to make the playoffs from the 1997–98 season until the 2004–05 NHL lockout, despite leading the league in payroll in most of those years. This was the longest playoff drought in the franchise's history, in part due to questionable, expensive free-agent signings, such as Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, and Theo Fleury. Despite fan and media calls for the team's general manager Glen Sather to be fired for the organization's shortcomings, Sather was retained. However, since the resolution of the NHL lockout in 2005, Dolan has allowed Sather to rebuild from the ground up, which has led to a revival of the club and the organization, leading to a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2012, their first since 1997, and to the Stanely Cup Finals in 2014. However, when Dolan spoke of the team's Stanley Cup chances in January 2012, Rangers head coach John Tortorella took issue with his remarks. "I have my owner up here talking about a Stanley Cup. That's a bunch of bullshit," Tortorella said in response. "We need to take it one game at a time." On January 26, 2023, Dolan threatened to ban alcohol at an upcoming Rangers game after the New York State Liquor Authority opened an investigation into his use of facial recognition. New York Liberty On May 5, 2015, Dolan announced that Isiah Thomas would serve as president of the WNBA's Liberty. Considering Thomas' history being both a failed President/GM of the Knicks and Thomas being implicated in the Anucha Browne-Sanders sexual harassment incident, Dolan's judgment was questioned by many fans and members of the press. Los Angeles Clippers Arena In an ongoing lawsuit between the Madison Square Garden Company and the city of Inglewood, California, Dolan is said to be trying to avoid being deposed in the case. The Los Angeles Clippers want to build a new arena, which would compete directly with The Forum, which is owned by the Madison Square Garden Company. In December 2018, the Madison Square Garden Company was countersued by the Clippers for trying to prevent the construction of a competing arena. In March 2019, leaked emails revealed that Irving Azoff attempted to lure the Los Angeles Lakers back to The Forum after their lease at the Staples Center was up. Despite nothing coming of the proposal, Azoff's proposal to re-purpose The Forum was seen as a way of preventing the Clippers from building their