Rangers promote Chris Drury to assistant general manager

Former NHL playerChris Druryhas been promoted to assistant general manager of the New York Rangers, the team announced Friday.

Drury, 40, played 12 seasons in the NHL, including four with the Rangers. He won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 and also played for the Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres.

Originally selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the third round (72nd overall) of the 1994 NHL entry draft, Drury registered 615 points in 892 career games. He is also the only player to win the Calder Trophy and Hobey Baker Award. During his collegiate career, he helped Boston University win the 1995 national championship.

He was also inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Drury had been serving as the Rangers' director of player development, and he was an important part of helping the team sign free-agent prospect Jimmy Vesey.

"It was very significant," Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said recently during a conference call to introduce Vesey. "I've gotten to know [Drury] a lot since we hired him in the last year, and he's a pretty special guy. He has lots of character and he's done a lot of different things in the game -- and in sports in general -- and he's had so much success. He carries himself with class. He's just a good guy and a great voice in the room.

"Chris has been a great hire for us, and he's done a lot of good things in one year. He's been very impressive for us and definitely a huge asset in the room when we go talk to young players."

From an international playing standpoint, Drury represented Team USA at eight major events, including three Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010).

Drury was on the Trumbull, Connecticut, team that won the 1989 Little League World Series.