Rangers all-in on John Davidson gamble that now must work

So now it appears as if it is down to one…one candidate to succeed Glen Sather as Rangers president in the wake of Steve Yzerman’s decision to return to Detroit to become general manager of the Red Wings team he captained to three-Cup glory a couple of decades ago.

That one candidate is John Davidson, and the inference drawn here from the Rangers’ inaction since Sather disclosed his intention to move into a senior adviser’s role on April 4 is that they have a pretty darn good idea that JD is coming once his pesky Blue Jackets exit the playoff stage, even if that might not be until the middle of June.

If not, this makes no sense.

Actually, this makes little sense regardless.

Not for a minute am I suggesting that the Blueshirts would go wrong with Davidson, who has 13 years of experience in the same role for the Blues and Blue Jackets, overseeing revivals of both mid-market franchises. He checks all the boxes. He is a natural for the job. He has been away for a while, but this is home.

Still, the vacancy in the executive suite has created an opportunity for the Rangers to speak to an array of interested, qualified candidates with progressive agendas who might have caught Garden chairman Jim Dolan’s ear. This was an opportunity for ownership to listen to critiques of the organization from persons inside the industry. This was the chance for a fact-finding mission.

But other than reaching out to Yzerman, whom we’re told recently informed the Rangers that he had essentially committed to another endeavor, the Rangers have been idle on this front even as GM Jeff Gorton and his personnel people go about the critical business of scouting and are preparing for the organizational meetings that will commence at Sather’s Western White House on May 5. The Rangers apparently have identified their man and see no need to cast a wider net.

The incoming president will have a huge job that will entail far more than simply being the conduit/buffer between Dolan and Gorton. The president will establish the vision beyond simply reinforcing the rebuild operation. Does coming away with the second-overall pick in the 2019 draft empower the Rangers to accelerate the process or does holding a gem in their pocket instead enable the organization to decelerate?

Is this the time for the Rangers to be bold and consider an offer sheet for either Brayden Point or Mitch Marner if either gets to July 1? By the way, Columbus never offer-sheeted anyone, but threats to extend one to Brandon Saad when the Blackhawks were in a severe cap bind following 2014-15 led to an essentially forced trade in which the winger went to the Jackets. (Two years later, Saad went back to Chicago in a deal for a fellow named Artemi Panarin).

The organization’s infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, re-imagined and expanded just the way the Garden itself was over that three-year period earlier this decade. The operation in Hartford requires a dramatic overhaul. There is no cap on the amount of money a team can invest in scouting, the minor league system, an analytics department or sports science. This is where the Garden can flex its financial muscle. There is no reason in the world that the Rangers should not have the model next-gen operation. No reason why the Rangers should not become the US version of the Maple Leafs, who have been trend setters since Brendan Shanahan assumed the presidency in April of 2014.

This isn’t about Gorton’s ability to do the job. Rather, this is about installing someone who will enhance the GM’s ability to train his focus all but exclusively on what he does best. And that is to focus on procuring players. His July 2016 deal in which the Blueshirts acquired Mika Zibanejad and a second-rounder for Derick Brassard and a seventh has been a grand slam. The trade for Antti Raanta was a steal. Getting Ryan Strome for Ryan Spooner represents a low-grade swindle of the Oilers. The deadline deals of the last two seasons seem to have yielded at least equitable returns.

We don’t quite know about the drafts chaired with Gorton’s blessing by Gord Clark. Lias Andersson’s selection at seventh-overall two years ago is a sticky wicket, but even as No. 50 has been less than advertised through 49 NHL games at age 20, no player drafted soon after has broken out, either. The Vitali Kravtsov choice at ninth-overall last year appears on track.

The Rangers are not seeking a new general manager. They are seeking a president who will transform and modernize the operation that’s been mom-and-pop in a lot of ways. At least that’s what I’d recommend. And Davidson could be exactly the right man for the job. Probably is.

But he had better be, and he had better be coming, because the Rangers haven’t considered the alternative(s).

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