Glen Sather to Assume Head Coaching Duties

[VodkaFish]

New York - New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that he will assume the head coachingresponsibilities of the hockey team, effective immediately.

Sather, who was named the Rangers' 12th President and 10th General Manager on June 1, 2000, becomes the 31st head coach in franchise history. This will mark the third NHL coaching stint of his professional career, following two separate coaching runs with the Edmonton Oilers (1979-80 through 1988-89 and 1993-94).

Upon his retirement as a player following the 1976-77 season, Sather immediately joined the coaching ranks, guiding the Edmonton Oilers to 12 straight WHA and NHL playoff appearances, four Stanley Cup Championships and five Stanley Cup Finals appearances between 1977 and 1989. Sather added the title of General Manager on June 15, 1979, and was named the team's President prior to the 1982-83 season. He relinquished his coaching duties on June 12, 1989, but returned behind the bench for the remainder of the 1993-94 campaign after relieving Ted Green in November of that season. In 842 NHL regular season games as head coach, Sather compiled a record of 464-268-110 (.616 winning percentage), ranking seventh on the NHL's all-time coaching list with 464 victories and third with a .616 winning percentage (minimum 400 games coached). In 126 Stanley Cup playoff games, Sather posted a record of 89-37 (.706 winning percentage), ranking fourth on the all-time list for playoff wins with 89 and first with a .706 playoff winning percentage. He received the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's Coach of the Year in 1985-86 and is one of only six coaches to coach in five or more NHL All-Star Games.

Sather joined the Rangers following a 24-year career with the Edmonton Oilers, where he led the Oilers to five Stanley Cup Championships between 1984 and 1990. During his tenure with the Oilers, the club posted a 791-660-215 record in 1,666 regular season games (.539 winning percentage), capturing three President's Trophies, six division titles and six conference championships. In Stanley Cup playoff action, Sather's teams compiled a 133-82 record in 215 games (.619 winning percentage), leading to the club's five Stanley Cup titles. His achievements were recognized and honored on September 9, 1997 when he became the first member of the Edmonton Oilers organization to be selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Sather's management and coaching experience and success also carries over to the international arena. He served as Team Canada's General Manager and Coach for the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. He also guided Team Canada's 1994 Canada Cup Championship and was the General Manager of the gold medal-winning team in the 1994 World Hockey Championships.

A native of High River, Alberta, Sather played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars. In 658 NHL regular season games, the feisty winger would register 80 goals and 113 assists for 193 points, along with 724 penalty minutes.

As a member of the New York Rangers from 1970 through 1974, Sather appeared in 188 regular season games, registering 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points, along with 193 penalty minutes. In addition, he was a member of the 1971-72 Rangers club which advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

[Gygax]

Good. This should prove to be the nail in the coffin for Sather's job. Good riddance Glen![(!][V]

[TheSportsGuy]

Being an Edmonton fan since birth, I'm glad to see Slats with some egg on his face. Ditched the Oil to take control of the big payroll and the Rangers have done squat since.

[houda27]

[||] [ptied] WHat the hell is goin on with this team

[vic714]

now sather will see if he can coach,with no gretzky,coffey,kurri,fuhr and anderson how good of a coach is he ?,I could have coached that team and won.muckler won in edmonton also,but when they left they did not do too good.

[kidcollins]

Well, with Slats at the helm the team will tusn it around now!! They will surely win 10 of the next 13 games..he is pure genius! Not!! He is 1 of the most overrated coaches/Gm's ever. The Rangers will continue to play poorly, too many ego's, with Sather being the king of ego. I am too happy to see him suffer, he is useless, Oilers are 10x better off with Lowe as Gm then Slats....

[BigGeorges37]

I agree with everything you just said kidcollins!

[KiddYidd]

Sather just guaranteed the Rangers would make the playoffs!....I feel better now[xx(]

[J_Shelley45]

I believe Slats is in the process of working himself out of a job. Thank goodness!!!!! Will his ego fit behind the bench?!?!

[BMcRae17]

Good I hope he does lose his job for guaranteeing to make playoffs. Can't wait for the next NYR-Pens game. Another Pens slaughtering!

[fridge29]

Oh no, now Clarke will try to show him up, fire Hitch, and get behind the bench. Can Slats fire himself now?

[vic714]

bmcrae,dont forget messier made the same promise when he signed with them from vancouver,but since the media and most ranger fans kiss his ass he gets a pass.