Chris Drury’s second coaching search as president and general manager of the Rangers is well underway.

The Stanley Cup implications that come with this one, however, have intensified the importance of making the right choice.

Differences in ideologies, philosophies or whatever you want to call it between Drury and Gerald Gallant certainly played a role in the two parting ways.

While it wasn’t the only reason, that alone is a good cause for action.

It would not be surprising to see Drury hire someone with whom he is familiar, and in turn, sees the game the same way.

There was no preexisting connection between Drury and Gallant, and perhaps that will be a prerequisite this time around.

Let’s dive into some potential coaching candidates for the Rangers who have worked or played with Drury over the course of his hockey career.

We’re starting off strong with someone who technically can’t even be an official option — because why not?

Mike Sullivan is not only still employed by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the 55-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner just signed a three-year extension with the club last year.

Pittsburgh just cleaned out its front office, firing GM Ron Hextall, assistant GM Chris Pryor and president of hockey operations Brian Burke.

Word is Sullivan, 55, is playing a role in the search for a new general manager, which also makes a union with the Rangers feel all the less likely.

Sullivan and Drury share a Boston University heritage, and they were U.S. teammates in the 1997 World Championships.

Drury also played under Sullivan, who was an assistant with the Rangers, for his last two NHL seasons as a player in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

It’s difficult to imagine Drury going back to the Boston University pipeline, especially for a guy like Pandolfo, who has no NHL head coaching experience.

He does have five seasons as an assistant of the Bruins under his belt, however, this past season was his first as head honcho anywhere.

Pandolfo, 48, may have led the Terriers to the Frozen Four this year, but his lack of head coaching experience makes him a risky option.

His two Stanley Cups and 15 years as a player in the NHL makes the risk look like there could be a reward though.

Drury and Pandolfo overlapped for two seasons at Boston University in 1994-95 and 1995-96.

With his last head coaching gig in the NHL dating back to 2017, when the Islanders fired him after parts of seven seasons, Capuano is probably itching for another opportunity at the helm.

After two seasons as an associate coach for the Panthers, Capuano has been in the same role for the Senators the last four campaigns.

None of those teams has been able to reach the playoffs over that span.

Capuano, 56, was the head coach of Team USA at the 2021 World Championships under Drury as general manager.

He led that team to a bronze medal.

Laviolette, 58, has already been presented as a potential candidate for the Rangers in this space, but his connections with Drury could make for a harmonious match.

Not only did Drury play under Laviolette in the 2006 Olympics (head coach) and the 2004 World Cup (assistant), but Drury’s older brother, Ted, also played alongside Laviolette in the 1994 Olympics.

After serving as head coach of the Red Wings for seven seasons, over which Detroit missed the playoffs six times, Blashill spent 2022-23 as an assistant for the Lightning.

Blashill, 49, was the head coach of Team USA in 2019, when Drury was general manager.

Bylsma made a name for himself in his first year as an NHL head coach when he led the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup after getting promoted from the club’s AHL affiliate in the middle of the season.

At age 39, he was the youngest head coach in the league at the time.

After head coaching stints with the Penguins and Sabres from 2008-09 to 2016-17, Bylsma served as an assistant for the Red Wings for three seasons before going down to the American Hockey League.

Bylsma, now 52, was an assistant on Blashill’s coaching staff with Team USA in 2019, when Drury was general manager.

Hartley was the head coach of Drury and the Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2001.

Despite having been away from the NHL since 2016, when the Flames relieved him of his head coaching duties after they missed the playoffs in three of his four seasons in Calgary, the 62-year-old Hartley could be a candidate.

Hartley’s most recent coaching stint was for four seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with the Omsk Avangard, who won the Gagarin Cup under his leadership in 2021.

When he stepped away from the job there, Hartley insisted he wasn’t ready to retire from coaching, but that he wanted to spend more time with his family.

If Drury wants someone who can relate to the players similarly to how Gallant did, Roy fits the bill.

Three seasons of NHL head coaching experience doesn’t appear as daunting when it comes with a 19-year playing career and four Stanley Cup rings.

He is a Hockey Hall of Famer and is regarded as one of the top goaltenders in NHL history as the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy three times in three different decades.

The 57-year-old Roy last coached the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was teammates with Drury for four seasons in Colorado, where they won a Cup together.