As the New York Rangers showed uncharacteristic restraint during the opening days of free agency and Glen Sather ‘moved upstairs’ to permit Jeff Gorton to assume (official) control, the Blueshirts find themselves approaching a significant crossroad concerning the organisation’s direction. The Rangers have enjoyed an impressive period of success over the past four years, consistently being amongst the NHL’s final four but Gorton, now in a role many other clubs coveted him for, has some significant decisions coming up that could quickly define his ability as a general manager.
Derek Stepan will need to signed as one of Gorton’s first moves as GM – file photo by Jack Lima
This summer, Gorton’s first big move will be to get key restricted free agent Derek Stepan under contract for the long term and in doing so, not hamper the Rangers moving forward – no simple task given Stepan’s likely demands. Beyond Stepan and the decisions don’t get any easier or less significant.
Gorton will need to make major decisions about the makeup of his defense. He’ll need to decide if and how the club retain Keith Yandle (who cost so much to acquire), whether to move Kevin Klein and find space for a prospect or lesser contract and he’ll eventually need to find a solution to the increasingly troublesome contract that was given to Dan Girardi.
Moving forward and the contracts just handed out to Ryan O’Reilly and particularly Brandon Saad, will weigh heavy on Gorton’s thoughts as Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes will both need significant commitments next season. Do the Rangers have cap space for both young forwards and will their new contracts negatively impact the depth the organisation has recently enjoyed?
Gorton and his Rangers are absolutely approaching a crossroad. On the one hand, the defense is deep, Henrik Lundqvist is still elite (if not arguably the best goaltender in the world) and gives the Rangers sustained hopes of eventually lifting the Cup as long as he is in net – though he’s also not getting any younger. Rick Nash is the Rangers best forward but is approaching a major juncture in his career next season and is already mentioned in trade talks. The more you consider the ‘state of the Rangers’ the more it appears Sather may have jumped ship at the right time. Gorton certainly hasn’t taken on an easy job even if it is one of the more significant GM positions in the NHL.
Perhaps then, considering all this, the Rangers are not approaching a crossroad but in fact it’s more of a fork in the road. Depending on how next season plays out, the Rangers could easily continue as a contender (assuming positive growth from their young core of forwards) but the organisation could just as easily face a rebuild of sorts. This is where the danger lies and why big decisions loom for Gorton. The Rangers future could go either way, very quickly. The fall from the top is never a pleasant trip.
The Rangers have a handful of solid prospects but young defenseman Brady Skjei aside, there aren’t many can’t-miss prospects in the organisation. Indeed, the prospect pipeline isn’t exactly overflowing. Sather aggressively traded numerous draft picks in search of the missing piece to his Stanley Cup puzzle and as such, a re-build or ‘re-tool’ won’t be easy without those early round picks to benefit from. The next twelve months will have a major impact on the next decade in the history of the New York Rangers. Gorton will be responsible for how this plays out. He has major decisions to make and all this after also inheriting a difficult cap situation in the short term.
Jeff Gorton has earned his chance to be the general manager of the New York Rangers. He’s carved out a fine reputation in recent seasons but as Sather steps aside, the hard work is only just beginning. Major decisions loom in the near future for a general major looking to establish himself.
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