Chris Drury as Rangers Captain -- Ole Reliable Gets Rewarded
A natural "C" if ever there was one
Posted on Friday, October 3, 2008 at 5:04 PMQuick quiz: What's the easiest Rangers question ever asked? No, not the name of the lady on Blueshirts third jerseys. No, not whether Sam Rosen knows more trivia than Joe Micheletti or Al Trautwig. You can look it up. The answer to the easiest question is on about ten thousand of my previous blogs.
Here's a hint: Who is the most natural nominee for the club's captaincy in 2008-09?
And the most basic, simple answer, of course, has just been revealed – CHRIS DRURY.
Mind you, way back in ancient history – about when Petr Nedved still was vying for a roster spot – I lobbied (not too hard, but hard enough) in favor of Scott Gomez. To me, Scotty getting the "C" would have been a good idea because he's so glib with the media and has stepped up a notch on the Maturity Scale.
But I also made it abundantly clear that, in the end, Drury would get the nod because he is more natural for the role than Gomer.
Why? You know the reasons:
1) EXPERIENCE:
Drury knows what the captaincy is all about. He did it before (in Buffalo) and he can do it again. The man has been around the horn; he won a Stanley Cup in Denver. He has proven over and over again that his nickname – which I bestowed on him – Ole Reliable, is well-earned.
2) EMOTION:
While Gomez is every bit an American – as an Alaskan native – Drury is a virtual New Yorker. He grow up in Connecticut and Yankee Stadium. Since he laced on a pair of skates as a tyke, he wanted to play for the Rangers. His emotional ties to the Blueshirts are as intense as the most fervent Ranger fan's, or more.
3) DEMEANOR:
No matter how you shake – nor how mature he has become – Scotty G still is regarded by some around the NHL as a flake. They can think it all they want, but the difficulty, in this case, is that sometimes the refs share that misguided view and it can affect discourse when a captain wants to make a zebra point.
By contrast, Drury is as serious as the Secretary of the Treasury, if not more. When Chris talks, refs listen.
4) TEAMMATES:
To a man, Drury is respected by his pals for his intensity, dedication, perserverance and grim determination. He would have been a unanimous choice in the room, no matter what anyone from here to Nebraska may believe.
What a contrast to the previous captain. Remember when Jaromir Jagr was offered the captaincy by Tom Renney – and had the gall to reject the offer with a feeble alibi that he couldn't communicate in English well enough to the media. It was, of course, pure booshwah since Jagr had been doing interviews – when the mood pleased him – with no problem for years.
A year was required to finally convince JJ to wear the C, and whether or not he was an inspirational captain is for the players to tell you, not me. No matter. Drury is the man; HAD to be the man. For that reason, the Rangers are all the better for it and so are we. No longer do we have to ask that easiest of questions: who's gonna be the next Rangers captain?
Next easy question: Should Chris play alongside Scotty? Answer: Affirmative.
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