Confirmed with Link: NYR Fire John Davidson and Jeff Gorton

[Edge]

Quoting Brooks, Dolan refers to Sather as the "Godfather" of the Rangers. But even if that were the case, Dolan didn't need to rely on Sather to see that the team was getting dummied in real competition not named New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Buffalo, which if you ask me right now, appears to be even better than the Rangers.

What's interesting to me is that some of the moves we're talking about from the last few years --- are patented Sather moves or connected to him. Buyouts, lingering contracts that we struggle to move, etc. None of this is new. And a lot of it is coming off.

These guys were Sather's hand-picked replacements. The structure was partly designed by him. He signed off and was involved on every step of what we just jettisoned. There is no way to separate Sather from any of this. His DNA is all over it.

 

[Edge]

I don't like the move either but no one in the league knows the future and everyone is human. So it's not a trump card.

It's not a trump. We're debating whether the move makes sense. And for most people, it just doesn't.

Maybe it turns out great. Nothing would make me happier. But the game here is pretty significant and the track record of the man who orchestrated it is questionable at best.

That's the heart of most concerns here.

 

[TominNC]

Everyone had to deal with this stuff.

Yes, but we had a much younger team. Vet teams are better equipped to keep doing their thing.

 

[nyr2k2]

We had far worse, with far more experienced players, without even the benefit of a brighter future and we did. In fact, he's still employed by the company.

There almost no one in this league who think this was the right time or the better move.

Almost. No. One.

It wouldn't be the first time the consensus was wrong, you know? I mean while I personally am okay with the moves, I wouldn't have made them now, or in such bombastic fashion. And as has been stated, Dolan will never deserve the benefit of the doubt. So I'm not the dog in the burning house saying "everything is fine" from that meme. There is reason for alarm.

Yet through all that, I see a very clear path forward where this could be...totally fine.

 

[Edge]

It wouldn't be the first time the consensus was wrong, you know? I mean while I personally am okay with the moves, I wouldn't have made them now, or in such bombastic fashion. And as has been stated, Dolan will never deserve the benefit of the doubt. So I'm not the dog in the burning house saying "everything is fine" from that meme. There is reason for alarm.

Yet through all that, I see a very clear path forward where this could be...totally fine.

I would caution with that last line that we're not the ones projecting the clear path forward, rather than asking whether or not recent moves, or even past approaches (the benefit of the doubt aspect) really point to that path.

Because the past 48 hours, have produced many more contradictions than a clear path typically indicates.

 

[will1066]

This is crazy look at their record. I know lot came from the coach that they fired but as is that's still not the case. Better coached? Well that's 31 teams in the NHL.

Put aside the record. The last couple of contests the Rangers had with them, we eked out victories. They play fast under Don Granato. They seem to have some momentum going for next season.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Put aside the record. The last couple of contests the Rangers had with them, we eked out victories. They play fast under Don Granato. They seem to have some momentum going for next season.

The Sabres? The last two wins were the only two wins by more than 1 goal against them (not counting a 5-3 win earlier with an empty net).

 

[will1066]

What's interesting to me is that some of the moves we're talking about from the last few years --- are patented Sather moves or connected to him. Buyouts, lingering contracts that we struggle to move, etc. None of this is new. And a lot of it is coming off.

These guys were Sather's hand-picked replacements. The structure was partly designed by him. He signed off and was involved on every step of what we just jettisoned. There is no way to separate Sather from any of this. His DNA is all over it.

They're maybe patented Sather moves, but they're not exclusive to him. Many teams carry bad contracts. Teams use buyouts, not just the Rangers. Hindsight is 20/20. "Sure bets" don't pan out. Crazier things have happened on this rock that's floating around in space and what we call Earth.

Maybe Sather did help install Gorton and JD. Maybe somewhere or at some point in time along the way, their philosophies on how to take the team into the future began to diverge. Maybe Sather just did a better job whispering into Dolan's ear and covering his own ass.

