Longtime Rangers front-office executive Glen Sather is figuratively hanging up his skates, the team announced Wednesday.
Sather, 80, has been with the Blueshirts in one capacity or another since June 2000, when he was named president and general manager.
Sather served as president for 19 years and general manager for 14 years before spending the final five years of his Rangers tenure as senior advisor to the owner and acting governor.
“Having had the opportunity to be associated with the National Hockey League, specifically the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, has been one of the great privileges of my life,” Sather said in the team’s press release. “I’d like to thank Jim Dolan for giving me the opportunity to work with the Rangers 24 years ago and for his consistent guidance and friendship. I’d like to thank everyone in the Rangers organization for their years of dedication and pursuit of excellence and the family atmosphere they have created. I would also like to thank the great Rangers fans for their passion and loyalty. It’s an experience I’ll treasure forever.”
In his 14 seasons as general manager, Sather has led the team to more wins (556) than any other general manager in franchise history and played the most games in that position (1,114).
He won five Stanley Cups as general manager of the Oilers and was head coach for the first four.
“The National Hockey League congratulates Glen Sather on his retirement and pays tribute to a legendary career,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a league statement. “Glen was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 after a distinguished six-decade career as a player, coach, general manager and executive. Whether with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s, the New York Rangers in recent years or various Canadian national team teams, Sather always demonstrated a keen eye for identifying top talent and a deft hand at getting the most out of that talent.
“Equally important, he cared deeply about his players as people, tried to help them grow as people and supported them through all the challenges on and off the ice. Congratulations to ‘Slut’ on a fantastic career.”
