Chris Drury, Mike Sullivan discuss exceptions for retooled Rangers heading into season

Coming off another disappointing season, Chris Drury knew that there were plenty of areas he needed to improve heading into the offseason.

Months later, the Rangers ' GM feels he was able to check most of them off.

Speaking with reporters alongside head coach Mike Sullivan on the opening day of camp, Drury broke down how he feels about the roster heading in.

"We feel like we're in a good spot," Drury said. "A lot of changes, a lot of excitement, not just Ranger acquisitions but also with the prospects who are here trying to put their best foot forward -- I'm excited about what we've done."

With the additions and all of that rising young talent, Drury pointed directly towards the clubs depth as an area he feels they'll be better equipped throughout the year.

"When we were healthy last year our record was pretty good, when we weren't healthy it wasn't good," he said. "We just didn't have the depth to support missing those big pieces in the lineup, and when you lose those big pieces such as [ Adam ] Fox and [ Igor ] Shesterkin for chunks of time it's going hurt you."

Sullivan too expects that with that new and improved depth and some better luck on the injury-front, they'll be a more competitive group this year.

"We addressed some of the priorities we felt were important to help," he said. "At the end the day every team goes into camp with the goal that we're going to make the playoffs to give ourselves the opportunity for the Stanley Cup.

"My expectation is that we're going to compete -- we're going to be a competitive group with an expectation that we're going to compete every night and give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs and we'll see where it goes."

New York finished 34-39-9, and in the basement of the Eastern Conference in their first year under Sullivan.