 

[nyr2k2]

I would caution with that last line that we're not the ones projecting the clear path forward, rather than asking whether or not recent moves, or even past approaches (the benefit of the doubt aspect) really point to that path.

Because the past 48 hours, have produced many more contradictions than a clear path typically indicates.

Had they not gone to Drury, I'd be much more alarmed than I am. This is absolutely the time where Crazy Man Jim would have fired everyone and hired f***ing Messier and Gretzky or something completely insane. Instead, he went to a guy who--presumably--is of at least a similar mindset to the guys that were let go (which is supported by Drury's public statements, for whatever they're worth). I think that's really important in all this.

Dolan acts illogically all the time, but it would be the height of illogical behavior if he fired two guys to replace them with a guy who shares their same general view on how to operate the team--if what he wanted was a total change in approach. Which, again, just leads me to believe that Dolan isn't looking for the team to make some radical shift in their operating approach, but rather wanted a bit of a different perspective from a known and respected quantity who he trusts to complete the rebuild he himself signed off on.

To me, nothing is actually clear. I'm not saying anything is clear. When I say I see a clear path towards this being fine, I mean that my projection of how this went down, based on our incomplete knowledge of the situations, leads me to believe that despite this being your typical Dolan shit show, that it may not actually have a significant impact on how we do business.

 

[will1066]

The Sabres? The last two wins were the only two wins by more than 1 goal against them (not counting a 5-3 win earlier with an empty net).

They gave us fits. And without the Zibanejad hat trick in the first game, you could say it was a 3-3 contest. We were outshot in that game.

 

[DialUp]

Sabres currently playing better does not mean at all they ARE better. That team is garbage.

 

[Edge]

They're maybe patented Sather moves, but they're not exclusive to him. Many teams carry bad contracts. Teams use buyouts, not just the Rangers. Hindsight is 20/20. "Sure bets" don't pan out. Crazier things have happened on this rock that's floating around in space and what we call Earth.

Maybe Sather did help install Gorton and JD. Maybe somewhere or at some point in time along the way, their philosophies on how to take the team into the future began to diverge. Maybe Sather just did a better job whispering into Dolan's ear and covering his own ass.

Exactly my point on the first one. Just minus the end result of how it was viewed.

For the second point, of the last line I have little doubt. And that's why, for better or worse, he's more important than ever.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Quoting Brooks, Dolan refers to Sather as the "Godfather" of the Rangers. But even if that were the case, Dolan didn't need to rely on Sather to see that the team was getting dummied in real competition not named New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Buffalo, which if you ask me right now, appears to be even better than the Rangers.

I would much rather be the Rangers, even today, than NJ, Philly, or Buff.

 

[Rongomania]

I watched Phil Jackson walk down 57th street - many times - when he was coaching and he looked like he wanted to kill himself. I watched people talk shit to his face.

100% that was Jim Dolan. Jackson is a hero and I even hated on him at the time. I now realize how wrong that all was.

Jim Dolan better go back under the ground where it looks like he came from. Let's hope him pretending he thinks he knows what's best for us was a one and done.

 

[Edge]

Had they not gone to Drury, I'd be much more alarmed than I am. This is absolutely the time where Crazy Man Jim would have fired everyone and hired f***ing Messier and Gretzky or something completely insane. Instead, he went to a guy who--presumably--is of at least a similar mindset to the guys that were let go (which is supported by Drury's public statements, for whatever they're worth). I think that's really important in all this.

Dolan acts illogically all the time, but it would be the height of illogical behavior if he fired two guys to replace them with a guy who shares their same general view on how to operate the team--if what he wanted was a total change in approach. Which, again, just leads me to believe that Dolan isn't looking for the team to make some radical shift in their operating approach, but rather wanted a bit of a different perspective from a known and respected quantity who he trusts to complete the rebuild he himself signed off on.

