Rangers have surpassed team president John Davidson's expectations

Rangers president John Davidson appears during a press conference at the MSG Training Facility in Greenburgh on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. Credit: Errol Anderson
Rangers president John Davidson, in an interview Wednesday on MSG Network’s “MSG 150’’ show, said the Blueshirts have been better than he expected them to be in 2019-20.
What would he have thought last summer of the idea that the still-rebuilding Rangers would be two points out of a playoff spot with 12 games remaining? “I would have been surprised,’’ Davidson told host Bill Pidto.
“I’ve been a part of rebuilds in two different cities [St. Louis, with the Blues, and Columbus, with the Blue Jackets]; I surrounded myself with good people in those two cities and that really got us going.
“Here, I had to analyze a lot of things, and that includes coaches and general managers and things, and I saw a lot of good things,’’ he said. “And a good portion of the way through, we re-upped both [general manager] Jeff Gorton and [assistant general manager] Chris Drury, and very deservedly so. They’ve got some things in pretty good spots here.’’
A month ago, just before the season paused, Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada reported that the Rangers had extended Gorton and Drury, though the team never announced it.
Davidson said the Rangers’ rebuild isn’t complete yet. When the NHL paused its season on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blueshirts were 37-28-5 for 79 points through 70 games. That, however, doesn’t guarantee they’ll be a legit playoff team next season, Davidson said.
“We know we’ve got a long way to go,’’ he said. “You build a foundation and just take it a step at a time . . . And you’ve got to make good moves. It’s hard to make great moves every time you make a move, but your batting percentage has to be pretty good.
“Now, it’s still going to be hard,’’ he continued. “There are steps forward, and then there’s one back, and then steps forward, and one back. But there’s good things in place.’’
Davidson said the training staff is in touch with the players, giving them “virtual training sessions,’’ and also is making sure the players are in a good place mentally.
Management is constantly meeting with the coaching and scouting staffs on teleconferences and going over things “as though the draft were to be tomorrow,'' Davidson said. "We’re prepared to go into the draft. So there’s a lot of things that keep you real busy.’’
More Rangers



