So I'm feeling kind of dirty this morning, about to
steadfastly give credit to a man who makes
absurd money, spends too much worktime in Northern Canada,
and has more smugness than Federline on a bender.

But here's the rub - if you are still quick to
criticize Glen Sather, then you're matching him
arrogance chip for arrogance chip. Because it means
you believe you can do a better job as GM, and if so,
pshaw.

NY Beat Writers

It's incredible that the number one topic this offseason
for Larry Brooks and John Dellapina has been Brian Leetch.
The Rangers exceeded expectations last season, bring in
proven successful veterans, yet all the writers can
focus on is a questionable veteran that no team has signed.

Remember when the writers laughed at Sather's moves last
summer? I recall Brooks labeling Marek Malik the worst
free agent signing of the summer. You would think such
unfounded critism would have delivered some humility, but
apparently not - they are still eager to play GM.

Successes Devalued

And too many fans seem quick to diminish the success of
last season.

Roszival and Malik were league leaders in plus-minus? Meh,
it's a useless stat and only happened because of Jagr, the
chorus goes. (Disregarding that Malik has a combined +58
his prior two seasons in Vancouver)

Straka and Nylander were league leaders in scoring? Bah,
it's all because of Jagr, the minions sing, ignoring that
building around a superstar is smart strategy (See:
Forsberg/Gagne).

There's not enough room for rookies is another refrain.
This forgets that last year Sather turned what was
essentially seven unproven players into potential veterans
for this season (Betts, Ortmeyer, Hollweg, Prucha, Hossa,
Ward, Tyutin).

Comparitive GMs

And comparatively speaking, Sather is the class of the
Atlantic Conference GM's.

Lou Lamoriello has fallen from grace harder than David Frost.
The Mogilny, Malakhov and McGillis deals are well documented.
But less so are the absurd lengths he gave to Elias (7) and
Colin White (6) this summer to combat those mistakes.

The Islanders ... geez, fifteen years for DiPietro even after
the continuing Yashin mess. Can we move on?

The Flyers? Clarke is giving almost $10 million combined to
Hatcher, Rathje and Nedved this season. That's one of the
reasons he's at the cap ceiling and unable to address his
annual goaltending woes.

And the Penguins? It's hard to argue with the stable of
number one draft picks, but succeeding through failure doesn't
merit accolades. Particularly when you note their free agency
record (Gonchar, LeClair, Recchi, etc.).

A Clear View

Every post-season analysis proclaimed that the Rangers needed
a North American balance to their game, a reliable scorer
other than Jagr, and veteran leadership.

Sather addressed all three in spades, getting Shanahan, Cullen
and Ward.

Every new-era analysis says that you need to have a deep
farm system to succeed.

Sather has stockpiled a wealth of players for now and a few
years time - Staal, Montoya, Dawes, Dubinsky, Korpikoski,
Jessiman, Immonen, etc.

And lastly, teams with cap room are able to prey on teams
that have managed the cap poorly.

Sather has managed to not only keep contracts to minimal length,
but also has kept considerable cap room in order to seize
on a big opportunity, should one arise during the season.

Feeling the need to rant at the above? Then bring it on, you
arrogant armchair GM.

-Gabe

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