The New York Rangers are entering a new era under general manager Chris Drury, who has wasted little time reshaping the roster after the team missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.
With pressure mounting to turn things around, Drury has already made several major changes. The Rangers moved on from veteran forward Vincent Trocheck, added scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights, and brought in goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins as part of their offseason overhaul.
While the focus has largely been on the NHL roster, the Rangers have also started making important changes within their American Hockey League system, announcing two new additions to the Hartford Wolf Pack coaching staff.
Rangers Add Experienced Coaches To Hartford Wolf Pack Staff
The Rangers revealed that Bob Woods and John Stevens have been hired as assistant coaches for the Hartford Wolf Pack, joining head coach Jay Leach, who was brought in earlier this offseason.
Woods arrives with a wealth of coaching experience, having spent 14 seasons behind NHL benches. His most recent role came with the Seattle Kraken during the 2024-25 season, while his previous NHL stops included assistant coaching positions with the Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks, and Washington Capitals.
He also has significant experience as a head coach, including a successful run with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he captured a Calder Cup championship in 2009. Woods previously coached the Saskatoon Blades and Mississippi Sea Wolves as well.
Before moving into coaching, Woods enjoyed a lengthy playing career, appearing in more than 700 professional games in the ECHL and AHL. He was part of Hershey’s 1997 Calder Cup-winning team and was later inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2012.
Stevens joins Hartford after spending last season with Kiekko-Espoo in Finland’s Liiga. He brings additional AHL experience after nearly a decade coaching in the league with Abbotsford, Utica, and Bridgeport, where he accumulated 389 games of coaching experience and helped develop numerous players.
The Wolf Pack are looking to rebound after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign, finishing with a 26-38-8 record and ending the season eighth in the Atlantic Division.
Chris Drury Made It Clear Changes Were Coming
The Rangers’ offseason moves come after Drury openly acknowledged last season that the organization needed to make difficult decisions following another disappointing year.
In a message to fans, Drury admitted the team had fallen short of expectations and emphasized that changes were necessary to build a championship contender.
“We know and feel your disappointment with how the season has gone,” Drury said. “No one in the organization is happy with what has transpired — from management, to coaches, to players.”
He added that the organization remained committed to its ultimate goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New York.
Not long after that message, the Rangers moved toward a major roster reset. The team decided not to bring back star forward Artemi Panarin, who was later traded to the Los Angeles Kings and signed a two-year extension with the club.
A Vincent Trocheck trade also appeared inevitable as part of the changes, although the veteran remained with New York through the end of the season before eventually being dealt to the Utah Mammoth.
Now, with a revamped roster and a reworked development staff, Drury is betting that a fresh approach can help the Rangers return to playoff contention and finally chase the Stanley Cup they have been pursuing.