from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The idea, we’re told, was born in 2005-06, when Chris Drury was co-captain in Buffalo, and the Sabres brought a retired referee to training camp to work with the team on the rules changes that arose out of the Shanahan Summit during Owners’ Lockout II.

Sixteen years later and now the general manager of the Rangers, Drury reached into his past and then out to retired NHL linesman Pierre Racicot to work with his team on faceoffs during the opening days of training camp.

Racicot, a 54-year-old veteran of 1,880 regular season games and 254 playoff contests, who dropped the puck tens of thousands of times, worked with the club’s faceoff men following each of Friday’s training camp sessions, imparting his wisdom regarding rules at the dots and advice on positioning and stance.

This represents an innovative approach to confront a historically serious deficiency that has undermined the Rangers for years. Last season, the Rangers won just 44.5 percent of their faceoffs, which was not only last in the league, but also ranked 273rd of the 274 NHL individual team-seasons since 2012-13. The previous season’s 45.9 percent ranked 30th in the NHL and 260th since 2012-13. The 2018-19 club’s 46.9 percent also ranked 30th in the league while placing 252nd over the last nine years.

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