Somehow Larry Brooks of the New York Post secured an
exclusive interview with Rangers GM Glen Sather which ran today and raised some
eyebrows. Sather tried to avoid making
excuses for the 2009-10 season and discussed the team’s future, albeit through
rose-colored glasses. Here’s a summary
of the interview’s key points:
1. Sather declared that retaining both Marc Staal and Dan
Girardi was an obvious decision this summer. While keeping Staal is the unquestioned priority of the offseason, many
thought that Girardi might be expendable given the abundance of youth the
Rangers have at or near the NHL level. Girardi is a proven NHLer, but considering the Rangers cap situation and
Girardi’s contract demands, possibly around $3 million, many supposed the
Rangers might let him walk. Now that
Sather has confirmed that Girardi is very much a part of the Rangers plans, the
Rangers have an apparently set blue line for next season (Staal, Roszival,
Redden, Girardi, Del
Zotto and Gilroy)
and they will have less money to play with this summer than many anticipated.
2. Sather insisted that the Rangers won’t overpay for any free
agents this summer. That Sather even
dared to say “I can tell you one thing — we are certainly not going to overpay
for free agents” is laughable. Sather’s
history when it comes to big ticket free agents is well documented; the man
can’t resist writing gigantic checks. With the amount of money Sather has
thrown around in his Rangers tenure it’s kind of amazing that he said this so
matter-of-factly. Rangers fans will be
understandably skeptical until Sather proves otherwise.
3. He says that no one’s job is safe regardless of their
contract. Much like #2, this is a dream
for Rangers fans, but it’s hard to believe until we see evidence. Hearing Sather say “A player’s contract isn’t
going to get him a spot on the team if he doesn’t earn it, and that goes for
everyone,” and not immediately thinking of Wade Redden is difficult. If Sather is serious about changing his ways,
and the Rangers fortunes, then he will follow his own advice and banish
underachievers to the press box or Hartford. But again, until we see action, these are
just empty words from the Rangers GM.
4. The interest in keeping Jody Shelley in New York is mutual. Money doesn’t seem to be much of a concern to
Shelley as he was happy with his time in New
York. Sather
also doesn’t seem overly worried that Shelley’s contract demands will be
unreasonable, so this re-signing seems inevitable.
5. Sather wants to sign Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh. No surprise here, the two Wisconsin
players are a major part of the Rangers future. There have been reports that both players will return to Wisconsin next season,
but that won’t stop Sather from trying to get them signed. Either way, Sather confirmed both players
will attend the Rangers prospect camp in July. That should be a good gauge of how close both players are to making the
Blueshirts.
While it’s surprising that Brooks got an interview with Glen
Sather at all, it’s more surprising that Sather still seems to think Rangers
fans will accept his words as truth. Sather’s reputation is too firmly entrenched for anyone to believe
anything he says until he shows otherwise. Until he actually behaves in step with his words, the Rangers will
continue to go in circles.
