WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS MACHINE?

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Sather - GM for life?

Sather – GM for life?

WE HAVE A SITUATION
BOOM! Glen Sather slammed his hand on his desk. “Why is this computer running so slow?” he muttered. BANG! The bewildered GM kicked his office trash can in utter frustration. “I added that new program, so why did it just crash and burn?” Slats exclaimed. The perplexed GM picked up the phone and questioned his IT department; “What’s the problem?” The answer confounded the GM as each tech said “The system is tired. All those new fancy programs just can’t perform even though you got rid of all those less exciting but functional programs.” The surly Slats chomped down on his cigar and asked his most trusted staffers; “Now what?” One by one they all recommended to install this newly available patch that should change the system to handle the needs of the machine and get it to excel. Sather walked away resolved to do it. Hell, he loves this computer he built and this will work.

THE FIX?
So Sather removed the head program (Torts) at the behest of the IT department (NYR Players). He installed the new patch (Vigneault) in order to get the computer he built (NYR Team) to run better. What happened? As per usual, the patch didn’t work as expected! Why? Because the computer was built for one system and tinkering with all the programs (players) affected the root file. Now we are left with a machine (The NYR) in dire straits that could lead to a rebuild!

I hope the analogy helped put into context what happened the moment Glen Sather made the decision to fire John Tortorella. In essence, I am not blaming the patch (AV) or even the programs (players) that were under performing. This all lands squarely on the shoulders of the guy who operates the machine and that’s Glen Sather.

I TOLD YOU SO
I said the lineup was flawed back in June. When the preseason started and I was raising the red flags, I was chastised for doing so! Some of the more “responsible” bloggers and anti-Torts faction of NYR fans said I was being foolish. Someone even called me a Doomsday Prepper! What was their counter argument? Too small of a sample size. It’s mid-December, how’s the sample size now? The purpose of this article isn’t to demand an apology, but to establish a timeline of evidence to support following thoughts.

GETTING IT RIGHT

The Rangers organization must recognize what they did here in order to fix it. Sather must admit he pushed the “reboot” button and sit down with his new coach to determine what he needs. It’s painfully obvious that some Rangers simply don’t fit with what AV is trying to do. Let’s identify the misfits:

  • Michael Del Zotto
  • Brian Boyle
  • Taylor Pyatt
  • Benoit Pouliot
  • Dominic Moore
  • Arron Asham
These guys do not belong on this roster going forward and Sather must find them new homes immediately. Sadly though, most have no trade value. Which means you have to sit them, send them down to Hartford or package them with more attractive players who are teetering. So who are those more valuable assets?
  • Dan Girardi
  • Carl Hagelin
  • John Moore
  • Anton Stralman

To be clear, I am not an advocate of trading these players for the sake of trading. However, Girardi may be too slow for what AV wants to do. Hagelin on the other hand has all the speed in the world but hands of stone. If either of these players can land fleet footed transition specialists, you need to consider it.

So why is this a reboot and not a rebuild? Simple, because we aren’t looking to change the core:

Above are a goalie, two defenseman and four forwards! If that isn’t a good core to build around, then I don’t know what is. Trading any of those names means we are in a rebuild.

OWNING UP TO YOUR MISTAKES
The Rangers hit rock bottom versus Nashville and stayed there against Columbus. If Sather doesn’t do something to fix this lineup in January, the playoffs are in jeopardy. A small tweak could be all the NYR need to right the ship, but a bigger move needs to be made if he wants to win a Stanley Cup.

Finally, if the man controlling the machine fails, it’s on the owner of the machine to find a new user. Do you hear me Mr. Dolan? Your ringing endorsement of Sather earlier this year agitated your paying customers. If the Rangers completely fail this season, the onus turns to you!

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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