Early Chris-mas
Rangers present Drury AHL GM spot as coach axed
The Rangers didn’t wait for their annual Palm Springs Summit to start making moves this offseason.
With the meeting, usually set at team president Glen Sather’s western hub of operations, coming up soon, the franchise fired Ken Gernander as the coach of AHL Hartford after a last-place finish for the Wolf Pack this season. It was Gernander’s 10th season behind the bench after eight as a player and captain and two as an assistant coach. Rangers brass decided his tenure had run its course.
“We want to thank Ken for his service and all of his contributions to the Wolf Pack and the Rangers organization,” general manager Jeff Gorton said in a statement. “We wish him and his family all the best in his future endeavors.”
It also was announced that Chris Drury would add the the title of Wolf Pack GM to his current role as Rangers assistant GM. Jim Schoenfeld will leave the GM role in Hartford to focus on goings-on in New York.
It was a natural progression for the 40-year-old Drury, who has moved quickly up the ranks (and in the eyes of the league) since retiring from the Rangers in 2011 and being hired as director of player personnel in September 2015. He spent this past season as an assistant GM, and Gorton recently denied the Sabres the chance to interview Drury for their open GM job, eventually filled by Jason Botterill.
Drury, a native of Trumbull, Conn., now must find a new coach who can help develop the Rangers’ prospect pool as they try to get younger with another retooling this offseason.
It likely wasn’t an easy decision to fire Gernander, who had his No. 12 retired by the Wolf Pack in 2005 after leading them to the Calder Cup championship in 2000. He is the franchise leader in games played (599) and playoff games played (78), and is second all-time in goals (160) assists (187) and points (347). During that time, he played only 27 games for the Rangers.
Gernander retired after the 2004-05 season, spent two seasons as an assistant under Schoenfeld and took over as the head coach for the 2007-08 season.
“I want to thank Ken for his tireless work and dedication to the Wolf Pack and the Rangers organization,” Schoenfeld said. “He represented the organization the right way, both on and off the ice. I have had the good fortune working closely with Kenny as a player, assistant coach, and head coach over the last 12 years and wish him all the best going forward.”