A State of the Rangers Address

Another hockey season has concluded. Another year without a Rangers Stanley Cup victory. The season played out much the same as others in the regime of Glen Sather. The team started well, floundered till the last conceivable moment, and then made a mad dash for the playoffs. To see the season end on the stick of Oli Jokinen against a third stringer from the loathsome Flyers drives me mad. How was this overrated, over payed, under performing second line center with no aptitude for defense considered the answer at the trade deadline? Sather received credit for his deadline moves, but they were largely done to correct mistakes made just last offseason. Couple that with the disastrous contracts Sather has handed key veterans (Drury, Redden, Roszival) and a seeming ineptitude in concern to free agent evaluation, it leads to a stark conclusion. Glen Must Go.
But banishing Sather to the golf course and away from key decision-making capacities is just a start. A solid decade of not going the next step or making three terrible decisions to cover a single hole is simply not good enough. Redden and Roszival must join the Wolfpack's crusade for a Calder Cup. Give them their loot, off the roster, and instantly the team improves on a number of areas. Precious cap room needed to secure another sniper (not to mention 1st line center, at least 2 mean veteran D-men, a backup goaltender) is freed up. The young defenseman in Hartford could get a crack in camp, or go sign a veteran or two. Give Grachev a job and let him score up here while refining his overall game. Every roster should have that one-dimensional offensive wunderkind looking toward the next rush vs. backchecking. Also give Stepan, McDonagh and Kreider every opportunity to make the Rangers. The NHL has become a young man's game. Placing all three in the starting lineup is an interesting experiment in risk vs. reward that I fully believe the fans would support.
Who should become the new conductor on Mr. Sather's Wild Ride? Though there has been a groundswell of support for Mark Messier to step into the big chair, I have reservations on giving the reins to a rookie. I would lean toward a man who has shown a stabilizing influence on a organizational level. Doug Risebrough comes to mind. Maybe Dolan could pry Lou Lamorello away from the Devs? A pipe dream, I know. The new GM should be prepared to let Tortorella go. I am personally a fan of the fiery taskmaster, but his message was never received and he was tuned out.
I'm not saying that my plan will bring the Rangers Stanley Cup glory or even the air of legitimacy the Garden is lacking. But they start to right a decade of wrongs and begin to establish a solid base of legitimate young talent around which you can shape a roster. So my suggestion- Adios Glen! Hope the cigar tastes a sweet from the unemployment line.