Stating the Obvious, but Facing the Truth

As we have come to know over the past few years, Larry Brooks of the New York Post is not afraid to tell it like it is, even if it means completely bashing Rangers GM Glen Sather. In his most recent article, Larry discusses how unmovable parts continue to haunt this team, which is currently below .500 I might add. While it may be stating the obvious and beating a dead horse, it is the truth and some times it is better to face it rather than hide it. Below, I will pick apart and analyze what Brooks had to say (placed in quotes and in bold).

"The Rangers' problems are of their own making. More to the point, they fall more on the doorstep of general manager Glen Sather and coach John Tortorella than they do at the skates of the players who simply do not possess the necessities to compete at a high level.

Sather is responsible for a roster filled with players under contracts that are unmovable. Tortorella is fingered here not because of his uneven work behind the bench, but because of his hand in personnel decisions that seemed to be guided exclusively by his preference for speed and skill players at the expense of size and strength."

What he basically is saying here is that this season's lineup was built around head coach John Tortorella's preferences, however, that comes at the cost of size and strength. That is where the term "soft" comes into play--a phrase I have used over and over on the blog, as well as the readers have used in their comments. Tortorella has a lineup he can work with, but he just is not getting the job done.

"The Blueshirts can't make a meaningful trade because they can't afford to move the few assets other teams actually want. To wit: The Post has learned Sather recently offered young Hartford defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to the Coyotes in exchange for young, talented and underachieving center Peter Mueller.

But Phoenix general manager Don Maloney, who had a hand in drafting Sanguinetti 21st overall in 2006 when serving as Sather's assistant, didn't bite. Maloney, we're told, instead countered with a request for either Brandon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan."

Now I do not know if this is completely accurate, but specifics aside, we all hope and pray for Sather to make a trade that will turn things around here in New York. Truth of the matter is he cannot. That is because the first player to be traded off this roster would be Michal Rozsival, but if you were a general manager, would you take on a $5 million defenseman if he cannot even position himself correctly in his own zone? I know I wouldn't, and the same could be said of Chris Drury and Wade Redden.

"The Rangers will never win anything with Michal Rozsival either on the roster or in the lineup. The veteran defenseman, who was given a four-year, $20 million free agent deal immediately following a horrid 2007-08, is now in the midst of his third straight terrible season.

Rozsival was dreadful from start to finish in Wednesday's embarrassing 2-1 overtime defeat in Chicago. And yet when the Rangers made a move yesterday, it was to dispatch freshman Matt Gilroy to the AHL Wolf Pack.

This is the path of least resistance. It is the path most traveled by Sather and the Rangers.

Perhaps the GM is too stubborn to admit to his mistake regarding Rozsival, even as it plays out on the ice to thousands of pairs of eyes. Perhaps he lacks the gumption to tell CEO Jim Dolan that Cablevision must pony up millions to a minor leaguer. Or perhaps Dolan will not permit Sather to send expensive mistakes to Hartford.

But regardless whether it's Public Option A, B or C, the result is the same. A player with an unmovable contract who has no business playing for the Rangers, is playing for the Rangers. He is playing for the Rangers because Tortorella won't scratch him. The coach will scratch Aaron Voros or Enver Lisin, all right, but not Rozsival.

Accountability apparently is a fleeting concept."

This is something I have been discussing on the blog for quite a while now. For starters, Glen Sather is not willing to admit to a mistake by burying Rozsival in the minors, or waiving him for that matter, even though the lack-luster blueliner is clearly hurting this team in almost every game he plays. Then John Tortorella is no better in that he does not have the spine to scratch a player making $5 million because he knows Sather will not allow it. However, they are willing to send down a rookie defenseman in Matt Gilroy, who needs to learn and age at the National Hockey League level, not with the Wolf Pack.

It isn't only Rozsival, of course. Wade Redden has been somewhat better than last season, but in the way a two-car collision is less damaging than a 12-vehicle pileup. When this season ends, Redden will have four more years to go on his deal that chews up $6.5 million of space annually.

Chris Drury has a no-move clause in his contract that carries an annual $7.05 million cap hit. But his sharp decline is every bit as much a factor in the Rangers' issues as are Rozsival and Redden. That's unmistakable.

Sather and Tortorella have constructed a broken roster that is already breaking down. There is only one way out. It's called taking the road to Hartford."

While Redden and Drury have not had as large of a negative impact on this team as Rozsival has, they are still chewing up far too much cap space for what they contribute on the ice. Doing the "little things" is not going to cut it when you are being paid over $7 million a year, nor is a negative plus/minus for consecutive seasons.

I understand that Brooks takes things too far at times, and exaggerates the truth, but he is dead on with what he stated in this article. Sather has dug himself into a deep hole, and the coaching staff, the players, and even himself are not about to climb out of it anytime soon.

Rangers/Thrashers Pregame Updates later.......