The last day and a half had to be one of the most interesting times in Ranger history. The New York Rangers just don't do things like this. Ever. Even before Glen Sather, before Neil Smith, the only time the Rangers have ever sold off established and high priced talent in the past 30 years was to get established and high priced talent back. Even back in the 70's when the Rangers traded the talented and beloved Brad Park and Jean Ratelle to the Bruins, who did they get in return? Not young prospects, not a pile of draft choices, they were traded for the league's premiere superstar at the time, Phil Esposito! This has been a few very unique days in Ranger history to say the least. None of us are used to it.

Just as interesting as the novelty of the situation has been the fans' responses to what has happened, particularly the Brian Leetch trade, of course. Some people love it. Some hate it. Some think the Rangers got enough in return for Leetch while some don't. Some people are stunned, some are angry and some are heartbroken while others are elated. There are always a degree of mixed reactions to any significant move the team makes, but I don't remember one producing such thoroughly mixed reactions as this, both in the things I've read publically and in my private conversations with people. It's really remarkable.

My own take on things, quickly; Kovalev gone? Lovely. Nedved banished? Delightful. Hate to see the Jussinator go, but I'll live, I'm sure. Ah, Leetch, then? Sad, of course. Seeing him in a Maple Leaf jersey the first few times is going to be like trying to look at the sun -- you can't stare directly at it but just kind of around it, like when you unfocus your vision to the point where you can just roughly make out the color and shape of the object you're looking at. But while it is sad, I'm also finding it exciting. The Rangers are finally changing the frequently unsuccessful way they do things. They're not talking about changing things, they're actually changing them.

While you hate to see Leetch's continuity as a Ranger broken, and as the people of Toronto will soon find out the guy still has plenty of great hockey left in him, let's be honest about two things here: Nothing is nor should be safe after seven seasons of failure no matter who you want to blame it on, and the Rangers really don't "need" Leetch next season. Face it, it would have been extremely unlikely for this team to be in contention for the Cup next season, and for a year and a month without Leetch's services the Rangers get back two prospects and two good draft choices -- potentially four players who could be with this team for many years. You want to have a balance of the emotional and the rational, but with hockey in general and especially with a team that has been disappointing for about 2/3rds of a decade, I usually find myself leaning more towards the rational side. It's sad, but the Rangers had to do this. It's the only thing they haven't tried yet.

On to the articles...

Gabe: I was surprised at the boldness of the firesale. I can't recall a complete housecleaning the likes of which we are now witnessing in the history of the Rangers. Heck, has a New York sports team ever dismantled its entire team in order to rebuild to this extent? And to do it in Cablevision, especially after Isiah took over the Knicks and explained that New York couldn't handle rebuilding?

Rodent: But, try as I might to write an objective evaluation of the Maple Leaf trade, the task proved too difficult given the lump in my throat over the loss of Brian Leetch... to an Eastern Conference rival yet.

NY Times, Diamos: After nearly four seasons running the Rangers, Sather finally gave in to the notion that he had to clean house. With a 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, the Rangers (23-31-7-5) dropped to 5-15-2-1 over their last 23 games. Sather announced a change in course last night, heralding "a new philosophy" and "a new attitude" — a rebuilding process at which he once scoffed.

NY Times, Lapointe: The philosophical shift starkly contradicts the common wisdom around New York that fans, particularly Rangers fans, will not accept rebuilding, that they are too greedy for instant gratification, and that management is too enamored of famous names. Last night, Sather expressed a philosophy that has proven true in places like New Jersey, Detroit, Colorado and even Edmonton, way back in the 1980's. "You really have to build a nucleus of people who have grown up in your organization," Sather said. "That's what we're going to try to do."

NY Post, Brooks: The trade that sent Leetch to the Maple Leafs yesterday was an absolute necessary one, both for the franchise and for the 36-year-old athlete, who probably won't even begin to recognize his liberation until he actually begins to compete in the big-game situations in which he has always thrived, whether in the playoffs, the Olympics or the World Cup.

NY Post, Brooks #2: A Rangers era ended yesterday, and it was an era that contained both unmatched glory and unmatched futility. A Rangers era ended yesterday when the team traded Brian Leetch, the greatest home-grown player in franchise history, to Toronto in the third of a series of unprecedented housecleaning deals that surely will continue through Tuesday's NHL trade deadline. There never has been a clearer signal that the future is not now for the Blueshirts, but that now is the time to look to the future.

NY Daily News, Dellapina: After four years of wild spending on underachieving players, Glen Sather gave away the franchise last night, trading the best player in Rangers' history.

This quote as well as the rest of his article... you just couldn't be professional about it, could you, John?

Daily News, Ross: Hooray for Sather for finally charting an intelligent course for the Rangers future. Shame on Sather for wasting four years before recognizing what the right decision was, after it was too late for Leetch, who wanted nothing more than to be part of a Ranger rebirth.

Amazing how every other paper in the area and every national hockey opinion I've heard or read on the Leetch trade evaluate it from a progressive opinion -- what it means for the Rangers right now and what it means for their future -- while the two harpies at the Daily News grind their axes in focusing on what has taken place over the last four seasons.

Newsday, Zipay: The Devils reportedly made an offer for Leetch and defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, but Sather told president and GM Lou Lamoriello that he couldn't make the deal for public-relations reasons, sources said.

Newsday, Herrmann: Leetch was the best defenseman in the sport back then, and the best player in the playoffs. He still is quite good. He just wasn't good enough to make a difference for a drowning franchise. The Rangers were not going anywhere soon. The only thing they could do was get what they could for their most marketable asset and hope for a better day.

Star-Ledger, Wentworth: After years of quick fixes made in an effort to remain competitive -- fixes that never really worked -- a Rangers rebuild appears to be at hand.

Star-Ledger, Wentworth #2: But Leetch never left and never gave up on the Rangers. He chose to re-sign with them twice, even as free agency beckoned, chose to marry a local girl and raise two children in New York City, and chose to forge ahead with a rapidly deteriorating team, even as the future looked bleak. Sather understood this, and appreciated it. So much so that he all but wished out loud for Leetch to find success with the Maple Leafs this spring, and perhaps get his name on another Cup.

Journal News, Gross: Sather said he was far from done in retooling the reeling Rangers prior to Tuesday's trade deadline, though Leetch and Kovalev represented the team's most valuable commodities.

Journal News, Carpiniello: Like Leetch's career, it's time for the Rangers to be revived. It's time to start over.

- Rocha

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