So there were some people pleasantly surprised that Glen
Sather didn't trade Jamie Lundmark or Fedor Tyutin for
Sean Burke.

Not me, the ESPN rumor was always bogus.

Glen Sather's tenure has entered the narcissistic phase
called "cover your reputation on the way out."

There is no way he trades a ceremonial youngster for a
37-year old goaltender when his team is already a longshot
to make the playoffs.

The Rangers Circle of Life

Neil Smith did it when he realized the luster of the Cup
win could no longer bring him MSG's adoration.

He brought in ceremonial prospects Pavel Brendl,
Jamie Lundmark and Manny Malhotra. And he added a few
other pieces in Mike York, Tomas Kloucek, Mike Mottau,
Filip Novak, and others.

This was to be his legacy in case he was fired, to protect
against the critics who would fault his vet-laden lineup.

Of course, few if any of these prospects were given relevant
ice time when Smith was here (a contention between him
and Muckler), but it was important to have "name" prospects.

So what did Sather do when he first got here?

He sent away pretty much every prospect that Neil Smith
had gathered. Pissing on territory, if you will.

Brendl. Malhotra. York. Hlavac. Novak. Kloucek. Mottau.

(Don't argue with me that Sather was able to evaluate these
kids years back effectively. If he could do so, then where
are kids that DID crack the lineup for us in the same time
frame?)

Sather's Turn

Sather is now on the same ceremonial youth program.

Notice how the waiver wire kids never make it here?
Sheldon Keefe. Michael Siklenka. Nils Ekman.
Rico Fata. Gord Dwyer. John Tripp. Barrett Heisten.

Not good enough to play here, but most were good enough
to contribute on other teams. But these guys were not
"future stars." They were replaceable players.

In contrast, Sather will be very reluctant to deal his
ceremonial youth; guys he can trumpet on Ranger e-mails
to be the next dominant player.

Power forward Hugh Jessiman. Offensive defenseman Fedor
Tyutin. Scoring forward Jamie Lundmark (the one Smith
returnee he deemed to keep). Stud goaltender Dan Blackburn.
College stalwart Dominic Moore. Sleeper Ivan Baranka.

This is his legacy for when he's fired.

Sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?

And just as Ranger fans bought into the prospect hype when
Smith was around, so will we look to Hugh Jessiman and
Fedor Tyutin to give us thoughts of a better future.

Until, of course, the next GM comes in this summer and
pisses on territory to begin the Circle of Ranger Life anew.

But Sather is Playing the Kids, no?

The rationale and legitimacy is debatable.

He brings up Tyutin when the kid was too injured to play in
the AHL All-Star game? And when the team has Philly and
New Jersey the next few games?

Bah. This is to support his argument that the kids weren't
ready this year. So that when/if Tyutin is ready next year,
no one will blame Sather for not playing him now.

If Tyutin surprises and plays well, he'll pair him with Poti
and then blame him for the pair's defensive lapses.

A bit cynical? Yeah, probably. Oh well.

Hope?

Ah, but I do try and keep optimism alive when possible.

So here it is. I hope the Rangers lose. I hope they fall
out of the playoff race soon, and at least before the
trading deadline.

And I hope Sather looks toward salvaging the team's future,
which really is salvaging his Hall of Fame membership, and
trades veterans for young players and prospects. (He won't
go for draft picks, because the next GM could take credit
for the pick).

It's do-able, especially because quite a few veterans are
in the final year of their contracts and could help a
playoff team: Kovalev. Simon or Barnaby. Malakhov. Mironov.

And hopefully Sather would bring in enough youngsters that
some would survive the new GM purge and be given a legit
opportunity after the new cba is implemented.

So the cycle can finally be broken ...

-Gabe

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