Is the Scott Gomez Trade to Montreal the Best Deal by Glen Sather as GM?

We often hear how bad of a GM Glen Sather is, especially when dealing with free agents. Look no further than 2008, when Slats signed the ill-fated Wade Redden to a six-year, $39 million contract, even after several years of declining play.

Or Bobby Holik's five-year, $45 million contract given in 2002. Holik was always a solid player, but should have never garnered $9 million a season. Of course that was in the pre-cap era, when Sather was really bad.

But, what is often forgotten is how well Glen Sather is at making trades, and essentially covering up his mistakes, for better or worse. No trade is more evident than that of the trade that sent Scott Gomez north of the boarder to Montreal, in exchange for Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko, Ryan McDonagh, and Doug Janik.

The trade, at the time, was made solely to free up cap space. Sather then turned Gomez's cap space in right winger Marian Gaborik, who would go on to score 42 goals and finish with other 80 points, all while staying nearly healthy the entire season. Gomez, on the other hand, finished with 12 goals and 47 assists and a far more talented Habs squad.

The big piece to the trade, though, was Chris Higgins. Born and raised on the Island, big things were expected from Higgins, but he never found his game on Broadway, and was later shipped to Calgary, along with another over-priced signing of Sathers, Ales Kotalik, in exchange for center Olli Jokinen and grinder Brandon Prust.

Jokinen went on to do essentially nothing, and found himself re-signing with the Flames on July 1. Prust, on the other hand, found his game on the fourth line with the Rangers, along with Artem Anisimov and Jody Shelley, arguably the best line on the team for the final hand-full of games.

At the time of the trade, both McDonagh and Valentenko were seen as just top defensive prospects. McDonagh was ranked as Montreal's top defensive prospect, and Valentenko was splitting time between the KHL and AHL Hamilton.

Fast forward 14 months, and both players are fighting it out to make the Rangers this season. McDonagh seems to be a lock, as he's shown poise in his pre-season starts, showing that he is more than capable making the jump from college to the NHL.

Valentenko on the other hand, appears by all reports to be one of Tortorella's favorite players, and is by far the surprise of camp. He had a strong showing in Traverse City, and carried that momentum back to the Rangers camp. He is competing for the sixth or seventh defensive spot, and could win it due to his physical play and willingness to fire the puck from the point.

By no means is this a piece preaching that Sather isn't as bad as he comes off as. In the free agent market, I don't believe there is a worse GM in the league to have. He spends money like he is play monopoly, without really analyzing the consequences.

But at the end of the day, he is one of the best wheelers-and-dealers in the business, and there isn't a better example than the Scott Gomez trade in 2009.

Essentially, the trade breakdown as this: The Rangers Traded Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadiens for Marian Gaborik, Brandon Prust, Ryan McDonagh, and Pavel Valentenko.