Which GM Do You Take Today? Sather, Uncle Lou or Garth Snow?

[Section32]

Just curious which of the NY Metro team's GM is the most respected for what he has done over the past 5 to 7 years?

I abhor Sather but the Rangers have had good runs and don't look like they are going anywhere.

Uncle Lou has also had some good runs, but the present lineup is uneven.Many good young d-men as well as an excellent goalie. However, pretty old up front and not much in the system there as either.

Snow has his team flying out of the gate. Picking with great draft position helps, but you still need to be smart and the Isles have. Future is bright. Now the real work begins with continuing to add to the roster via trades, free agency and developing guys in the system.

So, who would you want running your team if you had to pick one of the three?

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[Karlsson2Turris*]

Gotta go with the guy who has produced results in Sather. NYR is a perennial playoff team and was close to winning the cup last year. I know that NJ also made the Finals, but Lou hasn't led them back to the playoffs since.

 

[Bob b smith]

I'd go uncle Lou.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Garth snow love to see him able to spend.

 

[Devils Trap]

Crap.... All of them have their flaws.. This is tough

 

[Pyromaniac]

Snow would be regarded as a much better GM if he hadn't made the Vanek trade, had found a better return for Nino than Clutterbuck and the DiPietro contract. DiPietro is not even his fault because Wang was probably the one that negotiated that one. Regardless though he has built a contender with a limited budget, he has drafted very well and he has been absolutely amazing at selling his players on accepting reasonable contracts.

Actually I will take Snow, I might be the only non-Isles fan to do so but I would feel comfortable with him as GM.

 

[Machinehead]

The one whose team has won the most playoff series in the East the last 3 years and made the playoffs almost every year since the lockout. Pretty easy.

 

[CLUTTERSTACHE*]

Clearly garth snow. hes so bake brahs

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Snow has no business even being in the conversation here.

 

[Machinehead]

Snow has no business even being in the conversation here.

And here I thought 32 good games would excuse making the playoffs twice in 10 years. Silly me.

 

[terex]

Snow would be regarded as a much better GM if he hadn't made the Vanek trade, had found a better return for Nino than Clutterbuck and the DiPietro contract. DiPietro is not even his fault because Wang was probably the one that negotiated that one. Regardless though he has built a contender with a limited budget, he has drafted very well and he has been absolutely amazing at selling his players on accepting reasonable contracts.

Actually I will take Snow, I might be the only non-Isles fan to do so but I would feel comfortable with him as GM.

I'm a Pens fan, but I agree with you. I love Garth Snow. He's had a couple missteps, and fans/media have put every one of his missteps under a microscope. He's done far more good than most other GMs could have in his situation.

He's carefully acquired picks and prospects. That team has a stacked pipeline, and I really think the Islanders are a sleeping giant about to wake up.

I think Lou is a dinosaur. The Devils have a horrific prospect pool, a geriatric roster, and little hope for the next 2-3 years. He's become what Craig Patrick was around 2003 or so.

Sather's Rangers had a fluke run to the finals. He's had the luxury of perpetually spending to the cap, multiple ways to dodge the cap and essentially exceed it (back diving contracts (later bought out), burying contracts in the AHL under the old CBA, compliance buyouts with the new CBA). He has gotten very lucky a couple times (like when Naslund retired early and left money on the table).

Sather has had every trick and tool available to him, and I believe he's made the ECF and SCF once each since the 2005 lockout. The Rangers are competitive more often than not, but if the goal is to win the Stanley Cup, Sather has barely sniffed it in a long time.

Snow gets taken to the woodshed over the DiPietro deal, which wasn't his idea and was fully done by Wang, but people are forgetting the catastrophes that were Redden, Drury, Gomez, and Richards because Sather pulled a miracle with with Gomez trade, got two get out of jail free cards with Redden & Richards, and was able to buy out Drury.

I'll take Snow, the guy with one hand tied behind his back and barely any budget, over the dinosaur in Lou and the big spender with unbelievable luck in Sather.

 

[Sorge Georos]

And here I thought 32 good games would excuse making the playoffs twice in 10 years. Silly me.

I'm sure Sather could've gotten those Chernobyl-esque, post-Milbury rosters to the playoffs in no time.

 

[Machinehead]

I'm sure Sather could've gotten those Chernobyl-esque, post-Milbury rosters to the playoffs in no time.

It's been ten years since Milbury. The Islanders have been dead last in the division 4 out of the last 5 years. How long does that excuse last?

I give Snow plenty of credit for this year. Maybe he's turned the corner, I mean Sather was just absolutely god awful at one point. But I think we need to wait a little longer before we compare Snow to guys who have had success.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

I was always a pretty big Snow apologist because you have to spend money to win. Those teams weren't spending any money, so they were giving ice time to people who couldn't handle it and they weren't winning. They've been finding good guys all over the draft - the easy comparison is Edmonton, who have had the same amount of available NHL ice time and have struggled on that end.

Vanek was probably a misstep, but it didn't really cost them that much. It ties into my favorite thing about Sather: you have to take risks and sometimes, you have to be able to cover for the risks that didn't work out.

 

[Sorge Georos]

It's been ten years since Milbury. The Islanders have been dead last in the division 4 out of the last 5 years. How long does that excuse last?

I give Snow plenty of credit for this year. Maybe he's turned the corner, I mean Sather was just absolutely god awful at one point. But I think we need to wait a little longer before we compare Snow to guys who have had success.

Even so, is it really fair to saddle Snow's record with Milbury's wreckage? It took 5 years for the team to make the playoffs, which really isn't that unreasonable considering he had zero assets at the start and a shoestring budget.

The only disappointing year was last year, which seems to be a fluke.

By the way he's been here for only 8 years, so your original statement is a bit hyperbolic.

 

[Machinehead]

I'm saddling Snow with anything, I just wanna wait until he actually accomplishes something before we compare him to two guys with very recent success.

 

[Sorge Georos]

I'm saddling Snow with anything, I just wanna wait until he actually accomplishes something before we compare him to two guys with very recent success.

It's true that I'm being a little nitpicky and I think your criticism is fair. I just think you were holding him to an unfair standard.

Sather has done a decent job building a consistent playoff team, although for the most part the Rangers have never been a powerhouse. They had that one great team in 2012 and a flukey Cup run last year but he's not exactly proven himself to be a Bill Torrey for these Rangers either.

 

[The Red Line]

none are perfect, but Lou has quite clearly accomplished the most and messed up the least out of all of them.

 

[Uli Hiemer]

Anyone but Lou. He's that bad these days.

 

[salsa man]

Sather. Lou has had the best career of the 3 as a GM, but Sather is probably the best right now. Lou has made some awful decisions in the past few years, and Snow was a terrible GM up until this past year.

 

[Helistin]

Snow is pretty hard to judge fairly since he has been handcuffed by Wang until recently.

 

[Hisch13r]

Sather. Lou has had the best career of the 3 as a GM, but Sather is probably the best right now. Lou has made some awful decisions in the past few years, and Snow was a terrible GM up until this past year.

What are those decisions? I think his worst decisions are the moves he hasn't made because I can't remember any bad moves

 

[Will Hunting]

Anyone but Lou. Lou is done and game has passed him unfortunately.. Doesn´t know what´s it all about anymore. He´s ruining that franchise now and is a much bigger problem there than DeBoer.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

What are those decisions? I think his worst decisions are the moves he hasn't made because I can't remember any bad moves

Really?

 

[SladeWilson23]

People also need to remember that Lou was handcuffed by ownership issues. Lou has done a great job at rebuilding the defensive prospect pool which was very sparse just a few years ago.