Rangers President Glen Sather and GM Jeff Gorton have sent the following letter to Ranger fans about the state of the team:
As a member of the Blueshirt Faithful, we consider you a part of the New York Rangers family, and always want to ensure we share important news about the organization directly with you. Today, we want to talk to you about the future. As you know, since the 2005-06 season, we have been a highly competitive team. We have played 129 playoff games, won the Presidents' Trophy, reached the Conference Finals three times, as well as the Stanley Cup Final. While we're proud of all those accomplishments - we didn't reach our ultimate goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New York.
So as we do every season, we have been continuously evaluating our team, looking for areas that can be improved to enhance our chances of winning. We began the process of reshaping our team this past summer, when we traded for assets that we believe will help us in the years to come. As we approach the trade deadline later this month and into the summer, we will be focused on adding young, competitive players that combine speed, skill and character.
This may mean we lose some familiar faces, guys we all care about & respect. While this is part of the game it's never easy. Our promise to you is that our plans will be guided by our singular commitment: ensuring we're building the foundation for our next Stanley Cup contender. There are no fans like Rangers fans. You are passionate, loyal and true. You fill The Garden every night, and we always know there will be a strong showing from RangersTown in every building across the League. We do not take your support for granted. We appreciate that you have always stood by us, and we ask you to remain by our side as we undertake this exciting new chapter filled with promise and change.
We will keep you informed as this process takes shape. Thank you for the incredible loyalty, pride and respect you show to the New York Rangers, each and every day.
Jeff Gorton and Glen Sather held a news conference on Thursday and said (NYR):
Jeff Gorton: "Hello everybody. I know that as we lead up to the trade deadline there have been a lot of questions and speculation, so we thought we would take this time to come in front of you and answer any questions that you guys and ladies might have leading up to the deadline and moving forward. Go right ahead."
On how injuries have impacted the team, "We have not played well for a while and it's become increasingly clear as the days go on that we are in tough as we go forward toward the playoffs. It's the reality of having to look forward and the decisions we make going forward will be based on the long term and not trying to save the season."
Did injuries change things, "we have a lot of them but to say that we are in that spot because of injuries, I'm not here to say that. We aren't going to say that. We haven't played well. What you are seeing on the ice is not what we hoped for and that is basically where we are.
On Brendan Smith, "we signed him and gave him a deal based on how he played and when we scouted him before. This year he has struggled, we tried different things. We scratched him, done some different things to get him going and he just hasn't played that well and it's a move we decided we had to make.
On why Smith's game has fallen off a cliff, "no insight on why he fell off a cliff, he just hasn't played well and hasn't been able to find his game."
Could this help him find his game, "I do. Based on what we have seen in the past, I think that Brendan is a good player that can play physical and be a good skater but those elements haven't been there this year. At this time it's best for him to go on waivers, see what happens and go from there."
On where the organization is, "I would say that we definitely thought we would be better than this. When we made the trade that we did in the summer time to get the 7th pick overall and traded a pretty good player in Stepan, we knew we were resetting it. As the season has developed, like I said, it hasn't gone the way we wanted it to go and it will force us into some decisions to think long term and start to try to rebuild and build a Stanley Cup contender."
"I think we are extremely happy with what we did last year in the first round having the two picks, Chytil and Andersson are a good start to what we need to do but obviously there is a road to come here to rebuild this. Let's face it, we have had a pretty good run for a while, many years, where at this time of year we are trying to add players and try to win the Stanley Cup, As we sit last in the division it's becoming increasingly clear that it's not our team right now and it's not where we want to be and we have to do what we can to get assets in here that can be part of the next Stanley Cup contenders."
When was this decided, "it wasn't a single day, we have watched the team for almost 60 games. We have a lot of smart people in this organization that watch us every day and that opinion has evolved over the last month really, for where we are at."
Where did things go wrong, "I think that we really haven't gelled as a team, haven't gotten to an identity. We have always been able to play with an identity, that speed and skill, four lines and six D on a nightly basis and that have competed and given us a chance to win every night and I don't think we have been there or had that, we haven't had that identity or enough players going on a nightly basis and that is why I think where we are."
On who is responsible, "to put who is responsible, I don't know. AV is a good coach he has been a good coach in the league, a good coach for the Rangers. We are all responsible for what we are seeing. To sit here and say it's the coach is not the way I'd want to go and as a manger, management staff, scouting staff, coaching staff, we are all not good enough right now on the ice and it's showing."
Will AV be back next year, "I wouldn't want to answer that today. I don't want the speculation out there, we have 25-30 games to go. AV is our coach, we have a lot of faith in AV and what he is done and we will leave it at that. There are a lot of answers to come and today, I don't think I have answers for everything. We will try to answer your questions but I don't have answers for that one."
On bringing up Anderson or Chytil, "we have talked about that for a while. We brought up Pionk today, we have brought up Lettieri and some other young guys. We will have those questions as we go along here and give guys their chance to see what they can do and help us make our decisions going forward."
Do you want draft picks or prospects, "that is a tricky question. We need to do what we can to do as many assets as we can and give us as many chances to rebuild this as we can and try to find the kind of players that we want. We want fast players, character players, guys we can build our team around. That is what we will be looking for."
