• Drury hasn't played in a game since last April.
• He is still recovering from a broken finger, came back arguably 2 or 3 weeks early.
• He has never played on a line with Gaborik and Frolov before
• He is being delivered new "triple layered" gloves he's never worn before and has 1 day to break them in and get used to them before centering a #1 line.
• Has handled and shot pucks for only 6 days leading up to Fridays opener.
• Is coming off a season with the lowest point output in his career since his freshman year in COLLEGE.
... and we expect this guy to do what on the top line exactly?
Eh, what the hell - give em a shot. This is the New York Rangers.
This is one of...if not the worst decision this team has made in a long time. A center making 7 million per year on a team with no clear cut number 1 center and you put him in as your number 1? Complete and utter stupidity!!!!!! Fire Isaiah I mean uh Sather and Torts.
(Kidding I like the chem building with the 2nd and 3rd lines and since we have no clear cut 1 this is a good idea to see if it can work. )
If Drury is taking Christensen's roster spot, I would hope they move Stepan up to the first line rather than Drury.
Drury may play on the line with Gaborik and Frolov on the 5 on 5 play... but I have a strong feeling Stepan will get the first line power play minutes with Gaborik and Frolov... Perfect situation for Stepan....
“I’m feeling good,” Drury said. “It felt good to be out their with a goalie and pucks. Skating with the coaching staff gets old.”
Though he skated with Gaborik and Frolov, Drury said he’s still not sure exactly what role coach John Tortorella will ask him to fill.
“I don’t know, we’ll see what happens,” Drury said. “Whatever is presented to me, I’ll do it.”
Drury said he became confident he’d be able to play Friday after participating in the Rangers’ morning skate prior to their 6-3 season-opening win at Buffalo on Saturday.
“That was the first time I pushed it, I had a better feeling,” Drury said. “Up until then, I was just skating."
Who's the dude wearing the Drury jersey that deaks out that whole team and then puts in on the forehand off the post and in? I think we should sign him...
I agree about EC, but I think it's better to use Stepan in the 1st line role, or at the very least, swap Stepan/Drury as #1C instead of EC.
Well then you have no understanding of the defensive side of being a center.
All you see if playmaker potential and want to put a 20 year old at the #1C spot, its a recipe for disaster. Properly developing a player is not some sort of myth.
Theres no way I put Stepan up against the top centers/defensive pairings in the league at even strength and watch him get smoked on the defensive side of the puck all night. Its not fair to him or his development.
He is best served playing the 3rd line at even strength with power play time right now.
In all honesty i love how people like to downplay Drury's skill around here. If you look at this stats when he played in Colorado and the stats during his time here in NY, aside from last season they aren't that far off. Give the guy some credit and a chance
I dont know, well see what happens, Drury said. Whatever is presented to me, Ill do it.
This is so often whats overlooked with Drury, and what still makes him a valuable player. He could stick it up all the hater's ***** and still produce 50+ points playing on the top line with PP time, but he was handed a defensive assignment last season, he accepted it, and he performed admirably in it.
drury on the first line with fro and gaborik makes that line weaker. remember, this is the drury of today, not the drury of colorado or even buf. this is the bad chris drury.
until stepan shows he CANT handle that spot- and i havent seen anything to indicate that what so ever, giving it to drury is nothing more than making us weaker and imo, playing the pc, "do the right thing to placate the capt", kinda move.
stepan needs to play there. stepan can be way more effective at even strength and on the pp. let capt quaalude play all the pk he wants, but keep him away from gaby and fro.
i mean this is a guy who hasnt played in 10 days and even if he were healthy, is best suited on the 3rd or 4th line.
adding him to our fist line makes exactly zero sense. therefore, i fully expect torts the clown to do it.
Would be the best thing ever in Drury's life if this worked out.
I also love the fact that Tortorella is finally keeping some lines together and letting them really develop some chemistry. what the 2nd and 3rd lines have been doing so far this season is pretty good so I like that they're going to let that run.
This is also good since Drury is probably the best (maybe second to Callahan) defensively responsible forward on the team. Might give Frolov and Gaborik the freedom to run around and try to generate some offense rather then having to worry about defense too much.
Steve Zipay
Torts doesn't want to tinker with 2nd and 3rd lines, so it seems as if its No. 1 role for the captain
I hear that.
Yea, Anisimov and Stepan probably "deserve" top line duties more than Chris, but its not about who deserves what, its about what's good for the team and what's been working.
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan has been a very good line and I love the makeup.
I also like what I've been seeing out of Avery-Steps-Feds
Artie and Steps will both get their shots in the future, but those have been our best two lines so far...let's not be so quick to break them up.
The Avery-Stepan-Fedetenko line dominated the first game of the season. The Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan line was productive both games so far. So why should we break up those lines?
Fine with Dru @ 1st line, weŽll see what he can do there.
But instead of Gilroy i would give Vtank a shot. Just my opinion because he looked better then Gilroy in the Pre-Season.
Drury can center the 1st line just fine, if (i) Gaborik starts to really take responsibility all over the ice and (ii) the D's on that line really moves the puck well.
The problem is if Drury is relied upon to take the puck up ice.
Fine with Dru @ 1st line, weŽll see what he can do there.
But instead of Gilroy i would give Vtank a shot. Just my opinion because he looked better then Gilroy in the Pre-Season.
VTank has a 2 way contract, Gilroy has a one way. Look for a deadline deal involving Gilroy and VTank coming up and taking his spot.
Oh man, I've been talking about how Drury doesn't belong on the first line so much but now that he is going to play there I want him to do well so badly.
C'mon Chris, show us our #1C has been here all along!
