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Glen Sather, We Have A Problem
(NEW YORK, NY) -- To quote Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell:
"The clock is running."
And now Rangers president/general manager Glen Sather has
until tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET to see if patch the holes in his
sinking ship.
The season has gone south fast for the Blueshirts and after
the Saturday's 3-2 loss to the 28th place Columbus Blue
Jackets at home, they sit in 12th place, six points out of the
final playoff spot with 20 games left to go.
That's not to say they can't turn the season around, but
Sather certainly has a problem.
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After
losing Brendan Shanahan indefinitely and Martin Straka
Saturday night from an upper body injury, the Rangers
lack the top line support for Jaromir Jagr. It allows
teams to double and triple team No. 68, while
crippling the power play, which was coming together
after the additions of Sean Avery and Pascal Dupuis.
"We have to look at that," coach Tom Renney said when
asked about the possibility of making a move. "We want
to be a playoff team, so have to maybe do that to move
forward. Clearly, where we miss [Shanahan] is on our
powerplay, because we have two units and there's not
one that extends it self and compromises us." |
So, that means Sather seriously needs to look for a major
addition if he expects this team to make the playoffs.
Because of Shanahan's concussion - always an uncertain injury
– it's unknown if and/or when he can return, so the general
manager needs to go into the next few days thinking the
assistant captain won't be back and if he does return, it's
bonus.
Sather needs to be on the phone to see about the possibilities
of getting Todd Bertuzzi, Bill Guerin or Glen Murray, since
those are the biggest names rumored to be out there and maybe
the only players who can fit into Shanahan's role.
Yet, here's the catch, the Rangers don't want to give up
anything of value. They made it clear prospects like Marc
Staal, Lauri Korpikoski and Al Montoya are off limits, so they
have to be creative and maybe find a team desperate at the
last minute to acquire something.
So don't expect too much until Tuesday afternoon on that
front.
Where there may be a move in the next day is on the blueline.
Aaron Ward was scratched yesterday and called off the ice
during the morning skate. The rumor circulating is that he
will go to San Jose in a three-way deal with Brent Sopel
coming back to Broadway from the Kings. That move may help the
Rangers powerplay, but more needs to be done.
With four games left each with the Islanders and the Penguins,
three with the Canadiens, and two with the Bruins in their
last 20, the Rangers do have the opportunity to control their
destiny. But to get their ship at Stable 1 and into the
playoffs, they need to make a move, even if means sacrificing
a young player to get there.
Because if they stand pat, the Garden will be dark come April
8, and that will be a problem.
Joe
McDonald covers the New York Rangers for TheFourthPeriod.com.
He is also the publisher of NYSportsDay.com and managing
editor of NY Sportscene Magazine.
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