New York Rangers assistant general manager Jeff Gorton is a hot name in league circles, but the team appears interested in keeping him in the organization.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs were denied permission to speak with Gorton and there are rumblings within the NHL that the Rangers could be planning for Gorton to eventually replace president and GM Glen Sather.
“Last year, the New York Rangers declined permission for (assistant GM) Jeff Gorton to interview in Pittsburgh,” Friedman said Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada. “It reportedly happened with Boston and Toronto so far while the team was in the playoffs.
“Is permission being refused because Gorton is the potential successor for Glen Sather?”
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: | Broadcast Schedule
Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE | Stanley Cup Playoffs Fantasy Hockey
New Sportsnet app: iTunes | Google Play
Earlier in the week, Sather confirmed that the Bruins were not granted permission to speak with their assistant GM.
“I haven’t given permission to anybody to speak to anyone and I won’t as long as we’re playing,” Rangers GM Glen Sather told The New York Post following the club’s morning skate preceding Monday’s Game 3 against the Capitals. “And there’s a question whether I would, anyway, after it’s over.”
Gorton has spent the last eight years with the Rangers in a front office role, including four as an assistant GM. He previously spent 15 years with the Bruins.
As the acting GM with the Bruins before the club hired Peter Chiarelli, Gorton helped Boston acquire goaltender Tuukka Rask from the Maple Leafs and signed Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard as free agents.
