Who would replace Chris Drury if he were fired?

The New York Rangers desperately need a fresh start. One part of that new start won’t happen anytime soon, and that is revamping the front office. Many are talking about firing him, but who would replace Chris Drury if – and ultimately when – he is fired? It won’t last for very long. James Dolan has historically given his GM long leashes, but no one stays in that role forever. Regardless, the Rangers have had decent consistency in the front office, but the time is now to hire someone from the outside when the time comes to replace Chris Drury.

Funnily enough, if the Rangers want to replace Chris Drury, they should look to their in-state rivals. The Islanders of New York finally lets Lou Lamiorello go and instead of hiring one of his lackeys from within the organization, they hired someone from outside. After almost gruesomely hiring Marc Bergevin, the Islanders opted to steal Mathieu Darche from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. You know, the organization that has won two Stanley Cup Finals, made a third and is constantly in the running for another.

Now the Islanders are likely to make the playoffs in Darche’s first year, in addition to already rebuilding the prospect pool in a meaningful way. Darche has done a phenomenal job.

Hiring the right leader for your organization can make a huge difference. The Rangers would do best to first hire a President of Hockey Operations, which separates these two roles. One benefit of hiring a separate President of Hockey Operations first is that it gives the Rangers more options to explore. Someone like Chris MacFarland wouldn’t leave his role with the Colorado Avalanche to later become the Rangers GM, but if the Rangers offered him the opportunity to become president for an original franchise of six, would he consider it? Especially considering Joe Sakic probably isn’t going anywhere.

What about Brett Peterson, Assistant General Manager of the Florida Panthers, winners of back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals? Peterson handles operations, AHL development and more for Florida. Would a big job title and a raise make him jump ship?

Those are just a few names to consider if you’re looking to replace Chris Drury. It’s also possible that many in the league are considering the Rangers just because they are the Rangers. It’s a huge job that can change someone’s career.

The wild card in all of this, however, is James Dolan. As previously mentioned, Dolan may not be too eager to replace Chris Drury as GM. Worse yet, Dolan may not have the resources to hire someone who is a trending name in the hockey industry. There is a very believable world in which someone like Lou Lamiorello, Marc Bergevin or Brendan Shanahan is the next GM or President of Hockey Operations for the Rangers.

Overall, when the Rangers replace Chris Drury, they will have to get their next leadership appointment right. That must mean new blood, not only for the organization, but also within the competition. New York must become a progressive organization that looks to the future, not the past.

If not, we as fans will be looking to the past a lot.