Glen Sather may step down as New York Rangers general manager, according to Jimmy Murphy. Sather could make the decision as early as this week, when he is scheduled to meet with his hockey operations staff. But even if he does hand over the reins, he will be the man deciding who he hands them to because he intends to stay on as team president.
Glen Sather may step down as Rangers GM, according to report
The Rangers may have a new general manager and new head coach next season.
Bruce Bennett
If Sather was to make such a move, he would retain his position as President of the Rangers and it’s believed he would name either Jim Schoenfeld — the current Rangers Assistant GM as well as Assistant Coach and General Manager of the team’s AHL affiliate the Connecticut Whale or current Rangers hockey consultant and former Wild GM Doug Risebrough to replace him as the new Rangers GM.
Jeff Gorton, the Rangers current assistant general manager, would likely be in the mix to take over Sather’s post as well. He ran the team in March when Sather underwent surgery to treat prostate cancer and has long been the assumed successor in New York.
The Rangers already have a vacancy at head coach after Sather fired John Tortorella following New York’s playoff ouster. A handful of coaches have been linked to the Rangers job, but the team has taken the search slowly, possibly because Sather is still deciding what his role in the organization will be.
Sather has been the Rangers’ general manager since 2000 and coached the team for two years, but the team has struggled for stretches of his tenure. They missed the playoffs in each of Sather’s first four seasons in New York and have only advanced to the Eastern Conference finals once in his 12 years leading the Blueshirts.
If Sather does decide to step down, it will end a long and successful career as an NHL head coach or general manager that dates back to 1976, when he was hired as the Edmonton Oilers' player-coach. He won four Stanley Cups in Edmonton and advanced to the playoffs in each of his first 13 years there.
See More:
