Eric Lindros

Groundhog Day

Extreme Views by RangerExtreme

f you’ve ever seen the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray then you know what it’s like to be a Ranger fan. 

Year after year Ranger fans are subjected to the mortgaging of their future in exchange for acquiring players who, shall we say to be kind are “Long In the tooth” or “overpaid underachievers” or sometimes both.

This year however on August 20th when the alarm clock rang on the Rangers annual “Groundhog Day” we awoke  to probably the worst day ever.  The Ranger lame brain-trust had acquired the six times concussed Erica Lindros. Ranger GM President Glen “Slacks” Sather in one bold stroke re-wrote the NYR book of irresponsible management by trading two 25 yr. old players the club’s # 1 prospect in Pavel Brendl and a 3rd round draft pick to obtain what Sather  views as a “Healthy” Eric Lindros”

I will be the first to admit I thought Sather should have been more active up to that point concerning free agents and he should have been. Up until the Lindros signing the only noteworthy UFA’s he had acquired were Vladamir Malakov, Igor Ulanov and Zdeno Ciger.

My mistake in evaluating Sather was thinking he was going to stand pat with what he had and wallow in complacency.  I pegged Slats a frugal sort whose main goal (if he even had any) was to stop the Ranger fiscal insanity that has been going on for decades now.

I never did buy into the youth movement plan at any point because like every other Ranger “Groundhog Day” it just doesn’t come to fruition….EVER. I could have dealt with pretty much anything Slacks would have done and just chalked it up to an out of touch GM who is horrible at talent evaluation but what transpired on this years Groundhog Day is unconscionable.

I am now thoroughly convinced that Sather’s brain is not working on all cylinders, especially after hearing him finally talk to the TV and Radio media at length after the Erica signing. Slacks adamantly denies that Erica has suffered 6 concussions. According to Doc Slacks Erica has had only 1 concussion.

He doesn’t care what the doctors say. He in his own stubborn egotistical mind has convinced himself that Erica’s last concussion was the first of his NHL career. I probably could understand this move better if Slacks had just come out and said I am a gambling man and I’m rolling the dice on this one. Even though I don’t agree with it I could accept it, but when this pompous ass comes out and says that the entire medical community is wrong and basically the Flyers are liars when it comes to his head injuries my only conclusion is this guy is off his John Rocker.

Slacks delusional self-convincing in combination with the fact that he insists that the players sent to Philly to get Capt. Concussion had already been replaced before the trade leads me to believe Slacks must have taken a 5 iron to the head on many of his golf outings this summer. Replaced? They had? Hlavac replaced by Ciger? Johnsson replaced by who Darren Van Impe? Brendl replaced by whom? Heisten or Ulmer?

Sather’s comments that the Ranger organization did not take any kind of risk or hit to acquire Erica and that we basically stole a healthy 28 yr. old Lindros from Booby Clarke and the Flyers is a form of dementia I even thought our Slacksy couldn’t attain.

Plus rule 101 of GM’ing is don’t trade within your division there is too much risk of improving a team who is your direct competition. I don’t care how many points separated the Rangers and Flyers last year this trade included all youth on Phillys side and if the Rangers ever do get their act together this is something the Rangers will have to contend with down the road.

I sincerely hope this Groundhog Day is indeed over and that Slacks is done for now. Every GM in the league must be licking his chops to trying to swindle Slacksy now that they have confirmed he is out o his mind after doing this mega stupid deal.

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