Sather-The Detriment

I understand arbitration and how it works. The player puts up his side which basically says he is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and he hopes to hit the jackpot with that. The team brings up the players negatives without trying to destroy him and hopes to save a few pennies. Glen Sather, the Stealth GM, has hit a new low in hearings with Sean Avery. He said in a mixed sentence that Avery was a detriment to the team. My friend Webster describes detriment with words like, injury or damage, or that which causes it; mischief; hurt. What team was Avery a detriment to? Avery may not be the second coming of St. Francis of Assissi but he was no detriment to the Rangers. Down the stretch he came right after Lundqvist and Jagr in importance to making the playoffs.

The Sather apologists are lining up behind Mr. Detriment himself, Glen Sather, and the biggest thing I get out of all the smoke and mirrors was that Avery performed poorly against the Sabres. Did anyone catch Malik and Rachunek's performance against the Sabres? How about Tom Renney's woeful performance against the Sabres? What was more detrimental than Malik's massive giveaway in game two? What was more detrimental than Rachunek's performance in the entire series? What was more detrimental than Renney giving away game five in the last minute by having the Jagr line on ice to protect a 1-0 lead?

The apologists point out that though Avery was hurt for the Sabres he should have kept his mouth shut and toned it down. Why? Part of Avery's arsenal is his mouth. Esa Tikkanen made a living with his mouth and distracted and annoyed many an opponent into poor play. Sather was riding high for a while and getting credit for two great free agency acquisitions. Think about it for a minute. Both of those players, Drury and Gomez, desperately wanted to play for the Rangers. Reminds me of another great catch last year, Brendan Shanahan, who called up the Rangers to sign up. Basically three top players who wanted to come here more than anywhere else. No selling, no effort.

Want to save money? Get rid of the stealth GM whose name is never mentioned in the Garden regardless of the event. Avery may have some negatives, everyone does, but being a detriment to the team is not one of them. The apologists claim that Avery only played a half year with the Rangers and we will need a full year to really judge him. Huh? There were a few Rangers who played a whole year but it seemed like a half year when looking at their stats. However, Stealth Sather has accomplished one thing. He has ensured that Sean Avery will get one of the loudest ovations on opening night intros. What do you think Stealth Sather, Mr. Detriment himself, will get? Will he be there?

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