Which Former Sabres Forward Is The Best General Manager?

Three former cornerstone pieces of the historic 2005-2006 Buffalo Sabres roster, Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Mike Grier, have successfully transitioned to NHL general managers in their post-playing careers. They’ve stepped into the role for teams at different points of contention, making their jobs very different.

As the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and San Jose Sharks prepare for the 2024-2025 season, let’s evaluate the impression each former Sabres forward has made on their respective teams. Key additions and subtractions, standings movement, and job security vary as factors evaluating Drury, Briere, and Grier as general managers.

Chris Drury

First Season as GM: 2021-2022

Record Pre-Takeover: 27-23-6; 16th in NHL

2023-2024 Record: 55-23-4; 1st in NHL

Key Additions

• Vincent Trocheck
• Reilly Smith
• Jonathan Quick

Key Subtractions

• Pavel Buchnevich
• Ryan Strome
• Alexandar Georgiev

Rangers Makeover

The major infrastructure was already in place by the time Chris Drury took over, but the New York Rangers steadily rose to the top of the NHL in his tenure. Drury played some role in building the team before his promotion from assistant GM to the lead role, which was when star forward Artemi Panarin was added to the mix and Henrik Lundqvist, Kevin Hayes, and Mats Zuccarello departed.

Once in charge, Drury brought in many short-term forwards to supplement his sound foundation. Players like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Barclay Goodrow, Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano cycled in and out of New York as they searched for playoff success.

In the long term, the Pavel Buchnevich trade is probably Drury’s biggest knock. The Rangers have been looking to replace Buchnevich on the team’s top line since his departure. The return in the deal was fourth-line bruiser Sammy Blais, who failed to score a goal in 54 games with the Rangers.

Drury’s Tenure

If Drury deserves some praise, it’s for keeping the structure of a good team intact. Former first-overall selection Alexis Lafreniere finally had a breakout season last year and Filip Chytil looks like he is primed to do the same once healthy. Despite former second-overall selection Kaapo Kakko not panning as expected, the Rangers are still in a good spot to have their young players complement their stars.

The next wave of organizational-grown talent includes Brennan Othmann and Adam Sykora, who should push for roles this season.

As long as Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Igor Shesterkin are around, the Rangers should continue to compete for the Stanley Cup. The true judgment Drury will face is when it’s time to move on from the core. If he can do so and keep the Rangers competitive, he’ll solidify himself as one of the more stable general managers in the NHL.

Must Read: Ranking Sabres Offseason Moves

Daniel Briere

First Season as GM: 2023-2024

Record Pre-Takeover: 31-38-13; 26th in NHL

2023-2024 Record: 38-33-11; 21st in NHL

Key Additions

• Jamie Drysdale
• Garnet Hathaway

Key Subtractions

• Carter Hart
• Kevin Hayes
• Tony DeAngelo
• James van Riemsdyk

Flyers Makeover

Daniel Briere was promoted to interim and eventually named Philadelphia’s general manager in the 2023 offseason, giving him one season and two offseasons to make his mark on the Flyers. The result is a change of focus from the older contingent to turning the team over to budding talent like Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, and Cam York.

Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Travis Sanheim are the core veterans Briere kept to varying degrees of success. The subtractions of Carter Hart and Tony DeAngelo were out of necessity, and losing Kevin Hayes and James van Riemsdyk drastically altered the personality of the locker room.

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Briere’s Tenure

Jamie Drysdale is the only major addition, so whether Briere believes in his young players and coaching staff too much to turn things around remains a question. He’s somewhat handcuffed thanks to inheriting a poor salary cap situation, prohibiting any major changes to the roster.

The verdict is still out on Briere, but if Philadelphia shows sustainable strides in 2024-2025, he should be positioned to solidify himself as a lead executive in the NHL.

For more on the Philadelphia Flyers, visit PhillyHockeyNow.com

Mike Grier

First Season as GM: 2022-2023

Record Pre-Takeover: 32-37-13; 22nd in NHL

2023-2024 Record: 19-54-9; 32nd in NHL

Key Additions

• Macklin Celebrini
• Will Smith
• Tyler Toffoli
• Mikael Granlund
• Fabian Zetterlund
• Vitek Vanecek
• Mackenzie Blackwood
• Jake Walman
• Barclay Goodrow
• Alex Wennberg
• Jan Rutta

Key Subtractions

• Timo Meier
• Tomas Hertl
• Brent Burns
• Erik Karlsson
• Adin Hill
• James Reimer
• Kaapo Kahkonen
• Alex Barabanov
• Jacob Middleton
• Nick Bonino

Sharks Makeover

With one more season and offseason under his belt than Briere, Mike Grier has been much more active as general manager of the San Jose Sharks. He’s the only GM of the former Sabres trio that has seen his team drop in the standings under his watch, although that was somewhat by design.

Grier and the Sharks now boast a good cap situation, two of the NHL’s top young players in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, and the chance to develop a new core team to build on for the future. Ditching the cap-strapping contracts of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns as they aged out was impressive. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl were assumed to be the leaders going forward, but Grier opted to swap them for young players and high draft picks.

The result was a tanking effect on the roster, giving mid-level players top-six roles and allowing young players like William Eklund to show what they could do.

More Sabres: Will Tage Thompson Have a Bounce Back Season for Sabres?

Grier’s Tenure

Now with 2024 top draft selection Celebrini in place, Grier’s tenure with the Sharks will be judged on how he builds out the roster from here on out. Tyler Toffoli is a quality add, and Barclay Goodrow and Alex Wennberg are good bottom-six additions.

As Celebrini and Smith develop, he’ll have to find more external solutions to build a truly competitive top-six. He’ll also have to completely rebuild the defense at some point soon.

One other interesting nugget regarding Grier is the team of former Sabres and Buffalo connections he surrounded himself with in San Jose. Former Sabres defenseman Doug Houda is an assistant coach. Buffalo-born longtime NHLer Todd Marchant was a former teammate of Grier’s and is the team’s Director of Player Development and acts as a senior advisor. Former Sabres greats Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller are scouts in the organization.

Grier has accomplished the first phase of remaking the Sharks and now faces the most difficult and crucial portion of the rebuild. He should have some leeway over the next couple of seasons, but his moves will be under a microscope as San Jose looks to return to prominence.

For more on the San Jose Sharks, visit SanJoseHockeyNow.com