Confirmed with Link: NYR Fire John Davidson and Jeff Gorton

[426ers]

I think there's the divide. Some people think it's an excuse, some think its a reality.

Teams are middle of the pack for exactly the reasons were debating --- they're not always hard to play against and they're not consistent. If they weren't, they'd be better teams.

I think we all enjoy the concept of the loveable losers --- the guys who don't always win but are always entertaining, or really try hard but come up just short. But I don't know if that happens too often. Typically being a mediocre team is a rather unenjoyable experience.

We look like shit against the Islanders, we'd previously fought hard against the Caps and took an unprecedented four of four from the Devils.

I think the Hurricanes exposes us for exactly the team we are and shattered the mirage some people had when our season was halted. That team was 5-4-1 when the stoppage occurred. The peak that everyone remembers was already over, they were likely trending down at that point.

@Edge. Do you think The rangers bring back Tony D, now that Gorton and JD are gone? Or has that shipped sailed?

 

[Edge]

@Edge. Do you think The rangers bring back Tony D, now that Gorton and JD are gone? Or has that shipped sailed?

I’d be shocked if they did. The issue there goes beyond Gorton and JD. It runs deep.

But then again, if you told me I’d be sitting right now talking about JD and Gorton being fired and Quinn still being with the team, I’d have been equally as shocked.

 

[gravey9]

I guess I'd feel more comfortable if Dolan bought into the concept of patience and understood that two steps back by trading Zibanejad might not be immediately replaced with three steps forward with his replacement.

If moving Zibanejad was more or less a constant in the equation, Dolan's personality has now entered into equation as a variable.

I'm less concerned about moving Zibanejad as I am forcing a subsequent move into existence. Because escaping one hanging, just to find yourself in another noose is a real possibility.

Yeah, this is exactly why this was the worst moment in the rebuild to change horses. There's gotta be a re-alignment of assets here that may take another season or so to filter out. You move Z-bad, Buch or Strome but maybe it takes the kiddos and the replacements a 100 games to become a playoff contender. Because it's clear the vets aren't the right mix and the kids aren't ready to assume leadership roles yet -- so you basically have to make bets without really knowing what's in your own hand. It feels like we need another year of patience so we're not prematurely trading away young assets.

But now Dolan basically said the playoffs next year are a MUST. So, how many kids are leaving before we know what they even are? And yesterday, when it was still JD/Gorton who might be trading away kids it was more palatable because it didn't feel like a rush job. Now every kid Drury moves will be met with skepticism and has the possibility of making him look like a total spineless shill. The pressure to make moves but also the right moves and as a brand new GM -- it's a recipe for a disaster. Just have to hope Drury is up to the task.

What a truly heartbreaking day to be a Rangers fan.

 

[426ers]

I’d be shocked if they did. The issue there goes beyond Gorton and JD. It runs deep.

But then again, if you told me I’d be sitting right now talking about JD and Gorton being fired and Quinn still being with the team, I’d have been equally as shocked.

Thanks, it could be a case of stranger things have happened.

 

[Pizza]

I tend to think nothing would've substantially changed other than ADA getting his ass kicked on top of things.

The problem with Wilson is you have to be willing to take an eye for eye. It's not him you go after, its Backstrom. I don't know if ADA is that guy either.

Agreed Edge but Somehow the Rangers need to stop being the team that gets their asses kicked all over the ice in situations like this.

The Rangers are soft. Everyone knows it. And now were all paying the butchers bill.

It is an over used phrase today, but it does make sense that you need to have some WILL to go along with the SKILL.

You do need that guy that will run the other teams best player or goalie come what may.

Even after all we've seen the past several games, I find it amazing that there seems to be a reluctance to making this team tougher, even nasty to play against from this fan base.

It's off putting to me to be completely honest. I simply can not understand it.

And to be clear, I'm not advocating selling off our kids to goon up our line up. A modern NHL team can't compete with goons.

I want enforcers that can help give this young talent some room to operate and who have the ability to actually play the game straight up.

Please don't tell me "those guys are hard to find". Other teams manage just fine.

My head hurts. I'm going to bed.

Likley Drury isn't.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Serious question:

Why was JD hired as President in the first place? Whose idea was it and why?

 

[egelband]

So is it reasonable to think that Dolan told JD and/or JG to draft the statement - or he told them to at least put their names on the statement he had drafted - they refused and got fired? That’s how I’m seeing it.

If that’s the case, I wouldn’t worry too much about ‘direction’. Or at least, in a general sense.

But maybe I’m off-base?

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

So is it reasonable to think that Dolan told JD and/or JG to draft the statement - or he told them to at least put their names on the statement he had drafted - they refused and got fired? That’s how I’m seeing it.

If that’s the case, I wouldn’t worry too much about ‘direction’. Or at least, in a general sense.

