Chris Drury met with the media during the first round of the draft and said (NYR):
- On the Georgiev trade, “it was something we’ve been looking at and working on and trying to clear some cap space and talked to a bunch of teams and that is kind of the deal that came together today. It was nice to get the picks back, for sure. He’s a fierce competitor and a real good goalie and I think he’s going to do real good things in Colorado.”
- On the goalie market and looking to get someone that would cost less, “yea, we hope so. There are some good ones out there and we are going to, obviously we are exploring ways to get a backup.”
- Were you surprised with how the top of the draft went, “No, it’s the draft and anything can happen. People have their own lists and it’s just the way it worked out.”
- Do you want to acquire a roster player by the end of tomorrow, “no real, hard deadline for that. We’re always looking at ways to be better and that will continue when this is over tonight and we go back to our conference room and see what tomorrow brings.”
- Are you talking with Strome and Copp, “I’ve said before, that is between me and them and I’m not going to comment either way.”
- Is there an update on if Strome needs surgery, “He did not get it.”
- Is it still possible, “I don’t believe so.”
- Is there any worry about Russian players being in Russia, “no, no concerns right now.”
- Is Panarin there, “it’s not for me to say where our guys are or aren’t. We talk to all of our players and we know where they all are and whatever country they are from, but I’m certainly not going to comment on that publicly.”
- Is Brennan Othmann in your plans to potentially be on the roster this year, “That is why we have training camp and tryouts. I’m glad that is what his goal is and obviously he had a heck of a year last year and it was really good to see him here today. A lot of those kids missed out on this experience and I know some other teams did it too. It was good to see him here today and looking forward to seeing him at development camp next week.”
- What do you like about Othmann, “He’s a big time goal scorer, he had a really good year putting the puck in the net. He’s got a little bit of edge to his game, he’s a feisty kid. He’s very competitive and does a lot of things that we like all over the ice.”
- On Will Cuylle and the path to make the roster, “he was another player that went back to junior, had a good year, has some Hartford games under his belt. We are excited to see them this week at development camp and see what they’ve worked on this year and what they are able to do better now and we are excited for them to come to camp in September.”
- Do you envision getting a goalie in free agency or trade, “either way. It could be either one, we are working on it.”
- On Mike Grier getting the San Jose GM job, “I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. I go back a long way with him at BU. A teammate and a friend. I couldn’t have been happier for him and I know he’ll do a great job.”
- Gonna make a trade with him, (Smile) “We’ll see.”
- On the upcoming free agency, “It seems like most of the talk is about the cap only going up a little bit. Everyone is dealing with the same thing, but obviously it’s a good class, lots of good players at different positions and I’m sure everyone is going to try and do their best to get the best players they can like we are.”
- On the cap, “we all know why it hasn’t gone up and we’re all dealing with it and everyone is trying to do the best they can do.”