Rangers Breaking News: Chris Drury To Be Bought Out
Sorry for the late jump on this guys. Power is out at the apartment, so I had to quickly jet over to Quinnipiac University to use their internet. Thanks QU!
Anyway, onto the story.
Earlier today our friend Jesse Spector reported that sources indicated to him that Glen Sather would be buying out Chris Drury and Wojtek Wolski.
Here is a clip from his full story:
Glen Sather left Wednesday's general managers meeting without addressing the media, but the Daily News has learned the Rangers boss plans to buy out the final season of captain Chris Drury's five-year, $35.25 million contract.
"He's gone," the source said of Drury, who had one goal and four assists this season as he sat out 58 games with finger and knee injuries - more time than he had missed in his 11 previous NHL campaigns combined.
The NHL's contract buyout window is June 15-30, and the Rangers have been expected to part ways with Drury since John Tortorella's read-between-the-lines comment on April 25 that "We have to make decisions for what's best for the organization moving on... It's certainly not mine, my total decision, but I have my thoughts.
"These are all conversations we have to have."
Buying out Drury would save the Rangers $3.3 million against next year's salary cap, with a $1.6 million charge to the Blueshirts' ledger in 2012-13. The Blueshirts also appear likely to buy out the remaining year on midseason pickup Wojtek Wolski's deal, saving another $3.3 million next season while incurring a $666,667 charge in 2012-13.
The news, while not entirely surprising, is a still a bit of a shock.
The Rangers stand to save $6.6 million on next year's salary cap -- if they buy out both -- which Sather might use towards trying to obtain Brad Richards or perhaps swing a trade. In the salary cap world flexibility is king, and it seems as though the Rangers will be much more flexible at the end of the buyout period.
Drury will undoubtably take criticism for his four seasons on Broadway, especially after the injury plagued one he had last year. I still think, aside from last season, Drury did everything he was expected to; even though it didn't match up to the numbers on his paycheck. He was never going to score 37 goals again, and while his numbers did decrease, he was getting older and clearly lost a step from his Buffalo Sabres days.
We'll go into analysis later, but for now, thoughts on this guys?
