NEW YORK, NY – The season to forget could be over for Rangers captain and Trumbull native Chris Drury.
Drury, who missed 31 of the first 32 games this season with a twice-broken finger, will have surgery on his left knee that will keep him out an estimated six weeks.
Drury has tried to play through the pain of the ailing knee the past few weeks, but Rangers coach John Tortorella said after practice Wednesday that Drury would undergo surgery at a time to be determined. Drury had missed the last few games after having fluid drained from the knee on Friday.
“They’re gonna go in and scrape his knee and take a look at it,” Tortorella said. “They haven’t really pinpointed anything. That guy has played hard for a long time, and I just think it has worn on him. It certainly hasn’t been getting better. He tried like hell to keep on playing, but it has gotten to the point where he can’t.”
The twice-broken index finger and injured knee have caused the 34-year-old Drury to miss 33 of 56 games this season, after he missed only 20 games the past eight seasons. Drury, who signed a five-year, $35 million contract in 2007, has no goals and four assists this season and won’t be available as the Rangers try to hold onto a playoff spot.
Tortorella defended Drury from what he considered doubts from the media about his captain’s motivation and will and that the surgery spares the Rangers from having to make difficult decisions about including him in the lineup once all of the injured forwards have returned.
“It pisses me off that some things come out about Chris Drury, about him thinking that he might be out of the lineup or maybe he’s just giving in here a little bit,” Tortorella said. “But that’s certainly not what happening here with this guy. He tried to play on it, and we tried playing him. It didn’t work out. It’s a tough thing.
“You guys know him as well as I do, and it’s killing him. It came up in one of my press conferences, and it just bugs me so this is a good opportunity for me to say it because he’s not built that way and we all know that.”
It’s inconceivable that anyone would question the will of one of sports’ grittiest players and biggest winners, from being the winning pitcher and knocking in two runs in Trumbull’s stunning Little League World Series victory over Taiwan in 1989 to winning a Division I state hockey title at Fairfield Prep to a NCAA title and Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player while at Boston University to a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche to helping the United States earn a silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
And Drury didn’t publicly complain when he was relegated to the fourth line and penalty killing after returning in December.
Tortorella, whose team will try to end a season-high, five-game losing streak (0-4-01) in Atlanta on Friday night, said he isn’t sure if the six-week timetable ends Drury’s season.
Drury, who has tried to keep a low profile during this forgettable season, was not available for comment. This corner’s only comment is that Drury’s career certainly is on the downside, but it’s doubtful anyone has handled such trying times with more class, which is his middle name. I just hope Drury doesn’t try to come back too early again and jeopardize what’s left in a Hall of Fame career.
Story by Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut WHale Contact comments@prohockeynews.com
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