New York Rangers History.
New York Rangers,
professional ice hockey team and one of five teams in the Atlantic
Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Rangers play at Madison Square Garden in New York City and wear
uniforms of blue, red, and white.
The Rangers were one of
the NHL’s most dominant clubs in the league’s early years, reaching the
Stanley Cup Finals six times and claiming three league titles from 1928
to 1940. New York’s championship teams of 1928 and 1933 featured
forwards Frank Boucher and brothers Bill and Bun Cook—-all future Hockey
Hall of Fame members. In 1994 center Mark Messier, left wing Adam
Graves, and defenseman Brian Leetch led the Rangers to their first NHL
title in 54 years. After the 1995-96 season the Rangers signed renowned
center Wayne Gretzky as a free agent.
The Rangers were founded in 1926 by G. L. “Tex” Rickard, the president
of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Local sportswriters dubbed the
new team “Tex’s Rangers.” A former defenseman for several Canadian
amateur and professional hockey teams and co-founder of the Pacific
Coast Hockey League, Lester Patrick became the team’s first head coach.
The NHL’s Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to the sport of
hockey in the United States, first awarded in 1966, is named for him.
Under Patrick’s direction the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals
five times. They won the Stanley Cup in 1928 when they defeated the
Montréal Maroons 3 games to 2. In game two of the series, Rangers goalie
Lorne Chabot was knocked unconscious by the puck, and the 44-year-old
Patrick took his place, registering 18 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory.
The Rangers won the Stanley Cup again in 1933 when they defeated the
Toronto Maple Leafs 3 games to 1. Bill Cook earned the Art Ross Award as
the league’s leading scorer in both 1927 and 1933. Frank Boucher earned
seven Lady Byng Trophies (1928-1931, 1933-1935) as the league’s most
gentlemanly and sportsmanlike player.
In 1940 Frank Boucher became head coach. In his first season he took the
Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they defeated the Maple Leafs 4
games to 2. Dave Kerr, who was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s
most outstanding goaltender that year, anchored the defense. Other
notable players on the team included center Neil Colville, defenseman
Art Coulter, and right wing Bryan Hextall, all future Hockey Hall of
Fame members.
In 1949 former left wing Lynn Patrick, Lester Patrick’s son, became the
Rangers’ head coach. He led New York to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1950,
but they lost to the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3. Center Buddy
O’Connor and goalie Chuck Rayner—both eventual Hockey Hall of Fame
members—led the lineup. Two years earlier O’Connor had become the first
New York player to earn the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most
valuable player (MVP). Rayner earned the MVP award in 1950.
From 1951 to 1966 the Rangers registered just two winning records and
qualified for the playoffs only four times. Notable individual
achievements during that span included right wing Andy Bathgate being
named league MVP in 1959; Doug Harvey winning the James Norris Memorial
Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 1962; and goalie Lorne “Gump”
Worsley and center Camille Henry winning the Calder Memorial Award for
the NHL’s rookie of the year, in 1953 and 1954, respectively.
Under head coach Emile Francis, the Rangers re-emerged as an NHL power
in 1967, making the first of nine consecutive playoff appearances. Left
wing Vic Hadfield and center Jean Ratelle led the Rangers to the Stanley
Cup Finals in 1972, where they lost to the Boston Bruins 4 games to 2.
With center Phil Esposito leading the team, the Rangers made another
trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979, losing to the Montréal Canadiens
4 games to 1.
The Rangers’ failure to win another NHL championship ended in 1994 when,
under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Keenan, they defeated
the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 3. Adam
Graves scored 52 goals during the regular season, and Mark Messier, who
had previously earned five championships with the Edmonton Oilers,
provided a valuable leadership role. Brian Leetch emerged as one of the
league’s finest defensemen. In 1996 Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time
leading scorer and Messier’s longtime teammate in Edmonton, joined the
Rangers. Led by Gretzky and Messier in the 1996-97 season, the team
advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs but lost in that
round to the Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 1. Before the start of the
1997-98 season, Messier left the Rangers as a free agent. Despite an
experienced roster that featured Gretzky, Leetch, left wing Kevin
Stevens, and goalie Mike Richter, the Rangers failed to qualify for a
playoff berth in 1998 and 1999. Gretzky retired after the 1999 season.
|
Betts |
Blair
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
$650,000.00 |
|
Bouchard |
Joel
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Bure |
Pavel
|
Right
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Dunham |
Michael
|
Goal |
New York
Rangers |
$3,600,000.00 |
|
Green |
Josh
|
Left
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Green |
Mike
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Hlavac |
Jan
|
Left
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Holik |
Robert
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
$8,850,000.00 |
|
Jagr |
Jaromir
|
Right
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
$11,000,000.00 |
|
Kasparaitis |
Darius
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$4,400,000.00 |
|
LaCouture |
Dan
|
Left
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Lindros |
Eric
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Lundmark |
Jamie
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
$1,127,500.00 |
|
Marshall |
Jason
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$600,000.00 |
|
McAllister |
Chris
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
McCarthy |
Sandy
|
Right
Wing |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Messier |
Mark
Douglas
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Mironov |
Boris
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Nylander |
Michael
|
Centre |
New York
Rangers |
$2,900,000.00 |
|
Poti |
Tom
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$3,100,000.00 |
|
Purinton |
Dale
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$650,000.00 |
|
Rachunek |
Karel
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$1,500,000.00 |
|
Richter |
Mike
|
Goal |
New York
Rangers |
Unsigned
|
|
Strudwick |
Jason
|
Defence |
New York
Rangers |
$625,000.00 |
|
Weekes |
Kevin
|
Goal |
New York
Rangers |
$1,375,000.00 |
|