But maybe I’m off-base?

I am not too worried because I already didn't like direction we were going. There were way too many red flags.

I would be worried if Quinn is not fired a month from now.

 

[Rangerboy030]

Seen in a couple of places the idea that Dolan wanted to replace Gorton with Drury, but JD refused to fire Gorton so he got canned too. Feasible?

 

[Black Tank]

I don’t want to be a prick, but almost all of you need to take the drama queen dresses off and sack up. Tom Wilson is an annoyance and that’s all. If you want to deal with the Caps, slash Backstrom’s hands and wrists until he’s out for the playoffs. But that comes at a cost to the reputation of the franchise. I personally think it’s worth it but others may disagree.

As for JD and Gorts, I’m surprised but that’s all. This is about winning and though I’m satisfied with the progress I’m not so f***ing amazed that those two are irreplaceable. Drury knows the franchise and its assets so there is little downside to give him a shot now.

And finally, for f***’s sake stop whining like a lost little groupie for DeAngelo. It’s embarrassing and if you want to get your crush on, look into K-Pop instead.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

I don’t want to be a prick, but almost all of you need to take the drama queen dresses off and sack up. Tom Wilson is an annoyance and that’s all. If you want to deal with the Caps, slash Backstrom’s hands and wrists until he’s out for the playoffs. But that comes at a cost to the reputation of the franchise. I personally think it’s worth it but others may disagree.

As for JD and Gorts, I’m surprised but that’s all. This is about winning and though I’m satisfied with the progress I’m not so f***ing amazed that those two are irreplaceable. Drury knows the franchise and its assets so there is little downside to give him a shot now.

And finally, for f***’s sake stop whining like a lost little groupie for DeAngelo. It’s embarrassing and if you want to get your crush on, look into K-Pop instead.

in this case ADA could have been one of the factors that caused these firings, that's all. The sudden firing of Gorton is very similar to sudden waiving of DeAngelo.

 

[Rempe73]

I'll admit my perspective may be a bit clouded right now in all the chaos but....

The Rangers have just been man handled several games in a row. Exposed as a pathetically weak and leaderless team.

An argument could be made right now that an "enforcer" just destroyed our organization.

Just blew it up.

No player has done more damage to the Rangers than Wilson since Dave Schultz.

Maybe the silver lining is that we now find out that Chris Drury truly is the wunderkind they've been saying he is since he won that kid world series thing.

I truly hope so.

Lmao! But I would rephrase that and say a lunatic* destroyed our organization.

And I think in time, Drury will be the best GM in the league. As long as dumbass Dolan shuts up and lets him do his job.

 

[Rempe73]

And finally, for f***’s sake stop whining like a lost little groupie for DeAngelo. It’s embarrassing and if you want to get your crush on, look into K-Pop instead.

I’m good. I only brought him up because others did. And it gave me a glimmer of hope that he might be back, even if it’s a 0.01% chance. But yea I’m over him.

Oh, and he lives rent-free in a lot of people’s heads around here for some reason. It’s kinda funny that the haters probably think about him more than I do.

 

[Rempe73]

Oh and by the way, Dolan heard the, “We Want Eichel” chants loud and clear at MSG. Nice job, jackasses.

 

[Siddi]

Never said he’s Jordan lmao. Let me put it this way. There are many assholes in the NHL. DeAngelo is not a special case.

Apparently he is. Why do you think he is sitting on his couch at home instead of playing the game? Not a single team wants him.

 

[CommaSynapse]

If we’re taking about Gorts building a contender, this is a significantly softer top-6 led by Zib and Panarin than the defensive and hard-nosed players he brought into Boston. Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci... those can be tough guys to play against in more than one way.

If our top six isn’t scoring, they’re not necessarily helping.

Maybe it’s a matter of trying to modernize to a skilled top six, but we also lack the speed to go along with the finesse.

 

[Siddi]

As I've talked about before, but ADA always walked a fine line. And sometimes it took him out of the lineup. But, for the most part, he more or less kept himself in check for a while.

Starting around late last year, his behavior began to draw an increasing amount of attention. Whether it was fan interactions, or interactions with teammates, it got noticed for the wrong reasons. Maybe it was quarantine, maybe it was the election, maybe it was the security of signing a nice new contract. But something shifted. He was told multiple times to tone it down. Then he was told flat out to knock it off. Then he was told he was on his last chance.

Each and every time, he blew it. In fact, his conduct actually became more abrasive and distracting. Some of your older members of the team even tried talking to him --- namely Trouba. But he kept pushing and pushing and pushing. Finally, it boils over.

It wasn't just one thing. It was multiple. And now it was becoming an issue with his teammates. They might like the hell out of you, but if they don't trust you, it's all over. He lost their confidence. The fight was just the straw that broke the camels back.

