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For on Wednesday, in a shocking development, president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton were both dismissed by CEO Jim Dolan, a source told The Post.
A season of upheaval has now produced this ultimate day of upheaval for the Rangers.
On Wednesday, in a shocking development, president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton were both dismissed by CEO Jim Dolan, a source told The Post.
Assistant GM Chris Drury is believed to be the leading candidate to fill the post of GM while Dolan conducts a hunt for a president that is expected to have Mark Messier at the top of the wish list.
Drury has been part of the Blueshirts’ management team for six years and an assistant GM for five. The next GM will make the decision on the fate of head coach David Quinn, who has two years remaining on his contract.
The Blueshirts, eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth straight year on Monday, have taken significant strides since embarking on their rebuild as foretold by The Letter of Feb. 18, 2018, moving from 26th overall in 2018-19 to their current standing of 14th in the NHL.
Gorton and then-president Glen Sather were the signatories of The Letter that presaged the club’s rebuild program. Davidson, the extremely popular former Blueshirts goaltender and MSG Network analyst, succeeded Sather as president two years ago, on May 17, 2019, after being lured from Columbus to oversee the rebuild.
But a divergence of philosophies emerged between Dolan and the Davidson-Gorton ticket, with sources indicating that the CEO believes it is time to take the next step in this process while the front office people have continued to preach patience and a longer-view panoramic take on situation.
As well, it is believed that the hockey hierarchy’s collection of skill players at the expense of will players did not sit well with Dolan. The recent mismatches against the Islanders highlighted the team’s deficiencies in grit and leadership and may have accelerated, if not prompted, this stunning decision.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Larry Brooks
