2026-27 Campaign Will Be Make-or-Break for NY Rangers' Chris Drury

Here's why the upcoming season for the New York Rangers will be a make-or-break year for Chris Drury.

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Peter Carr/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Rangers are getting prepared for the upcoming season with the summer starting to wind down. However, this is still a franchise that has a ton of question marks, and how the season pans out will be telling.     

As expected, the summer was a very busy one for the Rangers. This was a team that came into the offseason hungry to improve, and they were able to accomplish that. 

Due to the team having numerous needs, there were plenty of avenues for them to upgrade. New York had really struggled last year, and because of that, the thought of a rebuild was creeping in. 

However, the Rangers were a better team when they had Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin on the ice and were healthy. These are two of the best players in the league at their respective positions, and the team believes that the window of opportunity to win with them is still open. 

General manager Chris Drury was very aggressive this summer with his retooling plan, and the 2026-27 campaign could be a make-or-break year for him.                

Rangers Must Be Improved

May 8, 2025; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury speaks during a press conference to introduce new head coach Mike Sullivan at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Peter Carr/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With a ton of moves and an aggressive offseason in which the team did trade away three first-round picks, the pressure is going to be on to be an improved group. 

Drury came out and stated that the team wasn’t going to be rebuilding and instead that there was going to be a retooling. The retool is something that Rangers fans have heard quite a bit about, but how it was going to be executed was the question. 

This summer, the team was really aggressive on the trade market, with the free agency class not being the best. However, giving up draft capital as a team that just came off a last-place finish comes with a ton of risk. 

While the team should be better and could contend for a playoff spot if players remain healthy, there could be some major problems if they struggle. Missing the playoffs for a third straight year, especially if it’s in poor fashion, could result in Drury’s seat getting extremely warm. 

Fortunately, the team does have their first-round pick for 2027, but both 2028 and 2030 could be going elsewhere depending on how New York finishes for the protection on those two picks. 

Overall, Drury is going to be hoping that the Rangers are a much better team compared to last year. If they aren’t, there could be some major problems for the franchise and his retooling plan moving forward.