How did you feel about Glen Sather being hired?

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Ultimately, the '99 Draft ended up being a terrible place for Neil Smith to double-down and put all of his eggs in one basket.

If anyone needs a refresher, the draft was essentially hot garbage:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1999e.html

And for those angry that Sather didn't trade for Jagr, that was all Craig Patrick. On all available metrics at the time, the Rangers offer was better than Washington's, but CP, maybe a result of the negiotiations, decided he would NOT send Jagr to the Rangers (didn't help the cause that Jagr wanted to come to the Rangers as well).

I don't need a refresher, I lived through it and remember what people were saying.

Sather said over and over when he was hired that winning a Stanley Cup with the Rangers' resources was going to be easy. He's done such a good job. But hey maybe this will be the year.

 

[frozenrubber]

For those interested, here are some interesting tidbits from the pursuit of Jagr, episode 1:

- Penguins very much wanted Tomas Kloucek. Rangers refused.
- Rangers started the bidding VERY low...how low? Kamesky, Tim Taylor, and $10 million dollars
- 1997 Redux, 2001, the Rangers target Joe Sakic...and fail
- Dallas and Red Wings nearly pulled the trigger on Lindros (Sydor + Morrow offer from Dallas)
- 'Lawngate' - One of Sather's better quotes: “I phoned Craig [Sunday] and he was out mowing the lawn, so I don’t know that there’s any urgency on his part,†Sather said. “Other than that, I don’t have anything more to say about Jagr.â€
- Brett Hull indiciates he would sign w/ NYR if they acquire Jagr
- With Dallas out as a bidder, Rangers think they are the only ones left, offer: Hlavac, York, and Johnsson

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

Ultimately, the '99 Draft ended up being a terrible place for Neil Smith to double-down and put all of his eggs in one basket.

If anyone needs a refresher, the draft was essentially hot garbage:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1999e.html

God damn, never realized it was THAT BAD. Only the Sedin twins amounted to anything, and Connolly was decent (but not a top 5-10 pick kind of guy).

 

[frozenrubber]

I don't need a refresher, I lived through it and remember what people were saying.

...well aware you need no refresher. but can anyone now say jamie lundmark and steve yzerman in the same sentence without throwing up a little in their mouth?

 

[frozenrubber]

When we acquired Lindros, Sather actually said Lindros did not have any concussion issues, implying that was something made up by the media or whatever. I'm not kidding.

The exact quote was:

''Maybe it does,'' Sather said. ''But Eric is still Eric. He's still got problems with his concussions. Well, that may or may not be true. Nobody knows for sure.''

 

[n8]

I think I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I hated Smith a lot. You really tore the team apart with the horrible Kovalev/Zubov trade to a conference rival, the Kurri trade was both terrible and reeked of desperation, and the Pavel Brendl debacle? I really wonder if anyone scouted that guy. I mean, it was a crappy draft year. Outside the Sedins, Havlat and Jackman are the only two 1st rounders worth mentioning that year, but he went through the Ranger cupboards with criminal disregard. The last of which was trading Knuble for Rob DiMaio. ugh, what a pointless acquisition!

but I digress. Sather had both great history but a steady decline into destitution largely blamed on the admittedly crazy Oiler's owners situation and lack of budget. He had a history of questionable trades but he also had some good ones too like getting Todd Marchant from us. Man that kid could skate and was pretty much an ideal 3rd line center his entire career. Hindsight is 20/20 but how could any GM ever trade a player named Satan? Bad call Slats. I thought Janne Niinimaa acquisition was sound. Flipping Hamrlik for Brewer was smart. A lot of draft stinkers but he still managed to get 1-2 NHL players each year. Just never really getting himself a homerun pick (Arnott and Smyth were probably the best he could manage through all of his years). He probably wasn't the best but there was enough there for me to get excited.

I believe my initial reaction was very excited but post-debriefing, I had a somewhat more guarded and sober outlook which quickly fell apart with his string of questionable coach hirings. He was a tactical trader at first frequently gaming the system and trading down to stockpile draft picks (which really never amounted to anything). I didn't like him breaking up the Czechmates and FLY line while they were still going strong. Zdeno Ciger for Barnaby was his first real magician trade. anyways, I'm getting off topic here.

tldr; I was excited at first.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

...well aware you need no refresher. but can anyone now say jamie lundmark and steve yzerman in the same sentence without throwing up a little in their mouth?

Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[NCRanger]

It's been somewhat mentioned, but I'll repeat, Neil Smith gutted any kind of farm system to try an ice a semi-elite team through the mid-90's. When the move for Sakic failed, and they lost Messier, there was nothing that could be done to salvage any kind of decent team. Yet, Smith kept digging and digging a hole that nobody could get out of.

Basically, Sather, or whomever would have been named the GM replacing Smith, had two options. Take the path Sather did and try to sign free agents and patch a team together with money, or skate a team of third line AHLers and take a shot at the lottery. I know there are plenty of people here who think the latter is a better option, but, there's also a chance that the Rangers could be Edmonton now if they followed that path.

What would have happened if Bure didn't blow out his knee?

Sather's luck with free agents has been almost unbelievable. Almost like getting struck by lightning twice bad.

 

[messiah]

God damn, never realized it was THAT BAD. Only the Sedin twins amounted to anything, and Connolly was decent (but not a top 5-10 pick kind of guy).

Look at the 7th round probably some real stars drafted there zetterberg i take over any of the sedin's Vrbata not bad either Erat up to this year was a good pick oh yeh and ryan miller in the 5th

 

[mti79]

God damn, never realized it was THAT BAD. Only the Sedin twins amounted to anything, and Connolly was decent (but not a top 5-10 pick kind of guy).

In that draft, Connolly actually is a top 5-10 pick. It was that sad.

EDIT: Going through the draft, good players: Sedins in the first. Jordan Leopold in the second. Nik Hagman, Frankie Kaberle, Mike Comrie, Chris Kelly and Craig Anderson in the 3rd, Ryan Malone in the 4th, Ryan Miller in the 5th, Martin Erat, Henrik Zetterberg and Radim Vrbata in the 7th... Ugh...

The Rangers already had so many aging vets and it didn't make sense to trade some of our promising young players for a post-concussions Lindros. Hlavac didn't do much after he was traded, but Kim Johnsson had a solid career in Philly and Minny.

It was becoming increasingly evident by 2001-02 that Sather was not going to get rid of the country club culture he inherited, but rather he was acquiring players that would contribute to it. The Rangers could have used some young and hungry players as opposed to broken down damaged goods like Lindros, Berard, Bure, etc.

We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

 

[Kocur Dill]

We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

No question Bure bled blue, albeit for only a short time. Dude still had "it" even with two busted up knee's and he busted his butt every shift till he couldn't stand no more. You could just tell it ate him alive by the look in his eyes when his knee's finally just could not take anymore.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

In that draft, Connolly actually is a top 5-10 pick. It was that sad.

EDIT: Going through the draft, good players: Sedins in the first. Jordan Leopold in the second. Nik Hagman, Frankie Kaberle, Mike Comrie, Chris Kelly and Craig Anderson in the 3rd, Ryan Malone in the 4th, Ryan Miller in the 5th, Martin Erat, Henrik Zetterberg and Radim Vrbata in the 7th... Ugh...



We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

Didn't have to be an orthopedic surgeon to realize that his knees were never going to stand up to the wear and tear of NHL play. That's why he came so cheap.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

If he was healthy, the Ranger would have never got him for that package.

 

[OverTheCap]

We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

The crux of my argument is that Bure was a known injury risk when Sather traded for him, he has had recurring knee problems since 1995. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to to Sather that Bure's knee gave out, or that Lindros wasn't the same player after multiple concussions. Until 2004, Sather continually targeted older players who are either past their prime or an injury away from retirement rather than focusing on building through the draft and cultivating a youth movement.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

The crux of my argument is that Bure was a known injury risk when Sather traded for him, he has had recurring knee problems since 1995. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to to Sather that Bure's knee gave out, or that Lindros wasn't the same player after multiple concussions. Until 2004, Sather continually targeted older players who are either past their prime or an injury away from retirement rather than focusing on building through the draft and cultivating a youth movement.

Exactly.

 

[True Blue]

We got Bure for Filip Novak, Igor Ulanov, and 3 draft picks. A first and second in '02 and a 4th in '03. If he stayed healthy, nobody would ever question that and his number would be in the rafters. Bure was that good.

Whether or not his number would go into the rafters is a fantasy question. Here is reality. Jackass traded for damaged goods. AGAIN. It was a needless waste of assets and he was only bidding against himself.

 

[wafflepadsave]

Whether or not his number would go into the rafters is a fantasy question. Here is reality. Jackass traded for damaged goods. AGAIN. It was a needless waste of assets and he was only bidding against himself.

You could take a time out to see if there was a better word to describe the current GM, but none really accurately describe the mentality and demeanor that is displayed by sather. There are reasons why he has few trading partners.