A clearly jilted Mark Messier criticizes Rangers for front office moves

Sounds like Moose is choked he didn't get the gig!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
A clearly jilted Mark Messier criticizes Rangers for front office moves
Zuma Press

In case you missed the news yesterday, New York Rangers owner James Dolan shocked the hockey world by unceremoniously firing GM Jeff Gorton and President John Davidson. Chris Drury, formerly the team's assistant GM, has been promoted to take over both positions immediately.

Interestingly enough, another former Rangers player, a legend in fact, sounds jilted that he wasn't considered for the job(s). Mark Messier has long served as an advisor to the team since retiring in 2005 and judging by his words yesterday he'd like a shot at the GM position.

“I’ve made it very clear that I’ve been standing by ready to help out in any way for many years,” said the former Rangers captain to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “I don’t really know what else to say."

“Hockey is what I do, it’s what I’ve done my whole life. You either are a hockey person or you’re not. There’s no one person that’s perfect for any job, whether you’re a coach or a manager, you need people and support around you to help you in areas that you’re deficient in.”

I've got the say, the entitlement from Messier here is pretty staggering. Here's a guy he has no real hands on experience in the GM role, yet he wants to take over a $1.65 billion organization because why? Because he won a Stanley Cup with this team nearly 30 years ago? 

Again, the entitlement is off the charts. Even more wild is the fact that Messier essentially just tossed all the work Gorton and Davidson have done over the past two years because he doesn't feel the team is tough enough.

Check out this whopper of a statement from Moose:

“In my opinion, if you’re going to win, you got to be able to win in the street and the alley,” he said. “I particularly would not have built the team that didn’t have answers in this regard.”

Fair enough, but maybe that's a conversation you should have with James Dolan, not the New York Post. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Messier is next in line for the job given just how impatient and reactionary Dolan can be.