8/17/20 | Over the weekend, Elliotte Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada that the Rangers have granted permission to Florida to interview assistant GM for the Panthers vacant GM position.

Others candidates that have either been granted permission to speak with Florida, or are expected to be granted permission, include Scott Mellanby of Montreal, John Ferguson of Boston, Laurence Gilman in Toronto, Mike Futa, formerly of LA. (Hockey Night in Canada)

Friedman also notes that former Flyers GM Ron Hextall and Washington’s Ross Mahoney may also speak with the Panthers. (Hockey Night in Canada)

Drury, along with GM Jeff Gorton, was given a contract extension earlier this year by Rangers President John Davidson.

Drury has been assistant GM since September 2016 and the Rangers have not allowed teams in the past to speak to him about vacant GM positions.

While GM for Team USA at the World Championships in the spring of 2019, Drury said:

• On eventually becoming an NHL GM, “I think that long-term that is something I would love to do but right now I absolutely love working for Gorts and the Rangers and got back into the game with one goal in mind and that is to help them win a Stanley Cup and that hasn’t changed for me.”
• On his path after retiring, “Jeff hired me to get into development and I was Director of Player Development for a year and I got to be in a lot of different meetings, with coaches, draft meetings, free agent meetings, trade deadline meetings and this kind of opened up. The assistant GM job was out there and Jeff asked if I had any interest and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and get the job.”

Adam Rotter: Early speculation around the NHL is that Mellanby, with his big connection to the Panthers from his playing days, is the favorite but that the process is only just beginning. With how the Rangers rejected teams in the past from speaking to Drury, I wonder if there is something in his new contract that stops them from doing that. That is just a guess on my part but the Rangers may also be comfortable allowing Drury to interview for this and potentially other GM jobs. Buffalo, after they fired their GM a few months ago, would have made sense for Drury with his history there but they quickly promoted from within. Drury is a big part of the Rangers front office and it would be a big blow to lose him but we will just how to see how this plays out.