Thanks to jimbro who posted this in prior blog, but I felt it was so important that it deserves it's own blog. In addition, two of the titles that made sense and were proposed by jimbro and Rags2Riches were: "The Bastard" and "The Bastard's Last Eff You"

Brooks wrote in today's NY Post:
It appears as if the Rangers will be unable to buy out the final season of Chris Drury's contract because of a degenerative condition in the captain's left knee that apparently will render him medically unable to play next season.

While Drury has yet to file the necessary paperwork, sources report he plans to do so. The Rangers, who had been planning a buyout, could file a grievance against Drury, but that is a remote possibility, at best. Mounting a challenge is problematic on numerous levels, but winning a grievance would cost CEO Jim Dolan approximately $2.7 million in cash, given insurance ramifications.

While Drury is looking at the end of his career, this is bad news for the Rangers, who will contend with complex cap issues both over the summer and for next season.

The inability to buy out an injured player means that Drury's full $7.05 million charge will remain on the Blueshirts' summer cap, which can exceed the 2011-12 season cap by 10 percent. Under terms of the CBA, the captain will have to report to training camp in September for the team physical. If Drury fails, as would be expected, he would qualify for a long-term injury (LTI) exemption when the season begins and the roster is set. But in order to gain the full value of the $7.05 million exemption, the Rangers would have to go that far over the cap. In other words, if the cap is $62.5 million (an estimation before it is officially established by June 30), the team would have to get to $69.5 million (including Drury) before the season-opener in Stockholm to reap the full LTI benefit.

At this stage, it seems implausible the Blueshirts would even approach $69.5 million . . . unless they simply give Brad Richards whatever he wants (if not more!) to sign as a free agent in order to inflate their cap. (but with the Rangers needing to re-sign Dubi, Cally, Boyle and Sauer and make decisions on Feds, Prospal etc., cap space will get eaten up)

Under a buyout, the Rangers would have carried approximately $3.717 million of dead space on the Drury contract through both the summer and the season. Drury underwent a Feb. 11 arthroscopy that sidelined him for 27 games before he returned on basically one leg for the for the April 9 regular-season finale against the Devils and the playoff first round against the Caps. But his knee gave out as the series progressed. Coach John Tortorella told the press on breakup day that the captain had a, "chronic knee [condition]."

The Post has learned that conversations between Drury and Glen Sather regarding the possibility that the captain would cite being medically unable to play began when the GM informed him last week of the team's plans to buy him out. The initial round of buyouts runs from tomorrow through June 30. There is a second 48-hour window granted in late July or early August following salary arbitration.

Drury, who is owed $5M on the front-loaded, five-year, $35.25 million free-agent deal he signed on July 1, 2007, is expected to undergo a physical in the near future. If his condition is affirmed, insurance will cover $4 million. (so he gets a good chunk of change if he is bought out or goes on LTIR).

This type of scenario been rumored a while ago, and was covered by Arthur Staple in the June 10 Newsday, but the hope was that Drury's knee was not in this bad of a shape and would allow him to get medical clearance to play, enabling the buyout. The downside is that given the timeframe we are working with, a determination of his condition for cap purposes must wait until training camp, even though we know now what the likely event is then. In addition, what also has to be factored in is that the team also will be carrying Wade Redden's salary. since his likely demotion to the AHL won't come until training camp, meaning the Rangers will have over $13.5 million in dead cap space heading into free agency, which may limit their ability to make signings following the expected raises to several RFAs.

All in all, if accurate, this is horrific news for the Rangers and their potential ability to be players for Brad Richards etc. Plus, if this is the Captain's "last stand," fans who already believe he failed to live up to even part of his contract will view him in an even worse light in the future and think he has found a parting way to screw the team once again. If you believe that is not the case, just look at the two proposed titles in the first paragraph and that pretty well sums up what Rangers' fans think of their soon to be deposed captain.

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