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There is an article that I found through CNNSI rumors, it is from the NY Post:
July 8, 2007 -- KEVIN Lowe woke up from his crying jag, stamped his feet, spit out his Binky, then revealed himself to be a hypocrite in explaining that the $50 million Group II offer sheet the Oilers extended to Buffalo winger Thomas Vanek was "about winning."
"It's a business," Lowe announced Friday. "Take the personal out of it."
Lowe, who once held out as an Oilers player in order to force a trade to the Rangers and thus enrich his bank account only to subsequently deride Edmonton players who sought fair-market value for themselves after he became GM, is one of the least genuine suits in the game. That's saying something.
Here's the thing. If Lowe truly was interested in winning and was willing to take the personal out of it in order to achieve that objective, the GM would have gone straight after Henrik Lundqvist with a Group II offer sheet of $9 million per that would have forced the Rangers to dismantle their projected roster in order to match.
Lundqvist was the singular franchise player on the Group II market as of Friday, and the Rangers already were facing salary-cap-squeeze restrictions that have prevented them from giving the goaltender a long-term deal even at $5 million per season. Had Lowe - whose team is questionable in nets - gone after Lundqvist at $9 million, the Rangers would not have been able to sign Brendan Shanahan. They might have found themselves forced to walk away from Sean Avery's salary arbitration. They might have been required to move Petr Prucha at $1.6 million.
But Lowe didn't go after the best player on the market and he didn't go after the most cap-vulnerable franchise in the NHL. He didn't do that because of his longtime friendship with Glen Sather, that's why he didn't do it, and everyone knows it. His decision to attempt to raid Buffalo for a winger rather than the Rangers for a franchise goaltender had nothing to do with winning and nothing to do with business and everything to do with personal.
Now, this smart businessman whose ownership for years has claimed to carry the banner for small-market franchises, has established a $7 million salary-arbitration comparable for a 23-year-old winger with 68 goals in his first two NHL seasons.
July 8, 2007 -- KEVIN Lowe woke up from his crying jag, stamped his feet, spit out his Binky, then revealed himself to be a hypocrite in explaining that the $50 million Group II offer sheet the Oilers extended to Buffalo winger Thomas Vanek was "about winning."
"It's a business," Lowe announced Friday. "Take the personal out of it."
Lowe, who once held out as an Oilers player in order to force a trade to the Rangers and thus enrich his bank account only to subsequently deride Edmonton players who sought fair-market value for themselves after he became GM, is one of the least genuine suits in the game. That's saying something.
Here's the thing. If Lowe truly was interested in winning and was willing to take the personal out of it in order to achieve that objective, the GM would have gone straight after Henrik Lundqvist with a Group II offer sheet of $9 million per that would have forced the Rangers to dismantle their projected roster in order to match.
Lundqvist was the singular franchise player on the Group II market as of Friday, and the Rangers already were facing salary-cap-squeeze restrictions that have prevented them from giving the goaltender a long-term deal even at $5 million per season. Had Lowe - whose team is questionable in nets - gone after Lundqvist at $9 million, the Rangers would not have been able to sign Brendan Shanahan. They might have found themselves forced to walk away from Sean Avery's salary arbitration. They might have been required to move Petr Prucha at $1.6 million.
But Lowe didn't go after the best player on the market and he didn't go after the most cap-vulnerable franchise in the NHL. He didn't do that because of his longtime friendship with Glen Sather, that's why he didn't do it, and everyone knows it. His decision to attempt to raid Buffalo for a winger rather than the Rangers for a franchise goaltender had nothing to do with winning and nothing to do with business and everything to do with personal.
Now, this smart businessman whose ownership for years has claimed to carry the banner for small-market franchises, has established a $7 million salary-arbitration comparable for a 23-year-old winger with 68 goals in his first two NHL seasons.
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