FullTilt Flashback: Could these past posts give insight on Jeff Gorton’s future?

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Gorton (Getty)

Gorton (Getty)

As the Rangers speed down the tunnel of uncertainty on an aging train with older and hard to replace parts, I decided to look at some old posts on Jeff Gorton for any clues on his thought process and potential actions.

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GET TO KNOW JEFF GORTON

The names, Tuukka Rask, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand were drafted by Gorton in 2006. Think that’s good? He also signed Zdeno Chara that summer as well. All that from March to July 2006 before being let go in 2007 and scooped up by the New York Rangers. While with the Rangers he guided player development until being promoted to assistant GM in 2011.

Now, Gorton will take over complete control in building the NY Rangers in his own image. Make no mistake, the deals that were consummated at the NHL draft should be attributed to him and not Sather… READ MORE

 

A SUMMER OF REASON

Gorton’s first order of business was to handle the July 1st free agent frenzy that had always enticed Sather into a big spending-spree. What he did instead was make cost-effective, low risk signings with the potential to pay-off as great depth for the team. He signed Viktor Stalberg and Raphael Diaz to NHL contracts while adding Brian Gibbons, Jason Megna, and Matt Lindblad to the Hartford Wolf Pack. The players that Gorton inked have displayed strong underlying statistics for their respective positions…READ MORE

 

SLOWLY BUT SURELY, JEFF GORTON IS MAKING THIS HIS TEAM

Jeff Gorton has laid the foundation for what the Rangers will be under him. By hiring Greeley, Bobrov and Drury he has essentially laid the foundation of the Rangers future. A future that will be less Satherlike and more Gortonesque…READ MORE

 

JEFF GORTON PUTS THE RANGERS ON NOTICE

Yesterday, for all intents and purposes GM, Jeff Gorton put the Rangers on notice. After trading away a very disappointing Emerson Etem to Vancouver for Nicklas Jensen and a pick in 2017, he said as much.

“We have a number of players who can all play better, and hopefully we’re seeing signs of that happening now. We’ll continue to evaluate in that stretch coming up.”…READ MORE
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Bottom line is we know Jeff Gorton has the patience and smarts to make good moves. We also know he has the courage of his convictions to make organizational changes he feels are required. And finally, we know he will speak out and let everyone know where he stands. He did it last year during the season and he’s letting it be known now that he wants to make moves.
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I think the Rangers have the right man at the helm at a very difficult time. He was sought after by many franchises and the Rangers chose to keep him here. Gorton has his hands full as he is trying to fix contractual messes left by Glen Sather. He is also hampered by the fact that the Rangers spent three years bringing in proven talent at the expense of prospects and picks to win the Cup.
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Jeff Gorton has a lot of work to do, and in fairness we may not be thrilled with the moves he makes this summer. He may wind up doing very little, in fact. With the Rangers dealing with lower cap ceiling, he may simply move Rick Nash for a good player and a pick/prospect. If he does so in order to retain and sign our 4 RFA’s to good deals, I’m fine with that. Will you be?
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Sound off, and give me your thoughts in the comments below.
By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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