New York Rangers: GM Glen Sather Not Ready to Discuss Offseason Plans

At the NHL General Manager's meeting Wednesday afternoon, Rangers GM Glen Sather perhaps summed up the feelings of his fanbase better than anyone. "It's tough enough to go to bed at night and get up the next morning. You've got to adjust. It's like having a death in the family," said Sather in response to questions about his teams ouster at the hands of the rival New Jersey Devils. 

"We just got knocked out a couple of days ago," he said. 

With the Stanley Cup Finals now underway, a series which the Rangers expected to be hosting tonight, the bitter pill of another lost season is hard to swallow.

This one is perhaps harder than most as the Rangers entered the playoffs as the top seed in the East and seemed to have a path clear of traditional powers on their way to hoisting the Cup.  

The focus now turns to upgrading an offense that was anemic at times and placed tremendous pressure on a young defense and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to keep the team in games. 

But, while many fans have already made the mental turnaround to next season, the GM isn't quite there yet. While Rangers fans are clamoring for a high-end goal scorer, names such as Zach Parise and Rick Nash dominate the conversation, Sather cautions patience and understanding.

"I would like to have a 60-goal scorer, I'd like to have a defenseman that could play 25 minutes and get 25 goals, I'd like to have a goaltender that could be under one goal-against per game," Sather said. "Those are wish lists that every team in this league would like to have. Realistically, there are some people that are going to be available, but they're not available until July 1."

The NHL free agency period begins on July 1, but with the Rangers near the cap and the new CBA still uncertain, it's not clear how much Sather will have to work with to improve his club.  

In addition to looking outward the Rangers also need to make decisions about their own free agents, including Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko, who are unrestricted free agents and Michael Del Zotto who is a restricted free agent.

The sting of another lost opportunity won't be going away anytime soon. It will only be amplified if Rangers fans have to watch their rivals from across the river hoist another Stanley Cup.  

For a GM who spends most of the year shunning the media, Sather wanted to make sure the fans knew he shared their pain and was committed to improving the club going forward.

"I hate losing, so it takes me a long time to get over it."