Chris Drury promoted to Rangers assistant GM

Chris Drury was promoted to assistant general manager of the New York Rangers on Friday.
Drury, 40, played his final four seasons with the Rangers. He returned to the organization last season as director of player development. In his new role, Drury will assist general manager Jeff Gorton on player transactions and contract negotiations, in addition to continuing to oversee and evaluate players at the collegiate level as well as assist in the development of Rangers prospects.

"To be part of the team in this way is a huge honor," Drury told BlueshirtsUnited.com. "I'm certainly thrilled to be doing it."
He got a bit of a head start in his new job during the Rangers' attempt to sign unrestricted free agent forward Jimmy Vesey. Vesey agreed to terms with the Rangers on Aug. 19.
"Chris Drury was someone that I was really impressed with during the meeting with the Rangers and he's someone that I respect a lot based on what he's done in his career," Vesey said.
Like Vesey last season, Drury won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA hockey as a college senior (1998, Boston University).
Drury, who was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the third round (No. 72) of the 1994 NHL Draft, had 260 goals and 615 points in 12 NHL seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Rangers. He helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2001 and won the silver medal with the United States at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics.

"Chris has become an extremely important and valuable member of our management team since joining us last year," Gorton told BlueshirtsUnited.com. "He's come in with the same qualities we all know he had as a player: Great work ethic, passion and dedication. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, with everything he's accomplished in the game, and feel very fortunate to have him working with us in this role."