Wholesale Change Needed for the New York Rangers

The Rangers hired Glen Sather in 2000. They hired him with the hopes of turning this awful franchise into an elite one.

It's going to be 10 years in June. From what we saw, this franchise is no better than it was under his predecessor Neil Smith.

The Rangers missed out the playoffs in Sather's first four years with the club. He built the team by adding free agents past their prime along with trading for stars.

That approach did not work out. With the lockout in 2005, the team decided to build with young prospects and character players.

The franchise had success by qualifying for the playoffs, but they only advance to the second round only once.

That does not cut it in New York. Only winning a championship can constitute success here.

It's not a big deal to make the playoffs when many teams can make it in the NHL. If anything, it's a joke this franchise miss the playoffs often under Sather's reign.

Odds are the Rangers will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2004. They're not officially out of it after a great 4-3 victory over the Devils tonight at the Prudential Center, but let's be realistic.

This team rarely shows up to play most of the season, and this team can't score. How is it going to change after one great game?

Desperation can get the best out of a team. The Rangers proved that tonight by controlling the puck and being in the Devils territory. It was good enough for them to score three goals and win the shootout.

Still, that can only go far. This team has only eight games left. It's hard for this team to play at a high level for eight games.

A team has to be good to do that, and this team is not.

It's amazing how anyone can tolerate bad hockey that this organization keeps providing.

Sather should have been fired a long tme ago, but he held on to his job thanks to James Dolan admiring him. It's the same loyalty that convinced Dolan to pick Isiah Thomas over Larry Brown when it came to choosing who has to be fired.

Both of those decisions turned out to be disaster. Thomas not only was bad as general manager, but he was horrible as a coach.

If David Stern did not get on Dolan to do something, Zeke would continue to do what he does best, which is making the franchise worse by making more stupid trades.

Good chance the former Pistons guard can get his job back if Donnie Walsh can't get a star to play for the Knicks in the summer of 2010. After all, Dolan likes nothing better than to prove people he knows what he's doing.

Gary Bettman needs to copy what Stern did here. He has to tell Sather's boss to fire him.

Sather does not have it anymore at his age. His work speaks for itself. When was the last time the Rangers developed a star from the draft? Has a free agent turned out to be a star for this franchise?

The Rangers general manager fails to hold himself accountable. He never talks to the local media when things go wrong. At least, he does not talk when the team is good.

His behavior does not reflect well on him. He's spiting the fans by being invisible.

John Tortorella is another guy that needs to go. He has not gotten the most out of his roster.

He was touted as an offensive genius yet the players can't respond to his coaching.

It does not help when he juggles line every single game. It's hard to maintain continuity that way.

He was supposed to bring discipline to this franchise, but often times, this team gets into the penalty box.

From watching him on the bench, it looks like he's confused.

Is that what Dolan needs to see out of his coach? A coach needs to show he knows how to lead.

All Torts has done is call out his players and picking fights with New York Post sportswriter Larry Brooks.

Someone's going to pay for an underachieving season. It's likely going to be Tortorella.

It's hard to fire the players, and we all know Sather is not going anywhere.

That's too bad. It's only the way this team will ever win the Stanley Cup.