The man with more lives than Morris the Cat, Sather has handled his off-season business in an all too familiar way.

Out of every Rangers player heading into this off-season having to renegotiate his contract, Teflon Slats has played hardball with by far and away the most important one. Before I get into that issue (yes, this player shall remain nameless for now... I want you to continue to read with interest) lets discuss the arriving and departed players first, shall we?

Coming off a disappointing end to the 2009-10 season didn't, as it shouldn't have, sit well with Broadway Blueshirts. Failing to qualify for the post-season, for the first time since the NHL resumed play from its latest lockout, left all in charge determined to make the necessary changes to ensure this less-than-desired result doesn't repeat itself.

With this in mind, New York had a myriad of restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents to tend to. Not to mention, the expectation of Sather's involvement once the free agent frenzy began, many supporters and detractors alike wondered which direction the team was headed. A notorious history of roster turnover had most believing the same would take place in an unbearably hot New York City.

Ever the active executive, Sather wasted no time in reshaping the line-up. His first move took place unofficially in May, when he signed Norwegian standout forward Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. Flying under the NHL radar, mainly due to his diminutive (5-foot-7) stature, M.Z-A opened the eyes of many in the hockey world during the Olympics in Vancouver. It is there, while playing for Norway, where he proved that not only can he play with the top pros; he can standout amongst them as well.

Some highly respected hockey names, such as current General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning and legendary captain of the Detroit Red Wings Steve Yzerman, as well as five-time NHL all-star Markus Naslund, had nothing but glowing praise for 22-year-old late bloomer. Yzerman took notice during the Winter Games, but Naslund already had the scoop on him before 'Stevie Y' and the rest of the hockey world did.

Naslund was a teammate of whom some have dubbed the "Norwegian Hobbit" for Modo in the Swedish Elite League. Before he joined Zuccarello-Aasen in Sweden, Naslund wore Ranger blue during the 2008-09 season. It was that one year spent in New York that gave them the inside track, as Naslund informed the Rangers of this little offensive dynamo. What was witnessed while playing in the Olympics paved the way for the Rangers to go out and sign him.

While he signed a two-year deal and despite standing out in Vancouver and in the Swedish Elite League, a roster spot isn't assured. Don't be surprised though, if he forces himself on the team come September. He forced the hockey world to take notice on a world stage. Now that he is so close to playing in the NHL, it would be unwise to count out this hardworking underdog.

It would've also be unwise of Blueshirt casual and die hard fans, respectively, to expect more intelligent signings as July 1 was drawing near. On this day, as most hockey fans know, all thirty teams can negotiate with unsigned unrestricted free agents in attempts to strengthen their roster for next season and beyond.

Around these parts, it is a day many wish Sather would spend the day fishing in Alberta instead of doling out absurd contracts to unworthy players. Last summer's signing of Marian Gaborik aside, Sather has swung and missed on this day more times than people would like to remember.

With a salary cap that should prohibit foolish spending, Sather probably has authorized three of the NHL's worst contracts. Chris Drury is making $8 million this season, Wade Redden is in the third year of a six-year contract that averages $6.5 million per. Scott Gomez, who the Rangers were actually able to trade away (and acquire a highly touted prospect... whom for intrigues sake will also be revealed shortly) is one of the highest paid centers in the game today. The cigar loving GM of the Rangers is to blame for each and every one of these embarrassing payouts.

Thankfully, this summer the Rangers didn't have a lot of extra money to spend on other's free agents.

They didn't waste anytime as free agency began despite the lack of money to spend... to nobodies surprise. Martin Biron, the well respected veteran netminder, immediately signed on to back-up franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Many around the organization felt that despite Lundqvist's usual stellar play, showed signs of wearing down as the season was coming to a close. He was forced into playing a career high 73 games last season due to a Steve Valiquette early season meltdown and the subsequent failure to fill that void for the rest of the season.

Lundqvist still managed to win 35 games and carry the Rangers on his back as he has done since his first season in New York. Biron's presence will give "King Henrik" valuable time to rest during the season, as he is a well seasoned netminder with over 200 wins on his resume.

Another area that upper management felt needed to be addressed was toughness. Last season's acquisition, Jody Shelley, was unable to come to terms with New York creating an even bigger black hole in this department. Just like with the Biron signing though, the Rangers wasted no time in replacing Shelley signing former Minnesota Wild pugilist-supreme Derek Boogaard to a four-year, $6.5 million deal.

Naturally, when a player who hasn't scored a goal in 222 games gets a contract of this magnitude, critics have a field day with it. But the 6'7" 260lbs man known as "The Mountie" is the best at what he does. What he does is beat people up and make opponents think twice about going after any of his teammates. In an extremely physical division, his presence will be most welcome, especially since the Donald Brashear experiment was an unmitigated failure. More on him soon, I promise.

Vaclav Prospal was one of the league's best bargains last year. At $1.1 million, he was the Rangers second leading point producer as he tallied 58 points despite missing some time due to injury. A leader on and off the ice made the decision to bring him back on an incentive laden one year deal a relatively easy one.

Upon coming to the Rangers, confidence was at an all-time low for Erik Christensen. Being picked up on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks, after failing to acclimate himself with the Atlanta Thrashers, the 26-year old Edmonton native wasn't feeling good about his game. In New York, though, he got a golden opportunity, especially when Prospal went down with an injury. It was then he was given a prime chance to show his new team and the rest of the league he can play at the highest level.

