Glen Sather won five Stanley Cups when he was with the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers, and when the magic ran out following their last title in 1990, he had quite an interesting quote that has a lot to do with this story. When the Oilers were scrounging for loose change in couch cushions, Sather remarked that if he had the same budget at the Rangers that he'd win the Stanley Cup every year.
History would later show that statement to be wildly untrue, although the team did get close in 2013-14. With that quote from "Slats" top of mind, I want to take a trip down memory lane and look at quite possibly the biggest waste of money in franchise history.
The Rangers took big and expensive gamble to sign rival forward
The Rangers went through a prolonged period of despair in the late 1990s and early 2000s that are known by fans as the "Dark Ages", and one such player that feels like the perfect representation of that is Bobby Holík. Holík was the 10th overall pick back in 1989 by the Hartford Whalers, and he is best known for his tenure with the New Jersey Devils.
Holík spent 786 games with New Jersey across 11 seasons and scored 202 goals while adding 270 assists for 472 points. Following his age 31 season, Holík was a free agent and the Rangers pounced to pluck the 6'4" and 230 pounder from their cross river rival.
Holík inked a five-year deal worth $45 million dollars, and his contract was worth $9 million a year in a time before the salary cap was instituted. The thought was Holík would bring some grit and toughness to the Rangers, and with a little more ice time he could be a key contributor.
Holík had a run of seasons from 1996-97 to 2002 where he averaged 23 goals and 57 points while skating just 16:55 per night, so in theory the vision of him bringing his two-way game while elevating his offense playing more minutes sounded good in theory. Unfortunately that didn't work out as the Rangers expected it would.
Blueshirts' experiment ended up being huge blunder
Holík finished his first season with 16 goals, 19 assists, and 35 points in 64 games, which was a drop of .12 points per game from the prior year in New Jersey. He followed that up with 25 goals, 31 assists, and 56 points in 2003-04, and that would be his final year spent with the Blueshirts.
The 2004-05 season wasn't played due to the NHL lockout, and when play resumed in 2005-06, the league had a new salary cap. In order to help teams get under the salary cap, all existing contracts were cut by 24%, so that took Holík's cap hit down to $6.726 million per season. Despite this reduction, it was deemed to be too much for what he brought to the table, and the Rangers bought out the final two years of his contract.
While it seemed like a low stakes move at the time, many critics often point to the Holík deal as one of the reasons the cap was instituted. For a player of his track record and stature, it never made sense, and it ended with the Rangers paying him to go away. Holík joined the Atlanta Thrashers for the next three seasons where he put up 96 points in 228 games, and retired after one final season with the Devils in 2008-09.
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