Glen Sather’s tenure as the General Manager with the New York Rangers was defined by bold moves. Let’s take a look at his best acquisitions.
When the ball dropped in Times Square for the commencement of the 21st century, it also marked a new era of hockey for the New York Rangers.
The Broadway Blueshirts named Hall of Famer Glen Sather as President and General Manager later that year, establishing that the franchise would be going in a new direction.
Sather was the General Manger on Broadway for 15 years before passing the duties to the current GM, Jeff Gorton.
Some would argue that Sather’s tenure as GM in New York was a success, but his term was haunted by one thing.
Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Sather wasn’t able to capture hockey’s holy grail after coming up short time after time.
With that being said, Sather did make some brilliant moves before he gave up his position. He exposed his genius time after time and was never afraid to make a bold move. This was especially true on the trade market.
These two traits allowed Sather to pull off some mind-blowing trades that defined his tenure in New York.
So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the best trades of the Glen Sather era (GM era).
New York Rangers acquire Kevin Klein for Michael Del Zotto
This was a trade that involved two players who needed a change of scenery.
Del Zotto looked like he would become a star defenseman in the NHL after posting 41 points in his rookie year with the Blueshirts, but struggled mightily in the years that followed.
Klein had some strong years with the Nashville Predators, but after he signed a five year deal with the club it had appeared like the Preds had overpaid for a third-pair defenseman.
But Klein proved many wrong after arriving on the scene in New York.
He has recorded 26 points in each of the last two years, the most in his career, and was a big part of their run to the Cup Finals in 2014. He could find himself on the top defensive pairing with Ryan McDonagh this upcoming season.
As for Del Zotto, he lasted a mere 25 games in the Music City before finding a new home in Philadelphia via free agency.
A low-risk deal ended up paying big dividends for Sather and company.
New York Rangers acquire Rick Nash
It was a relativley calm summer back in 2012, and then it happened.
Rick Nash was traded to the Rangers for fan favorite Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a 2013 first round pick.
The Blueshirts also acquired AHLer Steve Delisle and a conditional third-round pick.
This trade was arguably Sather’s biggest move during his term as GM and it produced great results for the Blueshirts.
Surprised to see Nash on the list?
Even though Nash struggled last year, he has been a solid player for the Rangers. He has 186 points while playing in New York, including a 42 goal season in 2014-2015.
Critics haven’t been impressed with his playoff performances, but the former number one overall pick has put up 18 points in his last 24 playoff games in Broadway Blue.
Sure, this isn’t spectacular, but it is by no means something to sneeze at.
In addition, Sather turned the third round pick into Pavel Buchnevich. The Russian has performed admirably in the KHL and has the chance to be a superb player in the NHL if he continues to progress.
In Columbus, Dubinsky has struggled to stay healthy while Anisimov underwhelmed before being shipped off to Chicago. They combined to win a total of TWO playoff games together with the Blue Jackets, making this swap a big win for the Rangers,
New York Rangers acquire Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett, and John Moore
Marian Gaborik, who would become a Ranger-killer throughout the 2014 Final, paid off big dividends before he left the Rangers.
Sather absolutely fleeced Columbus in this move. I mean really, what was Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen thinking?
Gaborik was a great player for the Rangers. He tallied two 40 goal seasons and was a huge part of the team that was two wins away from going to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2012.
Having said that, he was struggling to score goals throughout the 2012-13 season, as he only had 19 points in 35 games before the trade.
Sather was somehow able to find a needle in a haystack with Brassard, who (as we know) became a top player for the team.
Then there was Dorsett, who was part of one of the best fourth lines the Blueshirts have ever assembled in Dominic Moore and Brian Boyle.
And finally John Moore, who was a third-pair defenseman during the Rangers Stanley Cup Final run in 2014.
Gaborik you ask? He only had 22 points in 34 games with the Blue Jackets, before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he helped beat his former team in the Finals.
OK, that part still stings a bit…
New York Rangers acquire future considerations for the rights to Mark Messier.
This move is often forgotten by many fans, but it helped the Blueshirts more than anyone could have predicted.
Messier was 42 and was expected to retire at the time. He was coming off a year that saw him score 18 goals to go along with 22 assists as the Blueshirts captain.
The Messiah had his rights obtained by the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. Messier turned down playing in California and opted to play his final season of hockey with the Rangers.
That isn’t why Sather won this trade however.
In return for the Messiah’s rights, the Rangers received San Jose’s 2004 fourth round pick. They went on to take Ryan Callahan whose career in New York was spectacular. Callahan did it all for the Rangers and eventually became the Blueshirt’s captain before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
New York Rangers acquire Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, Doug Janik, and Christopher Higgens for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt, and Michael Busto.
This trade was a no-brainer for the number one ranking. It is considered one of the biggest mistakes in Montreal Canadiens’ history while being one of the biggest steals in Rangers history.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Rangers signed Gomez to a monster contract worth $7.3 million per year back in 2007 and although he had two good years in the Big Apple, it was evident that Gomez was being overpaid.
So what did Sather do? He somehow finessed Montreal to take on his ridiculous contract while acquiring McDonagh, who was a prospect at the time, and Higgins, who was flipped to Calgary in exchange for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust.
Gomez fizzled quickly in Montreal while McDonagh established himself as one of the game’s best defenders and was named the Blueshirt’s captain prior to the 2014-2015 season.
Trading Gomez’s atrocious contract gave the Rangers the flexibility to sign Marian Gaborik, who had two 40 goal seasons in New York as noted earlier.
Well done Glen. Well done.