Inquiring minds

Drury, Gallant look to provide answers on Blueshirts' future

The Rangers will officially introduce new head coach Gerard Gallant on Tuesday at 10 a.m., and general manager Chris Drury will address the media for the first time since he fired former bench boss David Quinn.

The press conference will not be available to stream, but highlights will be broadcast on MSG afterward.

It’s been over a month since Drury dismissed Quinn after the first-time NHL head coach missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. But after former president John Davidson and former general manager Jeff Gorton were let go by CEO Jim Dolan just before the conclusion of the regular season, it wasn’t a surprise Drury opted to fully clean house. Dolan made it clear he wanted a culture change within the organization, and that’s what Drury and now Gallant have been tasked with.

Here are some questions for Drury and Gallant heading into the introductory press conference:

For Drury:

Why was David Quinn not the right coach moving forward?

Quinn was brought in to oversee the development of a young Rangers squad. The former Boston University coach was rather successful in doing that, helping players like Pavel Buchnevich and Adam Fox blossom into top competitors. Why was Quinn not allowed to continue his work?

What made Gallant the best fit for the job? The Rangers will be the fourth NHL team Gallant takes over, after the 57-year-old had stints with the Blue Jackets, Panthers and Golden Knights. Why was it important to get a coach with NHL coaching experience?

How has filling other positions within the organization been going?

Drury has made changes in several different departments within the Blueshirts organization, including public relations and advisory roles. What sort of qualities was Drury looking for when filling each role?

What is the next step for the organization? How does Drury plan to wrap up the rebuild?

There was seemingly a disconnect between Dolan and the former managerial tandem on what was best for the team going forward, which resulted in the Davidson-Gorton dismissals. Does the team expect to be a playoff contender next season?

For Gallant:

Why the Rangers?

As an NHL coach, Gallant has made it to the Stanley Cup Final once, with Vegas during its inaugural season in 2017-18. Does Gallant believe the Rangers are ready to be Cup contenders?

What is his approach to leading such a young team?

Quinn had the development touch and understanding of how to communicate with young talent after doing so for years at the collegiate level. How does Gallant plan to connect with the team’s youth, as well as the handful of veterans on the roster?

What are the Rangers missing in their game?

Much has been made of the Blueshirts lacking in leadership, physicality and grit, while having an abundance of upper-echelon talent. Does Gallant think additions need to be made in order to balance the lineup?

How does Gallant plan to change the culture?

The Rangers haven’t had a captain since Ryan McDonagh in 2018 and have few veterans in the lineup. Since a change in culture is what the front office is striving for, what can Gallant do to change it?

“Wait ’til next year” was the slogan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. Now their spiritual and sporting successors are fittingly echoing the same refrain.

A Nets superteam built to win it all just got bounced in the second round by the Bucks. But plenty of strong squads suffer heartbreak the year their core is assembled, only to use that as fuel for a championship run the next. Predictably, that will be the Nets’ mindset with their offseason starting earlier than expected.

It has to be. “Absolutely. That’s got to be our approach, is we were very close,” Steve Nash said Monday. “[We faced] a lot of adversity, and if we can refine and improve what we do, why can’t we take this with us, grow, learn and be back with even more resolve, more of an understanding of what it takes to win?

“That’s definitely the silver lining is what we can take from this, what we can add to our toolbox and to our collective mentality and culture. … Everyone here is fired up to get back to work and build this thing back up, and even stronger.”

Within the Nets’ locker room, there is a firm belief that the single biggest part of getting stronger is getting healthier.

The players are convinced their second-round series would’ve gone differently if Kyrie Irving wasn’t sidelined by a sprained ankle and James Harden wasn’t slowed by a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

That duo logged only 202 minutes all regular season alongside Kevin Durant, and 130 in the postseason. They were a plus-64 in the playoffs, but injuries conspired to keep them from being at their best.

“It’s tough; really tough. We were so close to advancing,” Nash said. “It didn’t go our way this time. But we’ll take some of this with us, and it’ll make us stronger and we’ll approach that next season with this in our toolbox and it’ll grow our character and resolve.”

Yes, they were tantalizingly close in a series of what ifs.

The Nets could’ve been facing Atlanta in the Eastern Conference Finals if Joe Harris had hit just one more 3-pointer in Games 3 or 7. Or if Durant’s toe hadn’t touched the line on his long last-second 2 to send Game 7 into OT, instead of a 3 to send them to the next round. He wears a size 17 shoe, but dons an 18 for games.

That’s how close. And the

Nets know it.

“It hurts. It should hurt,” GM Sean Marks said. “But life moves on. Nobody’s feeling sorry for the Nets, and we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves. That’s pro sports.”

Marks has to take the more analytical bird’s-eye view. He has to be busy with the draft and free agency, trying to extend the contracts of the Big 3 and put the right pieces around them with nine free agents on this roster.

Those decisions are best made dispassionately, not in the heat of the moment. And after a Game 7 loss suffered with gut-wrenching injuries, the moment is still very hot.

Still, Marks insists the early exit was more a disappointment than a failure.

“I don’t look at it as failure. I think the term ‘failure’ can be used in a completely different array of circumstances far more serious than what we went through. Is it disappointment? Yes. Without a doubt,” Marks said. “We’re going to own it, we’re going to grow from it.

“We’ll be better because of this. We’ll progress through this and learn from the roller-coaster ride that was this season. But I don’t look at this as failure — we all grew as people, as individuals and as a unit. We’re definitely going to come out with the resolve and resiliency to attack next season and achieve our goals.”

It’ll only be a failure if they don’t learn from it and build on it.

Granted, their spiritual and sporting predecessors won five NL pennants from 1941 to ’53, but lost to the Yankees in the World Series all five times. They finally broke through and beat the Bombers in 1955, still the borough’s only title.

The Nets hope their goals don’t take that long.