to their 10th National Championship in program history.

Even though Davis did not receive any awards in the NCHC Conference, he was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and the HCA’s Goaltender of the Month for March. Remarkably, Davis had an even better season in 2024-25.

He finished his senior campaign with a 29-10-1 record in 40 games with a .924 SV% and 2.07 GAA. Unfortunately, despite knocking out Providence College and Boston College, the Pioneers ran into a red-hot Western Michigan University in the Frozen Four, ending their chance at a repeat victory. Still, he earned one NCHC Conference award, the 2024-25 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Davis finished his NCAA career with a 63-17-4 record in 90 games with a .921 SV% and 2.13 GAA. Assuming Yaroslav Askarov becomes a full-time netminder for the Sharks in 2025-26, Davis has every opportunity to become the Barracuda’s leading man.

Metro Notes: Sullivan, Penguins Goaltending, Fehervary

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The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be among the few teams looking for a new bench boss this summer. In an article from Wes Crosby of NHL.com, the Penguins will retain head coach Mike Sullivan through the 2025-26 NHL season.

Sullivan’s tenure as the longest-serving coach in franchise history is a story of two distinct coaching periods. He guided Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, and into the playoffs for another five years after.

Unfortunately, the dream ended in 2022-23, as the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Throughout his first 507 games behind the bench, he coached Pittsburgh to a 297-156-54 record. Since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, the Penguins have only mustered a 112-99-35 in the last 246 games under Sullivan’s tutelage.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • In a separate article from Michelle Crechiolo, General Manager Kyle Dubas indicated that netminders Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic would compete for the spot they wanted in training camp. Indirectly, that confirms that the Penguins intend to keep both netminders on the team throughout the summer, and that won’t be an area they’ll look to improve externally. Both goalies showed flashes of quality play throughout the 2024-25 season. Still, Pittsburgh finished the year with a 30th-ranked 3.50 GA/G and a 27th-ranked .884 SV%.
  • Defenseman Martin Fehérváry isn’t in the lineup for the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their opening-round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, as alluded to by Sammi Silber of The Hockey News this morning. Fehérváry continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered in Washington’s penultimate game of the season. Still, it granted an opportunity for Alexander Alexeyev, who’s taken Fehérváry’s spot in the lineup for tonight’s contest.

Canucks Notes: Willander, Demko, Center

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The Vancouver Canucks’ General Manager Patrik Allvin and President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford held their end of season press conference earlier today. As one of the most important revelations from the media availability, Harman Dayal of The Athletic received a confirmation from Allvin that top prospect Tom Willander intends to return to Boston University for his junior season.

Allvin’s announcement comes with little surprise, given that a report a few days ago indicated that contract negotiations weren’t going well between the parties. The report suggests that the Canucks are low-balling Willander on Schedule ’A’ bonuses, obviously something the 2023 first-round pick isn’t interested in accepting.

Still, it’s not necessarily a worst-case scenario from Vancouver’s perspective. The organization still owns Willander’s contractual rights until after the 2026-27 NCAA season. That reality gives the Canucks a lot of control over the negotiations, having time on their side in repairing the relationship.

Other notes from the Canucks’ media availability:

  • In a surprising admission, Thomas Drance of The Athletic quoted Rutherford as saying, “We would like to extend him,” regarding netminder Thatcher Demko. The negotiations will be interesting to observe due to concerns about Demko’s health over the past year. He’s signed through next season on a $5MM cap hit and was only healthy enough to participate in 23 games for Vancouver this year. Meanwhile, the Canucks signed his tandem partner Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, $22.5MM extension in February.
  • Lastly, Randip Janda of Sportsnet publicized one of the more brutally honest quotes from the press conference. The quote in question was concerning the Canucks’ need for a center with Rutherford saying, “It will be expensive. But it will be expensive not to get one.” After trading J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers, Vancouver finished the season with a lethargic group down the middle, led by an unimpressive performance from Elias Pettersson, who scored four goals in 19 contests after the deal.

Minnesota Wild Recall Eight Players As Black Aces

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According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have recalled eight players to serve as Black Aces for the team’s playoff run. The players are forwards Travis Boyd, Brendan Gaunce, Hunter Haight, Ben Jones, and Liam Ohgren, defensemen Cameron Crotty and Carson Lambos, and goaltender Samuel Hlavaj.

Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, didn’t qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, giving them plenty of flexibility to recall so many players. It is unlikely that any of the eight will appear in a playoff game this postseason. The Wild will want to prioritize experience in their opening round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, and Haight, Lambos, and Hlavaj have yet to debut in the NHL, let alone in the playoffs.

Boyd is the only member of the group with postseason experience. From 2017 to 2020, he appeared in six playoff games with the Washington Capitals, scoring one goal and averaging 10:46 of ice time per game. Unfortunately, since Boyd didn’t feature in at least 41 games that season, and didn’t play in the Stanley Cup Final, he doesn’t have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup with the Capitals.

Meanwhile, the quartet of Gaunce, Jones, Ohgren, and Crotty combined for two goals and six points in 63 games for Minnesota this season, with Ohgren scoring both goals and tallying three of the assists. Given the lack of usage throughout the regular season, an unexpected injury during their series against the Golden Knights would be the only feasible reason for any of them to get inserted into the lineup.

Utah Hockey Club Notes: Cooley, But, Simashev, Maccelli, Ingram

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After managing a 38-31-13 record in their first season in franchise history, the Utah Hockey Club will be an exciting team to follow this upcoming offseason. They have abundant financial flexibility, and some of those dollars will undoubtedly go to a player they’ll look to build around for the long haul.

Brogan Houston of Deseret News shared a note from Utah General Manager Bill Armstrong earlier, indicating the team will look to begin extension negotiations with center Logan Cooley this summer. Cooley becomes eligible for an extension on July 1st, as he enters the last season of his three-year entry-level contract signed in 2023.

There’s no questioning the desire for an extension from Utah’s perspective. Cooley has been flat-out electric since jumping from collegiate to professional, scoring 45 goals and 109 points through his first 157 contests, with a 19-point improvement year-on-year. All four of Utah’s top-scoring forwards are signed to contracts at or below $7.15MM per year, so they may be ready to make Cooley their highest-paid player as well.

Other updates out of Utah:

  • Just over two weeks ago, Armstrong suggested that Utah’s two 2023 first-round selections, Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev, might debut for the team next season. In a follow-up, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports received confirmation from Armstrong today that the team would begin contract negotiations with the pair once their KHL season had concluded. Those negotiations could start relatively soon, given that their current team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, will play Avangard Omsk in Game 7 of Round Two of the Gagarin Cup playoffs on Wednesday.
  • After notching 78 assists in his last 146 games, much was expected from Matias Maccelli this season. Unfortunately, the 2024-25 season became one to forget, as Maccelli finished with eight goals and 18 points in 55 contests, becoming a frequent healthy scratch. The diminished production sparked trade rumors regarding Maccelli around the deadline, and that doesn’t appear likely to fade this offseason. Concerning Maccelli’s future with the organization, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Armstrong saying, “We’ve got some evaluation to do. Your team becomes better every year. There are certain things that happen — sometimes your players have to keep up, sometimes roles change.“
  • Fraser also received a quote from Armstrong about netminder Connor Ingram’s status, who entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on March 9th. Armstrong said, “A lot of it is unknown. When players go into the program, we don’t have any contact with him so it’s hard for us to speculate. The good news for us as we sit here in this room is we know he is in a good place at the program. We wish him the best.” Ingram’s starting status for Utah’s 2025-26 season is uncertain, but he is signed through next season with a cap hit of $1.95MM.

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