Rangers GM Chris Drury pleased with the direction his team is headed

On the day he was introduced as the Rangers’ new president and general manager in May 2021, Chris Drury had a message for fans of the franchise, which was about to end its three-year rebuild and lift open its window of Stanley Cup contention:

“To all the Ranger fans out there, I obviously take this very, very, very seriously,’’ he said that day. “And my goal is to bring a Cup to MSG. Period.’’

Three years later, it hasn’t happened yet. But with two Eastern Conference finals appearances in three seasons, including one this past spring, Drury is generally pleased with the progress the team has made and the direction in which it is headed, he told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think it's been a real good three years,’’ Drury said on a Zoom call on the eve of the team reporting for training camp for the 2024-25 season. “Obviously, our ultimate goal is to win the Cup. Personally, I'm always trying to find ways to be better at my job and to do things that allow us to compete for the Cup every year. That starts each and every year at training camp. And I’m looking forward to having [coach Peter Laviolette] for a second training camp and hope they have a good camp, and another good regular season, and give ourselves a chance to get in the playoffs.’’

Making the playoffs, at least, is what the Rangers can probably take for granted at this point. They won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, compiling the best record in the NHL in the regular season, and have made the playoffs three straight years, accumulating more than 100 points each time. And almost the entire roster returns from last season.

“In the last few years, they've been building, just being an elite club,’’ former goaltender Mike Richter told the crowd at the Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center in August in Manhattan. “I think it's the most entertaining team in the league. I love watching them …  And it takes a long, hard road to get there, but they're building it all right.’’

Drury called the playoff loss to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida this spring “a real good learning experience for everyone, just like it was a couple years ago, when we went to the conference finals and played Tampa.

“Obviously, Florida had a heck of a team … and I think all of our group, individually and collectively, took a lot of lessons out of that series,’’ he said.

As is typical for him, Drury preferred to speak in generalities, and declined to answer specific questions on player personnel matters, like the state of negotiations on new deals with goaltender Igor Shesterkin and forward Alexis Lafreniere, both in the final year of their respective contracts. Shesterkin will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, while Lafreniere will be a restricted free agent.

“As you all know, what I think of Igor, and what we all think of Igor around here, we certainly hope he's here, and a Ranger, for a long time,’’ he said. “[Lafreniere] is a very important young piece for our team … and one that we hope, just like Igor, is here for a long time.’’

As far as training camp goes, Drury said forward Riley Nash, who has a lower-body injury, won’t be attending. And forward Ryder Korczak picked up an upper-body injury over the weekend in the rookie games against Philadelphia. Other than that, everyone is healthy, including center Filip Chytil, who missed the final 72 games of last season with what is generally believed to be a concussion.

“No issues with Fil,’’ Drury said. “Full go. Nothing holding him back, which is great news for everyone.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.