It happens every spring. There’s a story from somewhere (or maybe from nowhere) that this is going to be it for Glen Sather, the Lion of Winter who has been an NHL general manager since 1980. That this is going to be the year Sather is going to step down, or take a step back and smell the roses.
There were whispers reported earlier this week from a credible news outlet in Edmonton that this indeed would be that year, just as there were reports last season out of Boston that Sather would relinquish his day-to-day duties as Rangers GM while retaining his post as club president.
Someday, the story will be true. But not this time. Not, at least, according to an individual who ought to know.
“Everybody retires sometime, but I’m not intending to step away or retire from anything this year,” Sather told Slap Shots on Friday in Columbus, Ohio. “I don’t know how stories like this keep coming up, because I haven’t said anything to anybody about retiring. … One day, yes. But not now.”
For better or worse — and some teams have done much better and others have done much worse since Sather took control of the Rangers’ operation in June 2000 — there is no chief executive in sports operating with greater job security. Garden owner James Dolan makes that clear every time he gets the chance.
So Sather is one of those fortunate individuals in life who will get to go out on his own terms. And though he may be 70 and one year removed from successful prostate cancer surgery, Sather is not about to end his term as GM.
“There comes a time where you do think about your lifestyle and maybe some of the things you might do if you weren’t doing this job,” he said. “But that’s not where my thoughts are now. I’m working to build this team into a Stanley Cup winner. That’s my priority. That’s what I’m focused on. … I’m not thinking about stepping back, or a change in my title or in my responsibilities.”
There isn’t a more charming rascal in the game than Sather, who is doing it his way in a hockey world that barely is recognizable from when he took command of the Oilers’ front office 34 years ago … and counting.
Because, said this Lion of Winter, this winter won’t be his last running the Rangers.
Sources report Candy Canes’ owner Peter Karmanos Jr., is expected to order a tightening of the belt in Carolina next season following this season in which his team — middle of the pack in payroll — will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season and seventh time in eight years since winning the Cup in 2006.
Kirk Muller’s fate behind the bench is unknown. Gentleman GM Jim Rutherford may not be back after 20 years of running the show for the Harford/ Carolina franchise.
Carolina will look to deal Cam Ward, though with the surfeit of goaltenders on the market, one wonders what team will go in on a chronically injured 30-year-old with two seasons at $6.3 million per remaining on his contract.
Oh, and Ward has a no-trade, so though he certainly will be amenable to a deal after having been supplanted as No. 1 by Anton Khudobin, he will hold veto power regarding a destination.
Eric Staal has a no-trade and so does Jordan Staal, and really, if budget is going to be a concern, how viable or attractive a destination will the Hurricanes appear to Marc Staal when he ponders the possibility of 2015 free agency?
Beyond that, with Eric currently due to hit free agency in 2016 following the expiration of a contract under which he earns $8.25M per, it might be time to ponder the scenario under which the elder Staal brother comes to Manhattan rather than the younger going to Raleigh.
It is beginning to look like Daniel Alfredsson’s defection to Detroit has had a similar impact on the Senators as Mark Messier’s escape to Vancouver had on the Rangers in 1997, leaving a club behind and adrift without its leader.
The Senators are the league’s most disappointing team. The toughness, edge and swagger that complemented the club’s talent are gone. Ottawa has become just another easy team to play against — almost a welcome respite for an opponent.
By the way, one year remains on the contracts of both Jason Spezza and Bobby Ryan in advance of 2016 unrestricted free agency.
You knew the moment it happened that the Rangers were going to miss Brandon Prust, just as you knew they did the right thing by declining to match Montreal’s four-year, $10M free agent offer, and now two years later, you know you were correct on both counts.
Of course, it is true that Mike Richter, who won 301 games for the Rangers, did not have the advantage of the shootout Henrik Lundqvist has had in recording the 302 victories (and counting) that has put him atop the franchise leader-board.
But Ed Giacomin, who won 266 games for the Blueshirts, did not have the advantage of overtime back in his day when, and you had to be there, chants of “Eddie … Eddie … Eddie” rocked the house like none before or since.
So how many more victories would Giacomin have posted? How many more for Richter, who was as good in one-on-ones as anybody who ever played the game (and just ask Pavel Bure)?
Where oh where, is Ford Frick with his asterisk when you need him?