Comings And Goings

So it finally happened and Don Maloney is leaving the Rangers for a promotion (?) to the GM post of the Phoenix Coyotes. Supposedly Sather made a counter offer but Maloney is leaving anyway. Must of been some offer. Actually Maloney did the Rangers a favor as they now have the open spot that Mark Messier needs to reach his ultimate objective of being a GM. Isn't that what Sather said when Messier expressed an interest in becoming a GM? Something to the effect that Messier would need to be prepped prior to becoming a GM. Now Sather is in a dilemna. Hire Messier as the assistant and know one day he will push Sather out the door or don't hire him, save his job, and be called a phoney for suggesting that Messier would need the experience of an assistant to become the GM. What do you think? What road will Glen Sather take?

What of Phoenix and Maloney? Can Maloney do the job? Last time he had this job he bombed. That is the bad news. The good news was that he was the GM of the Islanders so it was good he bombed. Now he will be the boss of the man, Gretzky, who really is his boss. Huh! Remember Gretzky is an owner of the Coyotes and thus will pay Maloney's paycheck while Maloney is supposedly evaluating his coach, Gretzky, who is also his boss. Anyone remember that old song, "I'm my own Grandpa"?

So Chris Pronger gets a game suspension for an elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond. He also got a game suspension for an elbow to the head of Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom in the Conference Finals. Is there a pattern here? Perhaps a couple of games would have been more appropriate being that it is becoming a pattern of his play. And what if McAmmond is unable to play tonight? Pronger should be sitting out as long as McAmmond sits out plus one game more. Of course Pronger gave the obligatory excuse that it was a reaction play and I didn't mean to hit him that high, blah blah, blah blah, blah blah. And of course the refs who missed the elbows didn't miss a simple hook or hold.

Will Michael Nylander upset Glen Sather's applecart by holding him up for a lucrative new contract? It looked like an easy re-sign as Nylander fit in nicely with Jagr, who likes Nylander. That helps. Sather signed Straka and ignored Nylander. Then Nylander came on like gangbusters at the end of the season and was the Rangers top scorer in the playoffs putting more shots on goal. Now Nylander is hiring a new agent and may test the free agency market. How about those apples? With the Rangers needing a second line center and looking at Druery and Gomez this news will raise the price of poker during the free agency season. Stay tuned.

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