Another day and still no end to the Chris Drury buyout saga.  Heading into the day it had been widely reported that the Rangers had to put Drury on waivers by noon or he would be ineligible to be bought out by Thursday’s deadline.

Now it seems as though those reports may have been incorrect and the Blueshirts could still put Drury on waivers tomorrow in advance of a buyout.

There’s been nothing publicly said about Drury filing paperwork indicating he’s medically ineligible, so it’s unclear what the holdup is on New York’s end.

Perhaps the team isn’t as eager to buy Drury out as originally thought, or perhaps the Rangers are waiting for the second buyout period in August for some reason.  It’s also possible that the team is comfortable placing Drury on LTIR once the season starts.

If Drury is done playing in New York as everyone expects, then it’s confusing as to why he wouldn’t want to get on with the next stage of his career as soon as possible.  The Blueshirts could obviously use the money, so why this is taking so long is a major mystery.

Tomorrow may bring an end to the Drury buyout story, but right now it doesn’t seem as though anyone knows what’s going on for sure outside of Drury and the Rangers’ brass.

- The UFA pool continues to grow shallower by the minute as significant free agents have been re-signing with their teams left and right.  Many of them have been defensemen which probably doesn’t affect the Rangers, but today Brooks Laich re-signed with Washington for six-years, $27 million.  Laich probably wasn’t a target for New York, but he was a fallback option for other teams in search of centers.  Now that he’s off the market, it stands to reason that a team like Toronto will be willing to throw even more money at Brad Richards come Friday.  Laich’s annual cap hit of $4.5 million may also be a bit disconcerting for the Rangers, who must re-sign RFAs Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan that stack up well statistically with Laich.

- You can only glean so much from reading about the loose scrimmage that took place today at prospect camp and from yesterday’s skating drills, but it sounds as though the Rangers picked up some solid talent this weekend at the draft and that the team’s other top prospects have been progressing well.  Reports indicate that Dylan McIlrath’s skating has been much-improved while other youngsters like Carl Hagelin, Christian Thomas, Shane McColgan, Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fasth have been contributing offense.  This is really a first look at most of these guys, so it’s not fair to jump to conclusions.  The Traverse City Tournament is a much better barometer of the progression of these youngsters, but right now it does seem like Hagelin is in strong position to warrant NHL roster consideration from the left wing-less Rangers.

- The delay with Steven Stamkos re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning is almost as puzzling as the Drury saga, but rest assured, Stamkos isn’t going anywhere.

Looking Ahead to 2011-2012:

Rangers Land Tim Erixon: What Does It Mean?

More Erixon Trade Fallout >

What The Rangers Can Learn From The Bruins > 

Rangers Will Face Stiff Competition In The East In 2011-2012 >

What If Christian Thomas Makes The Rangers Next Year?

Free Agency:

Plan A: Sign Brad Richards >

Plan B: Trade For A Top Center >

Plan C: Stick With The Status Quo At Center >

Plan D: Add An Offensive Winger >

Plan E: Sign An Impact Veteran UFA Defenseman >

2011 Draft:

Mid-Round Steals + Addition Of Erixon Make 2011 NHL Draft A Win For NY >

J.T. Miller profile >

Steven Fogarty profile >

Michael St. Croix profile >

Shane McColgan profile >

Samuel Noreau profile >

Peter Ceresnak profile >

Reaction to the J.T. Miller pick >

Evgeny Grachev traded >

Full list of BB draft profiles >

2010-2011 Season Review:

Breaking Down The Defense >

Breaking Down The Goalies >

Breaking Down The Offense >

Breaking Down The Prospects >

How Three Free Agent Signings In 2007 Have Shaped The Eastern Conference >

Spotlight On Glen Sather >

Spotlight On John Tortorella >

Player Reviews:

Spotlight On Mats Zuccarello >

Spotlight On Brian Boyle >

Spotlight On Matt Gilroy >

Spotlight On Ruslan Fedotenko >

Spotlight On Brandon Prust >

Spotlight On Bryan McCabe >

Spotlight On Alex Frolov >

Spotlight On Michael Del Zotto >

Spotlight On Martin Biron >

Spotlight On Brandon Dubinsky >

Spotlight On Marc Staal >

Spotlight On Steve Eminger >

Spotlight On Henrik Lundqvist >

Spotlight On Wojtek Wolski >

Spotlight On Sean Avery >

Spotlight On Dan Girardi >

Spotlight On Erik Christensen >

Spotlight On Ryan McDonagh >

Spotlight On Vinny Prospal >

Spotlight On Derek Stepan >

Spotlight On Marian Gaborik >

Spotlight On Chris Drury >

Spotlight On Artem Anisimov >

Spotlight On Mike Sauer >

Spotlight On Ryan Callahan >