Emile Francis did it-three different times, as a matter of fact. John Ferguson did it. Fred Shero did it. So did Phil Esposito.
And yesterday, Glen Sather refused to rule out the possibility that he too would coach the Rangers while running the organization as general manager. He even refused to rule it out when asked point-blank whether he would do so.
“I got into that with Team Canada [at the 1996 World Cup] when Scotty Bowman couldn’t coach for health reasons,” Sather, who was GM of that club, said during a conference call with the media. “I did it, and it was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I’m looking to do that right now.
“Being [general] manager is hard enough.”
Sather, who won four Cups behind the Edmonton bench, coached the Oilers three separate times while general manager. He coached the team through its inaugural NHL season of 1979-80; replaced Bryan Watson 18 games into the following season after the Oilers opened 4-9-5, keeping both jobs through 1988-89, and, finally, replaced Ted Green 24 games into the 1993-94 season after the team opened 3-18-3. He stepped down for good at the end of that season.
And though he may not have been his own first choice to coach the team when Kevin Lowe was out there as the prime candidate, the GM probably has moved way up on his own list with Lowe’s decision to remain in Edmonton as GM and the apparent lack of a hot-button nominee.
“I don’t want to give any names, but I’ve talked to quite a few guys and I will continue to do that,” Sather said when quizzed about the search for John Muckler’s replacement. “I had said before that I wanted to have a coach by the draft, but that may or may not happen.
“A lot of choosing a coach is a gut feeling.”
Sather did confirm that he has talked to John Paddock, who directed the Wolf Pack to the AHL title, and whom the GM called “a good coach.” He said that he has not talked with Jacques Lemaire, the last man on earth qualified to handle the media scrutiny attendant to the job. And though Sather did not say so, The Post has learned that he has not asked for permission to talk with Colorado assistant Bryan Trottier.
As reported in yesterday’s Post, the Rangers failed to include highly-paid veterans Valeri Kamensky and John MacLean on the expansion draft protected lists that were submitted Monday to the NHL. Sather yesterday addressed those omissions.
“Historically, expansion teams don’t take people who make a lot of money, but maybe we’re also sending out a bit of a wake-up call to the entire team here,” Sather said. “At some point the organization has to get younger and more enthusiastic.
“If players aren’t prepared to work and sacrifice, there’s not going to be room for them on the team for very long. This is not a retirement process here.”
While Sather exposed the two veteran forwards, he chose to protect Stephane Quintal, who very likely would have been selected by either Columbus or Minnesota. Quintal, of course, was banished from the team for the final week of the season by Garden president Dave Checketts after telling a Montreal journalist that all things considered, he wanted to be a Canadien. But that hardly means that Sather intends to bring the defenseman back for a Broadway encore act.
“I spoke with his agent a couple of times, who had a remorseful attitude, and I will meet with [Quintal], but if the option is there where we can make a good deal for us, I think we’re going to trade him,” Sather said.
While being careful not to criticize Brian Leetch’s performance as team captain over the last three years, Sather did not commit to retaining him in that post for next season. Of course, if the Rangers bring back Mark Messier, that issue will become moot, anyway.
“I’m sure Brian in his own way has been a good captain and there’s no reason why that couldn’t continue, but [the captaincy] is a question that will be brought up in training camp,” Sather said. “You don’t have to be the most vocal guy to be a great captain; certainly when Wayne [Gretzky] was captain at age 18 or 19, he wasn’t vocal.
“As far as leadership, maybe we need stronger leadership from outside the team. We need less turmoil.”
And it is not at all far-fetched to project that Sather will also come to believe that the Rangers need him behind the bench.