News Article: Sather Speaks: Lack of Puck Possession Had "A lot to do" with Torts' firing

[offdacrossbar]

when a coaches time is up, its usually due to the team no longer responding to or performing for him. after that, the wins stop and the room tension becomes an issue.

i believe the players believed in torts and his system for most of his tenure here. i really do. torts is very persuasive and to their collective credit, the players bought into his system completely. they played hard for him and the roster was constructed to fit the torts system.

players usually will not squawk mid season. they play hockey, they do their jobs and they never stop believing. until the season ends....

exit interviews would have been entertaining this year to say the least.

when henrik lundqvist turns his back on you, in his walk year, you are toast.

 

[stan the caddy]

Regular season statistics aren't really the issue. Most of us have serious doubts about whether or not Tortorella's system was flexible enough to produce offense in the tighter games that happen in the playoffs. Of teams in the final 8 over the last 2 years, the Rangers have been 7th in goal scoring in both playoffs. It's a problem.

And Pittsburgh is #1 in goals per game and looked even worse against Boston. You can say whatever you want to if you're going to cherry pick small sample sizes.

Over the last two playoffs the Rangers have averaged more goals than Vigneault's Canucks team.

 

[stan the caddy]

If that is the case, that gives Sather even more of a reason to use "the system" explanation to mitigate the effects of that report.

Instead of "mitigating the effects of that report" he could have simply not leaked that information to him in the first place. Now he's backtracking. Unless Brooksie made it up which is entirely possible. We'll never know what actually happened.

 

[The Perfect Paradox]

Instead of "mitigating the effects of that report" he could have simply not leaked that information to him in the first place. Now he's backtracking. Unless Brooksie made it up which is entirely possible. We'll never know what actually happened.

Exactly. That was the point of my original post, trying to cover up and maintain a positive image was really my own interpretation.

It's impossible to say who leaked the information (if it is indeed true), and for all we know it could have been someone outside of the organization who was responsible.

 

[OverTheCap]

More from Sather in today's NY Post article:

“At the start of the year we all expected to go further than we did, but with everything that happened and seeing what the Bruins have been able to do, I can’t say we underachieved,†Sather said. “Take a look at [Ryan] Callahan, he must have separated his shoulder eight or nine times during the year and he kept playing. Same with [Carl] Hagelin.

“These guys played with [courage]. Losing [Marc] Staal was a huge blow for us. Everyone has injuries, I know, but I thought we hung in really well.â€

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rang..._next_for_disappointed_zrdws3sIN9matEYoiHKmYO

So now Sather says the team didn't underachieve and played well in spite of the injuries. He's backtracking a bit now after seeing how the Bruins have performed since they eliminated us.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

More from Sather in today's NY Post article:



http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rang..._next_for_disappointed_zrdws3sIN9matEYoiHKmYO

So now Sather says the team didn't underachieve and played well in spite of the injuries. He's backtracking a bit now after seeing how the Bruins have performed since they eliminated us.

It seems more and more clear that he didn't have any intention of firing Torts. He's using revisionist history to justify his actions.

 

[pld459666]

You act as if this is wrong. At the end of the day the Rangers are a business, no different then any other product we support, use or view. Business is business. Stop making it sound like making money is so evil.

Why else would Dolan own the Rangers? Why did an investment group offer to buy the NHL and its entirety during the 04-05 lock out? Because it's true colors are that of a business and there is serious money to be made.

Sather is the one who wants to win the cup. Dolan is the one who wants to make money and he can give two ****s about a cup as long as cash is going into his pocket and... RIGHTFULLY SO.


For those of you who have issues with Dolan... Your anger is misguided.

Not acting as if this was wrong.

Just using that statement to make a point.

Sather, as long as he is making money for Dolan, will never be fired.

You should read the thread and who it was I was replying to.

I could care less about Dolan or any other corporate owner. Their teams, they can do what they want.

 

[offdacrossbar]

It seems more and more clear that he didn't have any intention of firing Torts. He's using revisionist history to justify his actions.

his hand was forced.

had the players not laid it out for him, he would have pretended everything was fine and continued to live in his own little fake world.

torts was a clown but slats is perhaps maybe just a bit beyond his time.

time to retire glen.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Not acting as if this was wrong.

Just using that statement to make a point.

Sather, as long as he is making money for Dolan, will never be fired.

You should read the thread and who it was I was replying to.

I could care less about Dolan or any other corporate owner. Their teams, they can do what they want.

True. And I apologize for that post being directed completely at you. I just see enough of people complaining about Dolan and "all he cares about is money" and if any of these people owned a business... they would care about money as well.

Sather is the one who needs to take the flack for lack of Stanley Cups. Dolan gives us the max salary cap to work with every year and we can't really ask much more of him then that.

 

[nyranger61494]

More from Sather in today's NY Post article:



http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rang..._next_for_disappointed_zrdws3sIN9matEYoiHKmYO

So now Sather says the team didn't underachieve and played well in spite of the injuries. He's backtracking a bit now after seeing how the Bruins have performed since they eliminated us.

Par for the course.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

More from Sather in today's NY Post article:



http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rang..._next_for_disappointed_zrdws3sIN9matEYoiHKmYO

So now Sather says the team didn't underachieve and played well in spite of the injuries. He's backtracking a bit now after seeing how the Bruins have performed since they eliminated us.

The performance of this season had less to do with injuries and more to do with Sather absolutely gutting the middle/back-end of the lineup at forward.

 

[RGY]

Where are the rangers players in the media speaking highly of Torts? If there are any, they are far and few between. I have seen Canucks players speak highly of AV. Torts lost the team this year. That process started when he moved Gaborik to LW when he had been a RWer his entire career. If Nash was so "low maintenance" as Torts proclaimed then he would've been the one on LW.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Where are the rangers players in the media speaking highly of Torts? If there are any, they are far and few between. I have seen Canucks players speak highly of AV. Torts lost the team this year. That process started when he moved Gaborik to LW when he had been a RWer his entire career. If Nash was so "low maintenance" as Torts proclaimed then he would've been the one on LW.

