ON MONDAY night, Dave Checketts outlined the qualities he is seeking in the individual who will succeed Neil Smith as Ranger GM.
The Garden president said he’s searching for an individual “with a record of success … who [has] been part of a successful organization … and has demonstrated an understanding of what’s required to win.”
There is no one who meets those specifications to a greater degree than my old friend Jacques Lemaire.
He has a ring for each finger, having won 10 Stanley Cups, eight as a player, one as an assistant GM, one as a head coach for the 1995 playoff machine known as the Devils. He has spent a lifetime — save for those five franchise-altering years across the Hudson — with Montreal, where understanding what’s required to win comes with breathing.
Lemaire knows players and he understands how to build organizations and his very presence demands respect few others in the sport elicit. What else was it that Checketts said on Monday? This is what else he said:
“We need to restore the dignity of the franchise, which was lost this year.”
Lemaire has nothing but disdain for the media (more for some than for others; no names necessary at this time) and despises the second-guessing that comes with the spotlight. It’s why he stepped down as Montreal coach in 1985, it’s why he could never coach the Rangers.
But general managers are not subject to the same daily scrutiny under which coaches operate. General managers have no obligation to speak with the media on a daily basis. In fact, the next Ranger general manager had better be too busy to deal with the media on much more than a need-to-inform basis. The fewer leaks the better, certainly after all of the posturing and spinning that has infected the Ranger scene for the last seven years.
I couldn’t care less whether the next GM is media-friendly or not, and neither should Checketts. George Young never struck me as a sweetheart, yet the Giants managed to overcome his PR flaws well enough. Bill Parcells, despite having a radio guy as his valet, is probably the most obnoxious individual ever in dealing with the media, yet his teams have been rather well-regarded around here. On the list of the top 100 items among the criteria for the next GM, media-friendliness comes in at No. 101.
The question about Lemaire concerns his desire to do the job, to put in all of the grunt work that’s going to be necessary to rebuild the franchise. This is no easy task. The next GM may have to recommend the Garden eat millions in order to buy its way out of bad contracts and cleanse the polluted atmosphere that hovers over the locker rooms in Manhattan and Rye. If so, Lemaire has the clout to get it done.
But does Lemaire, who enjoys getting a tan as much as the next guy and more than most, in fact; does Lemaire, who enjoys his winter freedom to repair to the waters of Florida while acting as Montreal GM Rejean Houle’s assistant; does Lemaire have the desire to get his hands dirty here?
The man has an ego, bigger even than mine, so the challenge of fixing the mess in the NHL’s biggest media market accompanied by the prospect of basking in the accolades once the job is accomplished, would certainly play into that aspect of Lemaire’s personality. The money is likely to be pretty sweet, as well.
Lemaire will be 55 in September, just two years older than St. Louis’ Larry Pleau, who would be at the top of anyone’s list were he a free agent, and just one year older than Pittsburgh’s Craig Patrick, whose contractual status Checketts is guaranteed to check. In other words, Lemaire is certainly young enough for the job; vital enough, too.
In 1993, the Devils were in shambles, nothing more than an exit ramp on the NHL map. Lou Lamoriello had the foresight and imagination to bring Lemaire out of retirement and to the Meadowlands, where he — working hand in fist (fist in fist might be more like it) with the GM — created one of the league’s most powerful organizations.
Now, seven years later, the Rangers are in shambles, their very legitimacy under scrutiny. And up in Montreal, there again is Lemaire, blessed with every quality Checketts is seeking in a general manager.
There is Lemaire, who would walk down the St. Lawrence Seaway on his way to the Garden, on his way to turning the Rangers around, on his way to becoming someone very important in New York.