Messier to be named GM of team Canada for the 2010 WCs
The apprenticeship process continues?
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Sources tell TSN that Hockey Canada will name Mark Messier as its general manager for the 2010 World Hockey Championship.
The 2010 event runs from May 7 to May 23 in Germany.
Messier, who is also the New York Rangers' special assistant to general manager Glen Sather, is said to be "very excited" about his first international experience as a manager.
I think Messier will fully commit himself to learning the job and I think he'll do very well.
Thats pretty optimistic considering he has next to no executive experience and is currently immersed in a 'fly by the seat of his pants' internship that will eventually land him in control of the New York Rangers.
The guy was a great player, a great leader...no doubt about it. But that was on the ice. Its a whole different game in the executive suite.
But thats the Rangers for you. Have to go with that name brand recognition. If you literally pulled any high-ranking exec out of Detroit's front office, Im pretty sure he'd do a better job than an inexperienced Messier.
This is interesting news. Without making any premature calls, id say its perfectly reasonable to suggest Messier is gearing up for some managerial role, even if it isnt for the Rangers.
I'm not thrilled with the idea that Sather is grooming Messier to take over the job.
Still, I have to think that Mess is intelligent enough to realize that the most successful teams around the league aren't building through free agency.
If Messier can garner the same sort of respect that Sather has amongst NHL GM's, while bringing something of a "New NHL" mentality to the fold, I think he could do well enough. But that all remains to be seen.
I'm not thrilled with the idea that Sather is grooming Messier to take over the job.
Still, I have to think that Mess is intelligent enough to realize that the most successful teams around the league aren't building through free agency.
If Messier can garner the same sort of respect that Sather has amongst NHL GM's, while bringing something of a "New NHL" mentality to the fold, I think he could do well enough. But that all remains to be seen.
The part about Sather grooming him is what scares me the most.
It probably means ridiculous overpayment of free agents, trading only with your buddies in Phoenix and Toronto, and a farm system (while getting better) that churns out some admirable NHL talent, but nothing at the elite level.
He's being groomed for a GM position, but who says it's necessarily with the Rangers?
I'd imagine after 2-3 years as assistant GM he'll get impatient to try the real thing -- even more so if he has success as GM of Team Canada.
Does anyone really think Sather will step down by then? (And honestly, if Dolan hasn't fired him by now, nothing short of an OJ Simpson murder + car chase will bring that about.)
My take is that Sather wants Messier to take the reins of a team with cap space, so he has a place to dump the awful contracts he takes on, and another buddy to swap projects with (a la Phoenix). And since cap management certainly isn't one of the skills Sather's tutoring Mess in, maybe it'll work
"Mark, we both know Rozsival is a number one defenseman. He just needs a change of scene. The guy's got a laser of a shot and can put up 40 points for you. <Loaded pause and cigar puff.> Contract? With all that cap space you've got, you'll never even notice. I'll even by the beers after our next round of golf."
He's being groomed for a GM position, but who says it's necessarily with the Rangers?
I'd imagine after 2-3 years as assistant GM he'll get impatient to try the real thing -- even more so if he has success as GM of Team Canada.
Does anyone really think Sather will step down by then? (And honestly, if Dolan hasn't fired him by now, nothing short of an OJ Simpson murder + car chase will bring that about.)
My take is that Sather wants Messier to take the reins of a team with cap space, so he has a place to dump the awful contracts he takes on, and another buddy to swap projects with (a la Phoenix). And since cap management certainly isn't one of the skills Sather's tutoring Mess in, maybe it'll work
"Mark, we both know Rozsival is a number one defenseman. He just needs a change of scene. The guy's got a laser of a shot and can put up 40 points for you. <Loaded pause and cigar puff.> Contract? With all that cap space you've got, you'll never even notice. I'll even by the beers after our next round of golf."
Well, his 2000-2004 stint with the Rangers for starters.
You mean when he was well past his prime (39 - 43 yrs old) and reliving the glory days for a paycheck on a country club team?
People forget that Messier was 36 years old when he went to Vancouver.
Messier was 39 when he came back to the Rangers. Put up 67 points in his first season, then 23 in 47 games in the second, then 40 & 43. That was at the ages of 39, 40, 41, 42, & 43 on some of the worst Rangers teams franchise in history.
To compare Brendan Shanahan who is widely revered for his time here was 37 when he came and 39 when he left. He put up 62 points followed by 46 points on teams which all made the playoffs.
Gretzky is through as a coach. Look at what is happening with the Coyotes right now. Every day that goes by, his coaching history gets dimmer and dimmer.
Well, his 2000-2004 stint with the Rangers for starters.
You have pretty high expectations of a 40+ year old forward (center, no less) in the NHL. I thought Messier played as well as any 41-43 year old forward that I've ever seen. There aren't many that could've done that in this NHL.
You have pretty high expectations of a 40+ year old forward (center, no less) in the NHL. I thought Messier played as well as any 41-43 year old forward that I've ever seen. There aren't many that could've done that in this NHL.
Now we're just rewriting history a bit. Ya know, I think he did play pretty well at times during his second stint here, but Id still characterize it as a failure...on Sather for bringing him back, and on Messier for thinking he was still a star.
If he was brought back as a 3rd liner in a leadership role, that would be great....but for a ton of reasons, injuries, poor roster construction, and narcissism among them, that didnt happen and Messier somehow wound up bring Mr. New York Ranger again when it was well past his time.
But again, the main question is why would you bring anything up from his playing days to suggest he will be a good executive?
You mean when he was well past his prime (39 - 43 yrs old) and reliving the glory days for a paycheck on a country club team?
People forget that Messier was 36 years old when he went to Vancouver.
Messier was 39 when he came back to the Rangers. Put up 67 points in his first season, then 23 in 47 games in the second, then 40 & 43. That was at the ages of 39, 40, 41, 42, & 43 on some of the worst Rangers teams franchise in history.
To compare Brendan Shanahan who is widely revered for his time here was 37 when he came and 39 when he left. He put up 62 points followed by 46 points on teams which all made the playoffs.
One of the biggest reasons those teams sucked was Messier.
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Originally Posted by haohmaru
You have pretty high expectations of a 40+ year old forward (center, no less) in the NHL. I thought Messier played as well as any 41-43 year old forward that I've ever seen. There aren't many that could've done that in this NHL.
First of all, Messier didn't play in THIS NHL. This NHL is a very different league than the pre-lockout version. And even in the NHL he did play in, in his final stint with the Rangers, he was really terrible. He was so bad defensively and so lazy in his own zone...it was just pathetic. As was his very presence.
I think he had no business continuing to play in the league at that point in his career. I can see him being a veteran role player on a contending team, or a mentor on a young rebuilding team. But no, Mark needed to come in and get paid to do ****, so he came back to the Rangers. How could the Rangers even THINK about rebuilding when he came back to the team? Maybe they wouldn't have rebuilt even if he wasn't here, but the fact that he was ensured that they never would. Just look at how things turned out. Whatever we're doing now, if you can call it a rebuild...it only began once he FINALLY left.
He will be a disaster, especially if he's learning from the buffoon from Banff. This team needs to cut ALL TIES to 1994, except in a promotional sense. Keep these guys around to make appearances and things of this nature, but the management of the team needs to be born anew. We need fresh faces with fresh ideas, or at least the ability to ape what is clearly working for a number of clubs in this league. Clubs that don't have nearly the type of resources this team does. We need a Theo Epstein type. And I'm sure they're out there, even if we don't know their names. The problem is, Dolan is FAR too ignorant to do the research and find one of these guys.
One of the biggest reasons those teams sucked was Messier.
The biggest? Seriously? I guess having a defense with the likes of Sylvain Lefebvre, Vlaidimir Malakhov, Igor Ulanov, Dave Karpa, Steve McKenna, Dale Purinton, Tom Poti, Bryan Berard, Peter Smrek, Cory Cross, Boris Mironov, and others had nothing to do with it?
How about having Mike Dunham as our starting goalie?
Bobby Holik as our #1 center?
and Ron Lowe, Bryan Trottier and Glen Sather as our coaches?
The biggest? Seriously? I guess having a defense with the likes of Sylvain Lefebvre, Vlaidimir Malakhov, Igor Ulanov, Dave Karpa, Steve McKenna, Dale Purinton, Tom Poti, Bryan Berard, Peter Smrek, Cory Cross, Boris Mironov, and others had nothing to do with it?
How about having Mike Dunham as our starting goalie?
Bobby Holik as our #1 center?
and Ron Lowe, Bryan Trottier and Glen Sather as our coaches?
I have to agree with Sting that, once Messier was brought back, it pretty much ensured the Rangers would keep importing re-treads in an attempt to get back on top.
Messier was the biggest re-tread of them all at that point.