Uh, based on what? Perhaps he felt that Gaborik would work better on LW than Nash would. What does that have to do with Nash being low maintenance or not?

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Where are the rangers players in the media speaking highly of Torts?.....I have seen Canucks players speak highly of AV.

How many Ranger players have spoken period? Lundqvist said good things....

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Where are the rangers players in the media speaking highly of Torts? If there are any, they are far and few between. I have seen Canucks players speak highly of AV. Torts lost the team this year. That process started when he moved Gaborik to LW when he had been a RWer his entire career. If Nash was so "low maintenance" as Torts proclaimed then he would've been the one on LW.

This "coach lost the team" stuff is just so damned cowardly. Its a built in excuse to paint the coach as a scapegoat. Sather has used it to his advantage for years now.

Now we have a team that isn't good enough to win a championship as it is, but also feels emboldened to contribute to the management circus.

 

[Bluenote13]

The Circus started when you went from Renney to Torts, one extreme personality to another, on the other end of that spectrum. It was yet another predictable move at the time, and I said it was an overreaction to the so called 'country club' atmosphere

Last years team was his best because he actually got them to play like that for as long as they did. You saw some affects of his coaching above the basics. This year it was back to basics with a team less fit for what was going on here. I think the players went in with the mentality they had made this trade for an offensive star so that was going to change the offensive dynamics. It did not. They saw teams they thought they could beat utilize their skill more and wanted to play a similar game. Gaborik looked out of place lobbing the puck into the zone nonchalantly throughout his time with the Rangers this season.

I don't think they gave up as much as they were exhausted trying to be last years team when everyone could tell they were not. Hank had to save them most nights, we should be past that by now, even with the middle of the pack talent Sather has been able to acquire.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

The Circus started when you went from Renney to Torts, one extreme personality to another, on the other end of that spectrum. It was yet another predictable move at the time, and I said it was an overreaction to the so called 'country club' atmosphere

Amazing you have a country club atmosphere with known loafers like Zherdev and Gomez of the team. Or guys on the downside like Naslund and Redden

Last years team was his best because he actually got them to play like that for as long as they did. You saw some affects of his coaching above the basics. This year it was back to basics with a team less fit for what was going on here. I think the players went in with the mentality they had made this trade for an offensive star so that was going to change the offensive dynamics. It did not. They saw teams they thought they could beat utilize their skill more and wanted to play a similar game. Gaborik looked out of place lobbing the puck into the zone nonchalantly throughout his time with the Rangers this season.

They also one an almost impossible amount of 1-goal games last season. The math started evening out.

I don't think they gave up as much as they were exhausted trying to be last years team when everyone could tell they were not. Hank had to save them most nights, we should be past that by now, even with the middle of the pack talent Sather has been able to acquire.

Agree.

 

[pld459666]

True. And I apologize for that post being directed completely at you. I just see enough of people complaining about Dolan and "all he cares about is money" and if any of these people owned a business... they would care about money as well.

Sather is the one who needs to take the flack for lack of Stanley Cups. Dolan gives us the max salary cap to work with every year and we can't really ask much more of him then that.

The only issue I have with dolan is that this franchise CAN make a lot more money for him if he cared enough about winning. The cost of doing business with the Rangers goes up for everu corporate sponsor. Not only that but bigger and better sponsors come along as they want to be associated with winning teams especially in New York.

Other than that its all on Sather.

 

[TankLarkin]

IMO Hank's displeasure following playoff exit was more of a factor than anything else.

 

[bernmeister]

The stupid 6 G system forced guys to put themselves out of position as a follow up byproduct of so much shot blocking.

It was sometimes ridiculously hard to get back in position and instant transition into offense.

What Torts sowed, he reaped.

 

[NikC]

It seems more and more clear that he didn't have any intention of firing Torts. He's using revisionist history to justify his actions.

You think he was involved in the son of sam killings? They say Berkowitz didn't act alone...

What do think? Maybe right?

 

[LieutenantLackluster]

I only needed 1 reason for justifying letting Torts go, and thats the powerplay. Why is Sather not even mentioning that?

 

[Boruto]

I only needed 1 reason for justifying letting Torts go, and thats the powerplay. Why is Sather not even mentioning that?

There's no point to dump on a coach now with specifics. It's the off season, no need to drag a dead rat out of the gutter right before AV's press conference and embarrass Torts' efforts. Frank;y, what he said about the league's game changing is harsh enough as it is. I don't see how Gillis or Nill can listen to that and not question their consideration of Torts.

 

[Tawnos]

And Pittsburgh is #1 in goals per game and looked even worse against Boston. You can say whatever you want to if you're going to cherry pick small sample sizes.

Over the last two playoffs the Rangers have averaged more goals than Vigneault's Canucks team.

Bolded has nothing to do with anything.

I'm not cherry picking small sample sizes. I'm using statistics to back up something we all know to be true. The Rangers have had a particularly hard time scoring goals when they're most needed. In the playoffs. Some of that is on the players. Some of that is on the coaching.

 

[Tawnos]

Also, as much as it might seem like the "losing the team" thing is just an excuse floated out there by Sather and management, there is only one reason why I buy it.

Because I saw what the team played like in game 4 against the Bruins before the fluke goal. They looked like a team completely unresponsive to the man behind the bench. Most of us have seen coaches who have lost teams. Most of that game was exactly what it looks like. So, while rumors of the team quitting on Tortorella may be unsubstantiated, it's pretty easy to believe from observation.