His stats weren't overwhelming, 26 points in 49 games played with the Rangers last season. There were signs of brilliance from the enigmatic center, especially while playing with one of the best goal scorers in the game in Gaborik. The talent is obvious with Christensen, it's just a matter of consistency and confidence. Re-signing him to a two-year deal, at less than a million per could be a boon considering the talent he possesses.

Consistency in effort is a trademark of grinder Brandon Prust. It's funny how he was the other guy in the Olli Jokinen trade from Calgary. Jokinen signed back with Calgary this off-season and nobody in New York was shedding a tear, to put it mildly. Meanwhile Prust played a vital role in the Rangers last gasp attempt to qualify for the postseason. He, along with the aforementioned Shelley and rookie Artem Anisimov, formed the Rangers most consistent line during the last few weeks of the season.

Prust was a restricted free agent so the risk of losing him was minimal. Regardless though, the Rangers were diligent in making his return to Manhattan a non-issue.

Peculiar enough, Marc Staal's return has been anything but a non-issue. The fourth year defender, from the famous Staal Hockey Factory, is without a doubt the Rangers best on the back line. So why is it on August 15, with training camp a few weeks away, is he still unsigned? Only Sather, the legendary player now Staal’s agent Bobby Orr and Staal himself know.

Apparently talks are still ongoing to try and get a deal done before camp begins, but just as was the case last season with Brandon Dubinsky, this could overlap into training camp, pre-season and perhaps even the start of the regular season. This would be a damaging blow to the team, as he along with recently extended Dan Girardi, are the club's top defensive pairing.

Staal is regarded already, at the ripe old age of 23, as one of the better shutdown defenders in the game today. His offensive game took a step in the right direction last season too, scoring eight goals and notching 27 points in total. Playing hardball with the team's best defenseman is an exercise in futility. It also sets a terrible example for future homegrown players in the organization that actually show great potential in the NHL.

As was previously mentioned, Girardi was in the same position as his defensive partner. Both were restricted free agents heading into the off-season. While Staal still waits for a legitimate offer, Girardi was offered and already accepted a four year, $13.3 million extension. His upside isn't as vast as Staal, but having said that, Girardi does play a crucial role on defense in New York. He is always amongst the league's top shot blockers, last year he got in the way of 191 pucks...officially anyway.

The 26-year old defender has been a mainstay on the team since his call-up in 2007. Despite his still young age, he is going to be looked to for leadership on a relatively young and inexperienced blue line this season.

One of the players he will help mentor is former Montreal Canadiens 2007 first round pick and more recent Wisconsin Badger, Ryan McDonagh. He is the highly touted prospect that was involved in the Gomez deal last summer (the one I mentioned earlier, remember?) and come September will attempt to make the jump from the NCAA to the NHL. Upon attending the club's annual prospect camp, McDonagh quickly made up his mind to turn pro.

The Rangers are high on the 21-year-old Minnesota native and with good reason. He is physically fit enough to compete with the big boys, and his game is something the Rangers need. He is physical and tough to play against and likes to punish opponents that think it's okay get in front of his goaltender.

The transition for McDonagh will be a lot easier if another recently signed highly touted prospect makes his way onto the team this fall as well. Derek Stepan, a teammate of the rugged defenseman at Wisconsin, also signed with the Rangers. The slickly skilled centerman, who captained the United States Junior Club to a stunning gold medal performance at last year's World Junior Championships, will have a much tougher road to make the club than his college teammate and best friend. The depth chart runs a little deeper at forward, but it won't be long until Stepan is a fixture in the Rangers organization.

That depth chart now includes former Kings left wing Alex Frolov. The 28-year-old signed a one-year, $3 million deal in late July. Unlike his fellow countrymen, whose name has been mentioned way too much this off-season, Frolov decided to take this year and prove himself. He had more secure offers from the rebel KHL, but coming off his disappointing 2009-10 season, Frolov wants to prove to the league that the Rangers are getting a very good player.

He is a two-time 30 goal scorer and despite scoring just 19 last year, he still had 51 points. Motivated to prove detractors wrong and playing on a one-year deal, this might have been Sather's best move this summer.

Others might argue that getting rid of Brashear's contract was the best move. You'll be hard pressed to disagree with that notion, but if he didn't sign him in the first place, he wouldn't have to take on Todd White's unfriendly $2.35 million deal to do so. Still the trade that sent Brashear, along similarly useless Patrick Rismiller to the Thrashers for the 35-year-old White is seen by many as a solid move.

If White can return to the form that saw him tally 71 points, back in the 2008-09 campaign, the Rangers are getting a pretty versatile centerman. If not, they can send him to the minors and erase his salary from the big club's cap. Either way, the move makes sense in almost every way imaginable, mainly because Brashear is no longer on the club.

In another transaction earlier in the off-season, the Rangers acquired depth defenseman Steve Eminger from Anaheim in exchange for little used winger Aaron Voros and plummeting prospect Ryan Hillier. Insignificant at the time, this could prove otherwise as the off-season continues on due to the uncertainty of Staal's holdout and Redden's suspected demotion to the minors. Eminger could be a regular presence in the line-up this season. Pretty scary thought, isn't it?

Despite the plethora of activity, the Rangers are heading into training camp with several question marks. With the aforementioned Staal still unsigned, they currently have less than $500,000 to spend. The simple math here is that one or even two players with significant salaries will be moved in order to make room.

Since only one person knows which of those players will be sacrificed for Staal, it will be hard to speculate what moves will be made going forward.