NHL Rumors: Glen Sather 'Likely' Will Step Down as Rangers President

Glen Sather is reportedly preparing to step down from his longtime post as president of the New York Rangers.

TSN's Bob McKenzie added that "it's likely to happen in the near future" and that the decision is "Sather's call." Per McKenzie, Sather would still serve as an advisor to James Dolan.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post added Sather will vacate his position at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. 

Sather has been the Rangers' president since 2000, but with New York about to miss the playoffs for the second straight season, pressure has been mounting for a front office change to be made.

In addition to his role as president, Sather served as the Rangers' general manager from 2000 until 2015 when he hired Jeff Gorton. Since that change, the Rangers have two playoff appearances in four seasons and just one playoff series win.

The 75-year-old Sather has had mixed results during his 18 seasons at the helm in New York. After missing the playoffs in each of his first four seasons, Sather helped lead the Rangers to the postseason in 11 of the next 12 campaigns.

That included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, although the Rangers fell to the Los Angeles Kings. Sather also took New York to the Eastern Conference Finals on two other occasions.

Sather has not come anywhere close to replicating the success he enjoyed with the Edmonton Oilers. He was the head coach of the Oilers from 1976-1989, and during that time he won four Stanley Cups with Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey leading the way.

A comparable assembly of talent has not been seen in the NHL since then, and Sather was never able to live up to the lofty standards that were set for him after his dominance in Edmonton.

After seven straight playoff appearances, the Rangers bottomed out last season and missed the playoffs with just 77 points. With two games left to play this season, New York is 31-36-13 for 75 points, which places it 12th in the Eastern Conference.

There is no end in sight to the Rangers' decline either, as veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist is nearing the end of the line, and most skaters failed to live up to expectations in 2018-19 with the exception of Mike Zibanejad, who leads the team with 72 points.

The Rangers could be in line for a lengthy rebuild, and given how long Sather has been in place, a front office shake-up may be the best way to ensure its success.