Jeff Gorton: "Hello everybody. I know that as we lead up to the trade deadline there have been a lot of questions and speculation, so we thought we would take this time to come in front of you and answer any questions that you guys and ladies might have leading up to the deadline and moving forward. Go right ahead."
On how injuries have impacted the team, "We have not played well for a while and it's become increasingly clear as the days go on that we are in tough as we go forward toward the playoffs. It's the reality of having to look forward and the decisions we make going forward will be based on the long term and not trying to save the season."
Did injuries change things, "we have a lot of them but to say that we are in that spot because of injuries, I'm not here to say that. We aren't going to say that. We haven't played well. What you are seeing on the ice is not what we hoped for and that is basically where we are.
On Brendan Smith, "we signed him and gave him a deal based on how he played and when we scouted him before. This year he has struggled, we tried different things. We scratched him, done some different things to get him going and he just hasn't played that well and it's a move we decided we had to make.
On why Smith's game has fallen off a cliff, "no insight on why he fell off a cliff, he just hasn't played well and hasn't been able to find his game."
Could this help him find his game, "I do. Based on what we have seen in the past, I think that Brendan is a good player that can play physical and be a good skater but those elements haven't been there this year. At this time it's best for him to go on waivers, see what happens and go from there."
On where the organization is, "I would say that we definitely thought we would be better than this. When we made the trade that we did in the summer time to get the 7th pick overall and traded a pretty good player in Stepan, we knew we were resetting it. As the season has developed, like I said, it hasn't gone the way we wanted it to go and it will force us into some decisions to think long term and start to try to rebuild and build a Stanley Cup contender."
"I think we are extremely happy with what we did last year in the first round having the two picks, Chytil and Andersson are a good start to what we need to do but obviously there is a road to come here to rebuild this. Let's face it, we have had a pretty good run for a while, many years, where at this time of year we are trying to add players and try to win the Stanley Cup, As we sit last in the division it's becoming increasingly clear that it's not our team right now and it's not where we want to be and we have to do what we can to get assets in here that can be part of the next Stanley Cup contenders."
When was this decided, "it wasn't a single day, we have watched the team for almost 60 games. We have a lot of smart people in this organization that watch us every day and that opinion has evolved over the last month really, for where we are at."
Where did things go wrong, "I think that we really haven't gelled as a team, haven't gotten to an identity. We have always been able to play with an identity, that speed and skill, four lines and six D on a nightly basis and that have competed and given us a chance to win every night and I don't think we have been there or had that, we haven't had that identity or enough players going on a nightly basis and that is why I think where we are."
On who is responsible, "to put who is responsible, I don't know. AV is a good coach he has been a good coach in the league, a good coach for the Rangers. We are all responsible for what we are seeing. To sit here and say it's the coach is not the way I'd want to go and as a manger, management staff, scouting staff, coaching staff, we are all not good enough right now on the ice and it's showing."
Will AV be back next year, "I wouldn't want to answer that today. I don't want the speculation out there, we have 25-30 games to go. AV is our coach, we have a lot of faith in AV and what he is done and we will leave it at that. There are a lot of answers to come and today, I don't think I have answers for everything. We will try to answer your questions but I don't have answers for that one."
On bringing up Anderson or Chytil, "we have talked about that for a while. We brought up Pionk today, we have brought up Lettieri and some other young guys. We will have those questions as we go along here and give guys their chance to see what they can do and help us make our decisions going forward."
Do you want draft picks or prospects, "that is a tricky question. We need to do what we can to do as many assets as we can and give us as many chances to rebuild this as we can and try to find the kind of players that we want. We want fast players, character players, guys we can build our team around. That is what we will be looking for."
Is it hard to do in the salary cap era, "this is what we live in, it's what we all deal with. Maybe we can benefit from someone else's salary cap issues moving forward."
What does the market look like, "it's good, several teams are looking to get better, I would say that it's a strong market."
Are there first round picks available, "I wouldn't want to answer that and you knew that. We are doing what we can, we are doing what we can. There are a number of players that we are looking at and we will see what it brings back."
On retooling on the fly, "I think that a lot depends on the players you get back and where you are in the draft, some of the teams that have had immediate successes have been lottery teams. There are other ways to do it too. Time will tell to answer that. There are enough players out there, moves to be made to improve the team in a quick period of time."
Glen Sather: "we are all tuned into the same show, we all know what is going on and what we have to do and try to do the right thing. We've been through this a few times, it's not easy, he will have a lot of work ahead of him and if we anticipate what will happen, last night there were 25 scouts in the building. There will be lots of decisions to make and we can't make them here and we can't announce them here today. Besides, we still might make the playoffs."
Are the playoffs realistic, "who would have thought 12 games ago that we would be out of the playoffs today. Things happen and it's an evolving situation with how the team has played and the injuries we have had. It's not an excuse because the guys have come in and need to play better, it hasn't happened. We have to look to the future."
Did you have to sell it to Dolan, "we certainly discussed it, with scouts and with everyone. We are all onboard."
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