Joe's Reaction of the Week (Chip's Version): Grading Drury's Retool Against the Promises He Made

Friends, I know you were hoping for some wonderful content from Blueshirt Banter's fearless leader, Joe Fortunato. Alas, after answering the question on this week's podcast about his "hall pass list," Mrs. Joe slipped some tainted lettuce into Joe's food and now Joe finds himself in an explosive predicament.

So, you get me instead.

And what am I going to talk to you about? I'm so glad you asked.

Did Drury Keep His Word

In the letter Chris Drury sent out last season, he stated the following goals:

This will be a retool built around our core players and prospects. We will target players that bring tenacity, skill, speed, and a winning pedigree with a focus on obtaining young players, draft picks, and cap space to allow us flexibility moving forward.

Here, I think, it's worth pointing out that there are two different things to keep in mind:

• One: We can disagree about whether Drury and the Rangers' plan is the right plan.
• Two: We can agree that our opinion on one is ultimately irrelevant. We don't get a vote.

The Rangers chose a path focused on a retool. They made a decision to remove players who were good, but older, in an effort to change the team's dynamic, and they made a decision that getting younger and changing the dynamic was not going to result in a full rebuild. The question here is not whether we think the Rangers should have given the core (including Panarin and Trocheck) one more try, or if they should have torn the franchise down to the studs. No, the question here is whether or not New York Rangers general manager and team president Chris Drury accomplished the goals he set out to accomplish.