Report: Wild asked to interview Chris Drury
The Rangers reportedly rebuffed the Wild when they inquired about Drury
Late this afternoon, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Minnesota Wild requested permission to speak with New York Rangers’ assistant general manager Chris Drury in their hunt for a new general manager. According to Friedman, the Rangers did not give their blessing.
On the MIN GM search — Wild were declined permission to speak to NYR AGM Chris Drury. It’s the second time a team has asked and been politely rebuffed (BUF).
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 7, 2019
Last week, the Wild fired general manager Paul Fenton, who had been behind the desk for just 14 months. Fenton signed former New York Ranger Mats Zuccarello to a five-year, $30 million contract as an unrestricted free agent earlier this offseason. He also dealt Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Viktor Rask on Jan. 17. Both of those decisions have been criticized by analysts and media members.
Drury has been the Rangers’ assistant general manager since the 2016-17 season and has been the GM of the Hartford Wolf Pack for the last two years. He was also the GM of Team USA at the 2017 World Championship and, more recently, at the 2019 World Championship. He first joined the Rangers’ front office in 2015 as the director of player development.
I’ve heard a few people mention Chris Drury as the next great ex-player to become an NHL GM. People have been impressed by his work with the Rangers (mentioned it here https://t.co/8lLWMPlSRw) https://t.co/dVkoAGcZVY
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) August 7, 2019
The interest in Drury as a general manager around the league is definitely something to keep in mind moving forward, although it’s hard to say just how much there is at this point. As Friedman mentioned in his tweet, the Buffalo Sabres inquired about an interview with Drury after his first season in the Rangers’ front office. However, they were also rebuffed. Shortly thereafter, Drury was promoted to his current role as the Rangers’ assistant general manager, under Jeff Gorton.
