It was becoming clear this was the only solution for the Rangers, the only one that made enough sense they would wait for it.
How much longer does not have to be pondered any more, as the Blueshirts got their man and John Davidson is returning to the fold to be team president.
One might be inclined to say, “Oh baby!”
Davidson — the longtime Rangers broadcaster, who coined that phrase, and the goalie who led the Blueshirts to the 1979 Stanley Cup final on a bum knee — is deservedly a fan favorite. There is the intelligence and experience that make “J.D.” a home run for the job. There also is the personality and loyalty that make him a match unlike any other to replace a legend like Glen Sather as the man running one of the league’s marquee franchises.
With Sather’s compatriot Jim Schoenfeld also stepping down Thursday, the corner office is all Davidson’s. General manager Jeff Gorton has done a terrific job to get the Rangers to the point at which they’re rounding the corner, but now it’s Davidson at the wheel during the most critical juncture.
There is a lot of work to do. This rebuilding is at a point at which it can either be accelerated or slow-played through a plethora of big-time decisions. There are the two first-round picks, including No. 2 overall that represents the Rangers’ best draft position since they took Brad Park in the 1966 amateur draft.
So Davidson will be closely watching the NHL combine that comes in two weeks in Buffalo, studying to understand what he will get in either Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko after the Devils pick at No. 1. And Davidson will be scouring the market, inquiring about Evgeni Malkin, thinking about buying out Kevin Shattenkirk, evaluating exactly what he has in Harvard defenseman Adam Fox.
Maybe most importantly, Davidson has the inside knowledge of the exact worth of Artemi Panarin, the electric Russian winger who was under his stewardship in Columbus for the past two seasons and will hit the market on July 1 as the most coveted free agent. To be able to make a competitive offer with the Panthers in tax-free Florida, the Rangers might have to be in the neighborhood of $10 or $11 million per year. That is a major investment, and likely the biggest decision this team has had to make since “The Letter” went out in February 2018.
There is no denying the Rangers are moving in the right direction. They made their run, got as close as Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup final. So credit to Sather and Schoenfeld and Gorton for getting them to that point. But just as much credit goes to them for knowing when to pull the plug.
Cleaning house while stockpiling picks and prospects was the easy part. The idea of rebuilding is refreshing during a phase like that.
It gets a lot harder to stomach when it comes to evaluating exactly what is left. This is where franchises can go off the rails for years, if not into a perpetual cycle of self-sabotage and delusion. A relatively clean slate is also an open canvas for new mistakes.
And there are landmines left all over this landscape.
Like what kind of future does former No. 7-overall Lias Andersson have? Where does restricted free agent Pavel Buchnevich fit in as he enters the offseason with arbitration rights? How about the Rangers’ top pick from this past draft (No. 9 overall), the precocious 19-year-old forward Vitali Kravtsov, who will be in training camp?
Oh, and then there is the goalie.
Just what is the approach to 37-year-old Henrik Lundqvist, who has two more years left on his deal at $8.5 million per and has been nothing less than the club’s backbone for a decade and a loyal trooper during this turbulent time? With Alex Georgiev showing flashes of potential this past season, and with unknown prodigy Igor Shesterkin coming over from the KHL, what is the Rangers’ future in nets — the place where Davidson so admirably patrolled from 1975 until the early 1980s before injuries derailed him?
These are good questions to have. The Rangers are in a good place, still in familiar hands. There is continuity in this transition while also bringing renewed perspective.
“Today is the start of a new and exciting chapter in New York Rangers history,” Garden chairman James Dolan said in a statement.
Dolan hired the right guy. The only guy. Now it’s to be seen if J.D. can do the job.