2012 NHL Playoffs: Was Glen Sather Right To Not Make A Move At The Trade Deadline?

Now that the New York Rangers' season has come to an end, it's time to start sorting out what happened this past season. And what better place to start than with Rangers General Manager Glen Sather?

You don't need me to remind you that the Rangers didn't make a play for Rick Nash at the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline (at the time, we looked at both the positives and the negatives of the non-move). Well, actually, they did make a play for the sniper -- but Scott Howson turned Sather's final offer down.

There were a variety of reasons for Howson's decision, but the main reason why the deal was rejected was because Sather was unwilling to include Chris Kreider in a deal for the former first overall pick. And after watching him work in the playoffs, it was obviously the right choice.

But was not making any moves at the deadline the right choice?

Join me after the jump for more.

The Rangers lone acquisition at the deadline was churning a fifth-round draft selection into John Scott. Scott wouldn't play in a single playoff game. The only other move Sather made was shipping Wojtek Wolski to the Florida Panthers for a third-round pick.

For a team which needed offense badly -- and this obviously wasn't news to the Rangers' brass since Sather did make a significant play for Nash -- it seems curious that he wouldn't at least kick the tires on a few scorers to add some offensive punch. But, after the deadline was over and information started trickling out about asking prices and availability, it seemed like that was the only play for Sather. Unless he was willing to sacrifice prospects and picks for an older veteran, which he wasn't.

You see, this past season was probably the worst possible in terms of an exciting trade deadline. There were too many buyers and not enough sellers. Throw that together with the sellers putting massive price tags on their expendable parts (a first-round draft pick for Paul Gaustad), a move from Sather wouldn't have made any sense.

Here's what the Rangers didn't do at the deadline: They didn't bring in any extra offense, and they also didn't mortgage their future. Thanks to Howson turning down Sather's final offer the Rangers still have a highly-touted defensive prospect in Tim Erixon, last year's first-round draft pick J.T. Miller (who took a major step forward this year), OHL sniper Christian Thomas, Brandon Dubinsky and this year's first-round draft pick. And, because Sather stuck to his guns, they have Kreider too.

The youth is one of the biggest positives for the Rangers. As are all the prospects they have in their farm system. Prospects which Sather refused to move at the deadline. At the end of the day, I think Sather made the right decision. The youth is one of the biggest things this team has going in its favor. The youth is what makes Friday's loss sting less, even if it stings just a little bit less.

Thoughts?