im not a drury fan but i agree, seems pointless to take it away and he will prob end up playing worse. but cally is def the captain of the future

Drury isnt the problem (beyond his salary). But your premise is flawed on a few points. Picking just one “Last I checked none of us are in that locker room, and since we don’t hear about any problems I would have to assume that there are none.” that is not true. First off, we know how fantastic the PR machine at the Garden can be, and second, Drury IS beloved, so i dont see people undercutting him. But CLEARLY there is a problem in the locker room. The team does not stick up for itself, takes long stretches off, and ignores the coaching staff. The captain is instrumental in seeing the lines of communication held together and that the message is followed. That has not occured. Blocking shots and playing the game the way it SHOULD be does not a captain make… Drury is a great teammate, and a good guy. A good captain? i dont think so. That said, you are right that Drury is the LEAST of the Rangers’ problems. You dont have to fiery, and vocal, but you have to have SOME voice.

Well said.

I’m guessing that none of us will ever know what is going on in the locker room…. However this team seems to come out with no energy every few games. They seldome stand up for each other.

You can (and should) blame Sather for bad signings, but that doesn’t explain why this team has no spirit.

Each individual player could (and should) be blamed as they are professionals paid well to play a game.

What has to be blamed is leadership. That includes the coach and captain. One or both are a big part of the problem.

Stripping Drury of his Captainship may do nothing. It may also put the team into a tailspin. We may end up in last place and get a good draft. We may have a new captain rise up, who can be the future voice of the Rangers.

I honestly don’t know the right answer, but I don’t believe Chris is doing a great job as captain. I also think he’ll be gone before this team really turns around.

While I like Drury and wish him success with the Rangers or without in the future. I look forward to his (and others) contract comming off the Rangers books along with the C on his chest.

This is a great article and is so true i never saw it in this perspective before. props

I want to re-emphasize that I have no problem with Drury presently being captain of this team. I wrote a piece a few weeks ago (Wanted: A "New Messiah") and said something regarding Drury’s captaincy to the effect of "He may be the best this team has right now… That’s just the way it is." In hindsight, that may have come off as a backhanded compliment, inadvertently. The post was initially intended to be more a testament to Messier’s greatness than anything else. That, and the reality that it just might take a player of Messier’s caliber to come along someday (God willing) to lead them to the Promised Land again.
Sadly, as we’re all aware, there are problems galore with this bunch and Drury just became another victim of Ranger fan’s frustrations. We go from bashing Sather, to Tortorella, to Redden, to Higgins, to Kotalik… I could go on and on until I’m blue in the face, but any Ranger fan that’s been paying attention this season can tell you they are simply a mediocre, inconsistent hockey team with the wrong mix of players. I don’t think #23 should take too much blame for that.
I know hindsight is 20/20, but I had pretty low expectations prior to the start of this year (partly the cynical Ranger fan in me, and also makes it easier to deal with the inevitable disappointment). But when I saw the moves that were made in the off-season and the ones that were not made- it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Letting Betts and Orr go, then signing Brashear of all people (?), failing to acquire a #1 center etc etc… I know I sound like a broken record so I’ll stop there. But is it fair to say "the Rangers are who we thought they were?" Yeah, I went there… Alright, I’ll shut up now.

First time poster here – long time Ranger fan (35 years) and 22 year Army Officer. I am just as emotional about Rangers wins and losses (WAY too much on the latter :( ) Ok, sorry about the rant – I should be putting the Bottom Line up front. BLUF: Mr Tortorella has got to do a couple of things. Be a leader – don’t allow the players to see that heart on his sleeve as much as he is prone to do – When things don’t go well, internalize the emotion, and channel that energy towards fixing the glaring errors that lead to the early goals against – don’t reinforce failure by engaging in sword fights with a paid wordsmith -Stop screwing with the chemistry – keep some lines together for longer than a stretch of two to three games and see how it works to compete the way you practice (train as you fight) Seems to me that there must be leadership issues in practice as these are manifested and magnified in games. Laud in public, criticize in public. Play Christensen more, leave Brashear at home. I admired Mr Tortorella’s passion and intensity when he took over from Mr Renney late last season. But I instinctively knew there would be leadership issues when he threw the water bottle last year in Wahington on a national stage. The Rangers are not the most talented team (statement of the obvious, I know) but that is not the only ingredient you need to win in this league. Ok, my apologies for the length of this -my hat is off to the moderators and creators of this blog. Rangers Lead the Way!

the only objection i have is Drury’s contract. If he was making 7 million and performing like a $7 million player i’d be happy. But his contract ranks among the elites in the league and he cant match up to theirs. The bar is so high and he just can’t reach it. Not that hes a bad leader, but he doesn’t do what was expected of him on paper. The 2 30+ goal seasons with Buffalo is the Chris Drury we thought we were getting.

 would just be a useless dis to Drury at best, with no benifit at all. THis team doesn’t need one centralized leader at the moment- it needs different personel around a paired down core: 4,10,17,18, 24, and 30. Anyway, despite his offensive decline, he is doing all the gritty intangibles already inumerated. He’s probably been a good mentor to the young guys Delzotto and Gilroy, and he could probably help Anisimov if he would just knuckle down and learn Russian before he takes any more serious hits to the head. That was fucked up.

…but , I agree – you look at the salary and cringe.

just 1 sidenote, Chris Drury is NOT among the league leaders in blocked shots, his 3rd on the Rangers(66) behind Girardi(114) and Rozsival(89) and like 86th in the League

This team has NO ONE who can fill the role of a Captain. The Carcillo incident brought back the Dale Rolfe incident which was the lowest point in NY Ranger history (at least in my time). This team has NO guts. You can stand in front of our net with a pocket full of eggs and none of them will be broken.
The only Captain we have is upstairs in the management office waiting to replace the clown GM we have.
I say take the C away from Drury and lets play without a captain for now. We dont have one anyway

Drury isn’t doing enough of that behind the scenes. I’m not saying he has to score 50 goals, because I know he’s not that type of player anymore. But somehow taking the hit for a loss when the press goes into the locker room is not enough.

I’m not asking him to be Mark Messier. I’m asking him to stand up in the locker room and help send Tortorella’s message and that includes a tirade. Sometimes he has to speak up more than just a pep talk. He has to get that damned message across louder & with some anger behind it.

I don’t believe that will happen and when these pathetic excuses of hockey players & I mean the veterans who are allowing this season to fall see’s Drury have the “C” removed, then they will finally get the message. I have said the Rangers should give Gaborik a 3rd “A”. No one should be the Captain this season till next. If that means Drury get’s it back for next season, that’s Tortorella’s decision. But right now something has to be done and quickly.

I’m sorry if Drury is going to take a major hit here, but if that can’t be done. Then after the Olympics it’s not worth it seeing Henrik Lundqvist get shot up like an innocent Bystander, because that’s what his teammates are doing to him.

My take on this years Rangers is plain and simple. They will continue be up and down as their lineup is totally inconsistant. And should they make the playoffs they might win a round. But no more. Dolan will be happy as long as the garden continues to sell out. Sather will continue to smoke those big fat cigars and everyone at the garden will be happy and merry. Next years tickets will go up approximately 7% and we will pay those prices because thats what we do. And Carlos Beltran will be back in the Mets lineup some time in May. The Sun will continue to shine and will melt the ice and snow that is on the ground………………