Is Chris Drury on the Hot Seat?

I posed the following question to Joe and Eric on the most recent episode of Blueshirts Bandwidth.

Now that we’re 15+ games into the season with the Thanksgiving benchmark quickly approaching, what is this team? Can we make any substantial statements about what type of team they are and what the trade deadline could hold or are they more or less going to be floaters until closer to the deadline?

At the time of recording (before the start of this West Coast road trip that has since extended into a four game losing streak) there wasn’t much of a clear answer to that question. 

Joe had mentioned earlier in the episode how he doesn’t know what to make of the Rangers and explained how there is evidence of the Rangers being a good team, suggesting that maybe they’re a piece or two away from at least having a chance of getting beyond the first round of the playoffs. However, it’s getting to the point that difficult conversations need to be had about what exactly this team is capable of.

Eric agreed and more directly answered my question by saying that it’s looking like they’re going to be floaters until the deadline and mentioned how it would be nice to see some consistency from this group where the play and results match for better or worse just to get an actual read on what this team is. 

Following three losses to Western Conference powerhouses including the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, there is a common belief among the fan base that it is becoming increasingly clear this team isn’t good enough. Along with that, many folks are once again pointing the blame in the direction of the team’s general manager Chris Drury. Thus bringing us to the question that doubles as the title of this piece: Is Chris Drury on the hot seat? 

Before diving deeper into it, I’ll provide the short and simple answer: No.