Sather trades away standout after 17-season run at MSG

The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The New York Rangers traded star defenseman Brian Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, ending his 17-season run on Broadway.

Leetch, the second-highest scoring U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history, joined the Rangers in 1988, immediately after playing for the United States in the Calgary Olympics.

“There's a lot of tough deals you have to make,” Rangers general manager Glen Sather said. “This certainly ranks right up there with the toughest.”

The Rangers acquired defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, forward Jarkko Immonen, a first-round pick in this year's draft (#24-Kris Chucko) and a second-round choice in 2005 (#40-Michael Sauer). The Maple Leafs also received a conditional pick.

“Brian is not only one of the best players to ever play for the New York Rangers, he's also a classy individual,” Sather said.

“We feel we did very well with the players we got and the draft choices we got. We felt that going as far as we did go with Toronto was as maximum as we could get.”

Toronto is tied with Ottawa atop the Northeast Division, two points behind Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference lead. The Maple Leafs haven't lifted the Stanley Cup since 1967.

‘We did this to improve our chances to win the Cup this year,” Toronto general manager John Fergusoh Jr. said. “Anything short of our ultimate goal will be disappointing.”

Rangers struggling

The Rangers are well on their way to missing the playoffs for the seventh straight year and fourth since Sather joined the organization in 2000. Sather served only as president and general manager until he took over as coach 54 games into last season when he fired rookie Bryan Trottier.

He held all three jobs until last week when it became clear the Rangers wouldn't reach the postseason.

Sather then decided last Wednesday to give up coaching and concentrate on rebuilding the disappointing club.

Leetch, a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman, helped lead New York to the 1994 Stanley Cup title, the club's first since 1940. He had 11 goals and 23 assists in 23 playoff games to earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

He is second in team history in games played (1,129), and is the leader among defensemen in goals (240), assists (741) and points (981).

“He's got a chance to win the Stanley Cup” Sather said. “He's with a very good club right now and there's nothing but upside for him.”

Leetch was dealt on his 36th birthday and in the first year of a two-year deal that will pay him $6.6 million this season and $64 million next season. Sather wouldn't reveal what other teams were frying to acquire Leetch, but said that it was an involved process.

“We were weighing the options right until the last second,” Sather said. “There were a lot of negotiations going on.”

The former Boston College star has 13 goals and 23 assists in 57 games this season.

We acquired a premier defenseman in the NHL, a Stanley Cup winner,” Ferguson said. “He's scored somewhere close to 1,000 points:

“That comes with a cost. We were comfortable with that cost.”

Leetch played just 51 games last season because of an ankle injury. He aggravated the same injury during this preseason and was forced to sit out the first nine games.

He and Mark Messier were the last links to the Rangers' Stanley Cup team following the retirement this season of goalie Mike Richter and Tuesday's trade of Alex Kovalev to Montreal for forward prospect Josef Balej and a second-round pick this year.

Earlier Wednesday, the Rangers traded center Petr Nedved and goalie Jussi Markkanen to Edmon-
ton for forward Dwight Hehnirien, goalie Stephen Valiquette and a second-round pick this year.

The NHL trade deadline is next Tuesday, and for the first time in years, New York is a seller instead of buyer.

“I thought the time was right to move forward and speed up the rebuilding process,” Sather said. “You have to start with a nucleus of players who have grown up in your organization.”

That will make it difficult to put a competitive team on the ice next season. With three deals in 24 hours, Sather has created a stockpile of young players and several high-
round draft choices.

That's quite a change from a roster of high-priced veterans that made the Rangers' payroll the NHL's most expensive.

“In the end they didn't work so we're making a change,” Sather said. “We're going ahead with a new philosophy.”

Sather said Leetch was not informed about the deal until
after it was completed.

The process reached its crescendo when the Washington Capitals finally traded Sergei Gonchar, the other high-profile defenseman on the market, to Boston earlier Wednesday.

“We've been doing this for a little while now,” Sather said. “The market was really set by what was done with Gonchar.”