In today’s News & Notes, Glen Sather is transitioning roles with the New York Rangers, the Toronto Marlies have signed Justin Brazeau and the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled Adam Clendening and Alexandre Texier from the AHL.
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Sather to Transition Away From Rangers’ President
Change is on the horizon in New York as the Rangers are set to search for a new team president with Sather transitioning from his current role to become a senior advisor to the owner and alternate governor.
Jeff Gorton will remain as the team’s general manager and the search for the new team president will start immediately.
I want to thank Jim Dolan for a great partnership working together over the last 19 years, and to everyone in the Rangers organization. It has been a privilege to represent New York and our great fans,” Sather said of his time in New York. “I truly believe the team is headed in the right direction and think the future is bright. I look forward to transitioning to a different role and continuing to play a part in building the next Rangers Stanley Cup contender.
Glen Sather, NHL.com
James L. Dolan, the chairman and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, mentioned that Sather has been integral to the Rangers’ continued success and strong culture since joining the team.
“Since he first joined the Rangers 19 years ago, Glen Sather has been singularly focused on delivering our fans a team that can consistently compete for the Stanley Cup,” Dolan said of Sather’s tenure in New York. “In doing so, Glen has become one of the most successful executives in Rangers history, and his current strategy has set the team on the right path to achieve our ultimate goal. Glen and I will work closely together to identify his successor. We thank Glen for his dedication to the Rangers, and to all of hockey, and look forward to his continued contributions to our team in his advisory role.”
James L. Dolan, NHL.com
Sather would join the Rangers in 2000 and became the team’s 12th president and 10th general manager. During his time with the team, he’s earned more wins (556) than any other general manager in franchise history. The team would also make the postseason 11 times in a 12-season span from 2005-06 until 2016-17.
Marlies Sign Brazeau
The Marlies made a major signing Thursday when they announced that they signed Brazeau to a two-year AHL contract. The highly-sought after forward is coming off of a career-year that saw him score 61 goals and 113 points in just 68 games with North Bay in the OHL as the team’s captain.
Brazeau would finish his OHL career with 128 goals and 238 points in 268 career games with the Battalion in the OHL. While he was expected to garner a lot of NHL interest, it’s possible that his decision to sign in Toronto with the Marlie as opposed to with an NHL franchise was two-fold.
For starts, playing in Toronto is a cool opportunity for Brazeau who is from New Liskeard, Ontario. Additionally, Brazeau’s performance as a 6-foot-6, 226-pound overager in the OHL likely caused some hesitation from NHL franchise as far as offering an NHL contract was concerned.
Despite the concerns, Brazeau becoming a free asset in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization is a big win for the Toronto franchise.
Blue Jackets Recall Clendening & Texier
The Blue Jackets would make some moves Thursday when general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced that the team has recalled Clendening and Texier from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.
The 26-year-old Clendening has played in four games in Columbus this season and has recorded three shots without a point. He’s scored four goals and 24 point sin 90 career NHL games split between Columbus, Arizona, the New York Rangers, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Vancouver and Chicago.
In 43 AHL games this season, Clendening has scored four goals and 36 points.
The 19-year-old Texier has yet to make his NHL debut and has scored an impressive five goals and seven points in seven games in Cleveland this season. He also just scored 14 goals and 41 points in 55 games with Kalpa Kuipio of the Finnish Elite League.