The reason why they went public was because his behavior was not a secret. It was going to leak out no matter, assuming there was anyone in the league who didn't already have some idea what was going on. The thought was also to nip it in the bud so that it wouldn't be a question that came up every single game --- especially when the Rangers were struggling.

No team in the league was going to trade for him without doing their homework. And that's where it really fell apart for ADA. Word leaked out about some of his social activities, teams were sent screen shots of messages he was sending people, and some of it was pretty...it was bad. Let's not even sugar coat it. It was bad.

So now you have this growing list of concerns. And, he's doing it AFTER he's sent home from the team. Burner accounts, new accounts, new platforms, etc.

He was toast at that point. Because literally anyone interested is looking at this and saying, "You didn't learn a thing! How can I give you another chance right now."

Now, having sat for a season, he'll probably get an offer next season. GMs are always willing to gamble on talent. But there is no way they were trading for him at the salary with those concerns. Doesn't matter if the Rangers said he was done, or told the world he was taking a year off to serve as a Christian missionary. He was dead in the water.

And with this excellent post we can hopefully finally put this to rest.

 

[CommaSynapse]

Also, having Geertsen or ADA jump or run someone doesn’t solve the issue.

This Tom Wilson saga has only exposed dysfunction already in place. It may be better for the long run to clear that out now.

Finally, the NHL can’t have it both ways. The league can’t preach finesse, skill, and player safety and then push the modern gladiator angle and let this go on.

 

[Siddi]

Key word here is vocal, i.e. talking about it constantly, which I don’t like either. Again, do you not remember me agreeing with you?

The problem is not him being republican. Many fine people are. Problem is having the same views as 45 AND being vocal about it.

 

[cheech70]

And I think your concerns are valid. They are real issues this time has and will debate in the near future.

The challenge, as we both know, is that much player movement goes beyond a typical shakeup --- especially if you include Buch in the mix.

So if the mandate is to get better sooner, that's going to be another serious influencer. Because it's going to be hard to move a combined 200+ points (under a normal schedule), seamlessly replace it, and fill the mandate to make the playoffs.

Not impossible mind you. But difficult. And overcoming those difficulties could come with a very high cost.

The mandate is simple....when an uber-wealthy owner decides to step in and release a statement you better fall in line and support him or pay the price.

 

[Siddi]

Imagine Chytil in DeAngelo’s situation. Everyone has their player.

Chytil is not a scumbag just bad at hockey

 

[cheech70]

Yeah, this is exactly why this was the worst moment in the rebuild to change horses. There's gotta be a re-alignment of assets here that may take another season or so to filter out. You move Z-bad, Buch or Strome but maybe it takes the kiddos and the replacements a 100 games to become a playoff contender. Because it's clear the vets aren't the right mix and the kids aren't ready to assume leadership roles yet -- so you basically have to make bets without really knowing what's in your own hand. It feels like we need another year of patience so we're not prematurely trading away young assets.

But now Dolan basically said the playoffs next year are a MUST. So, how many kids are leaving before we know what they even are? And yesterday, when it was still JD/Gorton who might be trading away kids it was more palatable because it didn't feel like a rush job. Now every kid Drury moves will be met with skepticism and has the possibility of making him look like a total spineless shill. The pressure to make moves but also the right moves and as a brand new GM -- it's a recipe for a disaster. Just have to hope Drury is up to the task.

What a truly heartbreaking day to be a Rangers fan.

If you believe the firings had anything to do with the performance of Gorts or JD you are going down the wrong street. The Wilson incident was the catalyst. Dolan is not saying "playoffs next year"..he is saying i am the boss and what happened to Bread is unacceptable. Wrote a strong press release.....got heat from Bettman(maybe even a threat of lost picks) ...then somehow his top 2 leaders did not support him. Plain as day

 

[Siddi]

I think after Wilson incident physical players have all gone up in value.

Bruins are a physical team. Did that help Carlo?

 

[rangersfansince08]

If we’re taking about Gorts building a contender, this is a significantly softer top-6 led by Zib and Panarin than the defensive and hard-nosed players he brought into Boston. Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci... those can be tough guys to play against in more than one way.

If our top six isn’t scoring, they’re not necessarily helping.

Maybe it’s a matter of trying to modernize to a skilled top six, but we also lack the speed to go along with the finesse.

Panarin is fine. He's a superstar, drives play. Being hard noses is not his role. Mika is a center and not good enough to play that soft game.

 

[Siddi]

You just cant hand Zib that elite 1C contract he is going to get, right? Like I know his numbers rebounded against the Flyers this year, but he just looks like a shell of the player he was the past 2 years. The production is there, but the play isnt

What does this even mean?

Look I get it. His next contract needs to be taken into account and all that but we are kicking a player for his play during a weird ass season despite him producing?!