James Dolan's Son Quentin Takes over as President, COO of NHL's Rangers

James Dolan is ceding control of the NHL's New York Rangers to his 32-year-old son Quentin Dolan.

According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the 71-year-old Dolan is stepping aside and handing over the positions of president, chief operating officer and alternate governor to Quentin.

Quentin confirmed the move on Friday, telling Walker, "I think it's something I've been building towards, and I'll be working my hardest and probably proving to myself for a while that I'm ready. For me, the ultimate goal is winning a championship. It's been a goal of mine to really continue my family's legacy, and that's something that I understood about myself and wanted early on. This is a continuation of that and it feels right."

Per Walker, James Dolan has said he "always hoped to execute" a passing of the torch to his sons regarding control of the Knicks and Rangers, and putting Quentin in charge of the Rangers is the start of that process.

"Since his arrival overseeing our Player Performance and Science department, Quentin has made a strong impact on the Rangers and Knicks organizations, and we are pleased that he will step into this elevated position," James Dolan said in a release. "Quentin has quickly become an incredibly valued member of the Rangers franchise and played a key role behind the scenes with the Knicks during their championship run this past season. I look forward to seeing the positive influence he can make in this expanded and critical role."

The elder Dolan is the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports, and he has served as executive chairman of the New York Knicks and Rangers since 1999.

While both organizations struggled for long stretches during his tenure, the Knicks finally broke through this past season by winning their first NBA championship since 1973.

As for the Rangers, they have missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, haven't reached the Stanley Cup Final since 2014 and haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1994.

While the ownership hierarchy is changing, Walker noted that Rangers general manager Chris Drury's duties in hockey operations will remain the same.

Drury has already had a busy offseason, including acquiring forward Pavel Dorofeyev in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights and signing him to a seven-year contract extension, and sending forward Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth.

More impactful moves may be needed in order to get the Rangers back in the playoff mix, though, especially after finishing last in the entire Eastern Conference with 77 points last season.

New York still has some high-end talent in place, though, such as forwards Dorofeyev, Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière, defenseman Adam Fox, and goalie Igor Shesterkin.

The Rangers also have a potential star on the rise in 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault, who recorded 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games as a rookie last season.

New York needs to take a significant step forward in order to re-enter the playoff mix next season, but perhaps a fresh face at the controls could help energize the struggling franchise.