Glen Sather retiring from NHL after 24 years with Rangers

Rangers longtime front office executive Glen Sather is metaphorically hanging up the skates, the team announced Wednesday.

Sather, 80, has been with the Blueshirts in some capacity since June 2000, when he was named president and general manager.

After serving as president for 19 years and GM for 14, Sather held the role of senior advisor to the owner and alternate governor for the final five years of his tenure with the Rangers.

“Having the opportunity to be associated with the National Hockey League, and specifically the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, has been one of the great privileges of my life,” Sather said in a team press release. “I want to thank Jim Dolan for giving me the chance to work for the Rangers 24 years ago and for his consistent guidance and friendship. I want to thank everyone in the Rangers organization for their dedication and pursuit of excellence throughout the years, as well as the family atmosphere they helped create. I would also like to thank the great Rangers fans for their passion and loyalty. This experience is something I will always treasure.”

Over his 14 seasons as general manager, Sather earned more wins (556) and held the position for more games (1,114) than any other GM in franchise history.

He won five Stanley Cups as the Oilers general manager, also serving as the head coach for the first four.

“The National Hockey League congratulates Glen Sather on his retirement and salutes him for his legendary career,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a league statement. “Glen enjoyed a remarkable six-decade career as a Player, coach, general manager and executive that earned him election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997. Whether with the dynastic Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s, the contending New York Rangers clubs of recent years or various iterations of Team Canada, Sather always showed a keen eye for elite talent and a deft touch for bringing out its best.

“As important, he cared deeply about his players as people, sought to develop them as men and supported them through any off-ice challenges. Congratulations, ‘Slats,’ on a remarkable career.”