To me, nothing is actually clear. I'm not saying anything is clear. When I say I see a clear path towards this being fine, I mean that my projection of how this went down, based on our incomplete knowledge of the situations, leads me to believe that despite this being your typical Dolan shit show, that it may not actually have a significant impact on how we do business.

All that is fair and very plausible. And frankly a lot of the points you touched on are why there should at least be a degree of concern - the fact that I can almost promise that the actions mentioned in the first two paragraphs are not nearly as far-off or out of the realm of possibility as we hope.

 

[will1066]

Exactly my point on the first one. Just minus the end result of how it was viewed.

For the second point, of the last line I have little doubt. And that's why, for better or worse, he's more important than ever.

I think Drury is a smart guy. I hope he's got the street smarts to maneuver around the Rangers' version of office politics.

 

[Edge]

I think Drury is a smart guy. I hope he's got the street smarts to maneuver around the Rangers' version of office politics.

Almost nothing would make me happier. That's 100 percent what I am rooting for.

 

[will1066]

I would much rather be the Rangers, even today, than NJ, Philly, or Buff.

I agree. We have many of the right parts. At the end of the day, do those parts come together to make its sum or will we see something that's better and more than the sum of the parts?

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

I agree. We have many of the right parts. At the end of the day, do those parts come together to make its sum or will we something that's better and more than the sum of the parts?

For as bad as this season has gotten, I still thought they were on the right track and not that far away from being a very good team. This is a big offseason though and I hope Drury is up for it.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

They gave us fits. And without the Zibanejad hat trick in the first game, you could say it was a 3-3 contest. We were outshot in that game.

If you take out half the goals we would have had a 3-3 game. Come on, man...

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

From Carp’s article earlier this morning

Since the story I published earlier, I have heard from a conflicting source about whether Dolan was angry at Gorton for not making a deadline trade. Indeed, I was told, Gorton came pretty close to making a significant hockey deal, for a legit player, not a rental, but a team backed out.

I have also been told that Sather, though front and center Thursday (and involved throughout Wednesday’s crazy day), is not getting back into any kind of major role. Nor does he, at age 77, want to. As an advisor to Drury, he can be valuable. If he wants to run the Rangers from behind the scenes, that’s dangerous, in my opinion. But apparently he doesn’t want to do that.

One more thing. Before the Rangers hired Quinn, they also were interested in Jim Montgomery, who wound up in Dallas instead. A reliable NHL source told me that Montgomery turned down the Rangers (not sure it ever actually got to an offer) because he didn’t trust the Rangers to actually follow through on the promise to rebuild without firing the people running it.

Montgomery nailed us to the cross on that one

 

[will1066]

For as bad as this season has gotten, I still thought they were on the right track and not that far away from being a very good team. This is a big offseason though and I hope Drury is up for it.

Yes. I do think many of us forget that the Rangers are also a business -- @SnowblindNYR -- and might view sports in a kind of pseudo-world lens where office politics and the goal of making money don't occur. It's quite possible, and from the reports, that there was some difference in philosophy or opinion about the state of the team. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Gorton and JD were telling things to keep Dolan satisfied and Dolan sought out Drury and Sather directly and individually, and maybe what each of them said sounded better than what Gorton and JD said to him. And if JD did tell Dolan that if he was going to fire Gorton, then fire him too, then the theory of JD and Gorton sticking together and holding some sort of veil over Dolan about the state of affairs has legs.

 

[Edge]

From Carp’s article earlier this morning



Montgomery nailed us to the cross on that one

And as was mentioned at the time, that is exactly why DQ wanted the extra year.

We paid a premium because people were not convinced in the commitment.

 

[will1066]

If you take out half the goals we would have had a 3-3 game. Come on, man...

Agree to disagree. I remember seeing the Sabres giving us a whole lot to handle (Black Crowes) with their forecheck and transition.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

And as was mentioned at the time, that is exactly why DQ wanted the extra year.

We paid a premium because people were not convinced in the commitment.

Yeah that makes a lot of sense

any ideas on what trade Gorton was working at the deadline but fell apart Carp was referencing?