Is Chris Drury still in an axe-swingin’ mood?
The New York Rangers general manager has already moved Jacob Trouba and reportedly mentioned stalwart winger Chris Kreider as available for the right offer. With the Rangers still mired in a horrid slump, let’s examine who Drury might move to try and shake up his chargers.
The longest serving Ranger, Kreider, has three years left on a very tradable $6.5M deal. Whilst he’s on track to score around 30-35 goals, Kreider’s solitary assist (He’s never been a big helper guy, but sheesh!) through 25 games is embarrassing.
Kreider’s still a handful in the crease and arguably the NHL’s best at redirections, but practically every other facet of his game has fallen away this campaign. Aged 33, is Drury cutting bait before his star falls off a cliff?
NHL Trade Talk’s Jim Parsons recently opined on the possibility of a K’Andre Miller trade. Even 12 months ago, the thought of New York moving on from Miller seemed unfathomable. Huge, powerful, a swift skater and armed with a cannon, Miller and Adam Fox were the Rangers’ defensemen of the next decade.
This season, even before the Rangers began to swoon, Miller has looked entirely disengaged. He is on track to record the lowest point and hit totals of his five-year career, though the eye test is even worse. He’s a giant unit with wings for feet, yet he rarely, if ever, lays an opponent out. He’s routinely beaten in the corners and the slot in his own zone. His positioning is often woeful, and his lack of urgency is galling.
Watch as Miller mishandles a straightforward pass and compounds his error by turning and watching, rather than hustling back to prevent the two-on-one from which Chicago scores their eventual game winner: