Benoit Allaire And Jeff Gorton Have Drawn Attention From Other NHL Clubs
The New York Rangers saw two key staff members draw some outside attention the past two weeks.
For the second time in two weeks the New York Rangers have been involved in transfer rumors. Not player transfers, mind you, but staff ones.
15. With Sean Burke looking for a new organization, Arizona attempted to recruit Rangers' goaltending guru Benoit Allaire. Allaire has a home in the area, but declined. There's a long-term commitment in New York.
That's a scary thought -- although I'm glad to see there's a long-term commitment in New York. I have to assume Henrik Lundqvist is a big part of that (it has to be fun working with one of the best goaltenders in the game) but it should be noted Allaire was a big part of Cam Talbot's success and has some very good prospects to work with in the farm.
Allaire is something of a household name in the NHL -- and it's widely believed the only reason the Rangers were finalists for BU free agent Matt O'Connor was because of the opportunity to work with Allaire -- so it's not surprising Arizona wanted a chance to get him. It is a good thing, however, he wanted to stay in New York. He's a bigger part of the success between the pipes than you'd expect.
It wasn't just Allaire, though. This little tidbit was also from the above story that was linked:
30. I was very surprised no one waited to talk to a Scott Arniel (Rangers) or a Kevin Dineen (Blackhawks) about any of the vacant coaching positions. All were filled beforehand.
It should be noted Arniel was involved in some talks last year for a head coaching vacancy that never materialized. Actually, it was Ulf Samuelsson who came very close to moving on before other teams went in different directions. At this point it appears as though the Rangers coaching staff is going to stay the same, but those things can always change.
And finally, the biggest of the bunch. Last week in Freidman's 30 Thoughts column he mentioned the below two points (bolded emphasis is my own):
6. Can't see the Rangers allowing assistant GM Jeff Gorton to interview in Toronto. The Maple Leafs want to talk to him, but, as I've speculated here, he seems a logical successor to Glen Sather.
14. With Julien BriseBois out, and my belief Gorton is out, that leaves Mike Futa, Mark Hunter and George McPhee as the known candidates for Toronto's GM, although it would not be a surprise if there are possibilities we haven't discovered yet. But, people have to stop thinking about this as a traditional manager position.
This little tidbit becomes even more interesting thanks to the stories going around that Glen Sather is uncertain about continuing his role as general manager next year. Gorton is the likely successor as Friedman points out, but the Rangers have (for at least the past two years) refused to allow other teams to have permission to negotiate with him -- so it's clear there is some fire to all this smoke.
In a way, it's a really good thing when other teams are interested in your staff members. Especially when they decide to stay.
Thoughts?
