There will be plenty of comparitive speculation between
Glen Sather and Isiah Thomas, now that the Knicks have
made a trade for a star player that bloats their payroll.
And there is an important lesson to be learned.
But it has nothing to do with Jaromir Jagr.
It has nothing to do with age.
It has nothing to do with salaries.
The lesson is about a relationship with your star player.
Isiah and Jermaine O'Neal
I recall reading that Indy power forward supreme Jermaine
O'Neal said that he would not have re-signed with the
team had he know that Isiah was going to be fired.
That coach-star player relationship was profound. It is
the basis for most winning teams.
In hockey, Keenan had it with Messier a decade ago.
Bowman had it with Yzerman. Hitchcock had it with Modano
and Hull. Heck, Glen Sather had it twenty years ago with
Messier and Gretzky.
I'm not talking coddling; but rather a mutual respect that
brings out the best in the player, and the team.
And my guess is that Isiah will hitch his wagon to Marbury,
put him in a position to succeed, and the direction of the
team will emerge quickly from it.
Glen Sather's Wagon is Broken
Which now brings us to Glen Sather.
Anyone who ridicules him for not bringing in Jaromir Jagr
is misguided.
Not because Jaromir Jagr is a salary albatross, which he is.
And not because any prospect or young player sent the
other way is asinine, which it would be.
The reason is that Sather would not build the team around
him, which star players need if they are to accept the
responsibility that is placed on their shoulders.
Sather was a 'lion' and traded for Lindros, yet has not
give him a power forward nor treated him with respect.
Sather paid top dollar for Bobby Holik, but refuses to line
match with his hulking defensive centerman.
So Jaromir Jagr would simply be another game of smoke and
mirrors to distract you from the cold reality that he simply
can't coach his roster.
It also would indicate that he is incapable of entrusting the
team to anyone other than a 43-year old player who, though
he has surpassed any reasonable expectations, is simply
unable to lead a team in today's detail-oriented NHL.
Go Knicks, Go!
Kudos to Isiah Thomas. He brought in a player Knicks fans
craved, who wanted to be here, and who will be a cornerstone
for the team that the GM intends to build.
As for Glen Sather ... frankly, a better comparison would
be Scott Layden, whose team better resembled the mish-mash
blend of individuals that the Rangers continue to be.
eMail this entry!
While I agree with your views on Slats, I think you are way off the mark with Thomas. What Thomas did in his Malbury trade yesterday is show just how screwed up MSG is under Junior Dolan.
Yes he traded for a local guy who for a while will help with the ticket sales and media attention but at what cost?
Malbury has been with 4 different teams in his 8 seasons and whereever he has gone he has left the team in disarray. He alienates his teammates with his "me always going to be first" attitude and has no problem ripping everyone but himself when things go wrong (hmm sounds like he took lessons from Slats here)
The bigger problem is of course the price paid to bring Malbury in. 2 first round draft picks, the rights to a guy called the best guard in Europe and one of this year's second round draft picks.
In return the Knicks further bloat their payroll instead of reducing it by taking on a contract that will bring next season's payroll to 90 million.
In my eyes all Thomas did was to totally screw away any possible future just to try to make the playoffs this year. How Rangerlike of him to do so.
Posted by: Jess on January 6, 2004 02:28 PMI am confused by the Slats cracks, as if something is new or original in this Ranger tragedy. I have never been to New York but loved the Rangers from afar for my whole life and I am not the experts you guys are but I don't see alot new here. The symptoms of failure are delightfully and distractingly new for the last few years, but the problems see time honored.
Whether it was the Flyers or the Islanders or the flavor of the year the Rangers have always been short of something. When I was little I saw it as simply brawn. We simply lacked muscle. Then as I got older I saw it as a lack of credible leadership in the spots that called ( rather screamed ) for leadership. One or two leaders existed, but if they were hurt or off their game the wings fell off the wagon.
Now as an adult I see it as a lack of brawn, leadership, and perhaps heart (I said I was old...not necessarily creative). Perhaps it is the foundation of the team. A team based on sleek skilled high profile players that have perhaps never had to work as hard as those less talented, accumulated by an organization that is the poster child for trying to find the easy way to success, and based in a city of immediate gratification is just a recipe from hell (can I write that?)
I enjoy your work immensely
Robert
Special Education Teacher
Battle Creek Central High School
I am confused by the Slats cracks, as if something is new or original in this Ranger tragedy. I have never been to New York but loved the Rangers from afar for my whole life and I am not the experts you guys are but I don't see alot new here. The symptoms of failure are delightfully and distractingly new for the last few years, but the problems see time honored.
Whether it was the Flyers or the Islanders or the flavor of the year the Rangers have always been short of something. When I was little I saw it as simply brawn. We simply lacked muscle. Then as I got older I saw it as a lack of credible leadership in the spots that called ( rather screamed ) for leadership. One or two leaders existed, but if they were hurt or off their game the wings fell off the wagon.
Now as an adult I see it as a lack of brawn, leadership, and perhaps heart (I said I was old...not necessarily creative). Perhaps it is the foundation of the team. A team based on sleek skilled high profile players that have perhaps never had to work as hard as those less talented, accumulated by an organization that is the poster child for trying to find the easy way to success, and based in a city of immediate gratification is just a recipe from hell (can I write that?)
I enjoy your work immensely
Robert
Special Education Teacher
Battle Creek Central High School
How about the simple fact that we don't possess a team willing to play blue colar hockey, and a coach unwilling to press the big stars into playing tough, two way hockey?
We've got more talent than most, but the worst work ethic in the league.
Let's have a fire sale for draft picks...season's done. 10 of our last 30 games are against the Devils and Flyers...we have no shot.
Posted by: Ranger Fan on January 9, 2004 05:08 PMHow about the simple fact that we don't possess a team willing to play blue colar hockey, and a coach unwilling to press the big stars into playing tough, two way hockey?
We've got more talent than most, but the worst work ethic in the league.
Let's have a fire sale for draft picks...season's done. 10 of our last 30 games are against the Devils and Flyers...we have no shot.
Posted by: Ranger Fan on January 9, 2004 05:11 PMHow about the simple fact that we don't possess a team willing to play blue colar hockey, and a coach unwilling to press the big stars into playing tough, two way hockey?
We've got more talent than most, but the worst work ethic in the league.
Let's have a fire sale for draft picks...season's done. 10 of our last 30 games are against the Devils and Flyers...we have no shot.
Posted by: Ranger Fan on January 9, 2004 05:11 PMHow about the simple fact that we don't possess a team willing to play blue colar hockey, and a coach unwilling to press the big stars into playing tough, two way hockey?
We've got more talent than most, but the worst work ethic in the league.
Let's have a fire sale for draft picks...season's done. 10 of our last 30 games are against the Devils and Flyers...we have no shot.
Posted by: Ranger Fan on January 9, 2004 05:11 PM
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