New York Rangers

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1926
• Home arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
• Owner: The Madison Square Garden Company
• Team colors: Blue, red, and white

Overview

The New York Rangers is a National Hockey League (NHL) team that plays in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1926, the Rangers were one of the NHL’s “Original Six” teams alongside the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Over the course of their long history, the Rangers have won several Stanley Cup championships and earned numerous other accolades. By the 2019–2020 season, the Rangers amassed an all-time franchise record that included 2,856 wins, 2,693 losses, 808 ties, and 147 overtime losses. Often known for their skilled play and deeply committed fan base, the Rangers are typically counted among the NHL’s most popular teams. The Rangers are also the NHL’s most financially successful team, worth an estimated $1.65 billion in 2019.

In addition to their on-ice play, the New York Rangers also maintain an active commitment to philanthropic endeavors. The team performs much of its charitable work through the Garden of Dreams Foundation. With the help of the Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks, the Garden of Dreams Foundation works with various partner organizations to assist children who struggle with serious problems like extreme poverty, homelessness, and illness. Since its creation in 2006, the Garden of Dreams Foundation has helped improve the lives more than 350,000 children. The Rangers also regularly support important causes and raise much-needed funds through special events like Garden of Dreams Night, Casino Night, and Pride Night. In addition, the Rangers participate in league-wide community programs like Hockey Fights Cancer and Hockey Is for Everyone.

History

The history of the New York Rangers began with George Lewis “Tex” Rickard, an executive who was president of Madison Square Garden in the 1920s. Rickard was awarded an NHL franchise in 1926. At the time, Madison Square Garden was home to the New York Americans, a now-defunct NHL franchise that had been created the previous year. Since hockey was already popular in New York, Rickard was convinced that the city was ready to welcome another team. He also wanted to establish a new team that, unlike the Americans, would be owned directly by Madison Square Garden. Upon securing franchise rights from the NHL, Rickard recruited legendary hockey mastermind Conn Smythe to oversee the process of assembling a roster that would be competitive right out of the gate. Rickard’s new team became known as the Rangers after the New York press began referring to them as “Tex’s Rangers.”

The Rangers took the ice for the first time on November 16, 1926, beating the Montreal Maroons 1–0 at Madison Square Garden. In their inaugural season, the Rangers proved their legitimacy by winning their division with a 25–13–6 record and earning their first playoff berth, eventually losing to the Boston Bruins in the semifinals. The team’s success continued in the next season. After once again making the playoffs, the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Maroons. Trading wins with the Maroons in the first few games, the Rangers eventually took the last two games of the series to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. In the process, they also became the first American NHL team to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Although the Rangers continued to find success in the late-1920s, they failed to repeat their championship feat. That all changed in the 1932–1933 season, a year when the Rangers barely managed to make the playoffs after finishing in third place in their division. However, in the postseason, the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings en route to another appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. In a rematch of the previous year’s Finals, the Rangers squared off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ultimately, the Rangers beat the Maple Leafs with an overtime goal in Game 5 to win their second Stanley Cup.

Throughout the rest the 1930s, the Rangers largely continued to be a yearly playoff contender. After falling short of a return to the Finals for several years, the Rangers had their next big run in the 1939–1940 season. The Rangers entered the playoffs and once again met the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Finals. In Game 6, an overtime goal by forward Bryan Hextall secured the Rangers’ third championship.

New York’s 1940–1941 season proved to be a historic one for all the wrong reasons. On the ice, the Rangers earned a fourth place regular season finish and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The real fireworks took place off the ice, however. At the end of the year, the Rangers evicted the New York Americans from Madison Square Garden—a move that ultimately caused the American to fold. Reacting to the eviction and its consequences, Americans president Red Dutton allegedly put a curse on the Rangers that said they would not win the Stanley Cup again while he was alive. Real or not, Dutton’s prophecy was accurate; the Rangers would not win another Stanley Cup for decades to come.

For rest of the 1940s and through the 1950s, New York only made the playoffs on a handful of occasions. The team’s most notable run during that period came in the 1949–1950 season, which ended with a Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Rangers’ performance improved somewhat in the 1960s and 1970s as the team entered a resurgence period that included more frequent playoff appearances. They also returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1972 and 1979, though they ultimately lost both series.

The Rangers continued to be competitive through the 1980s and into the 1990s. In the 1993-94 season, the Rangers finished the year with a 52-24-8 record and won the President’s Trophy, an annual award given to the team that earns the most regular season points. In the playoffs, the Rangers beat the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and New Jersey Devils to make their triumphant return to the Stanley Cup Finals. Pitted against the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers played through a tough seven-game series to ultimately win their fourth Stanley Cup. As he seemed to predict, this historic win came several years after Red Dutton’s death.

Through the remainder of the 1990s and into the 2010s, the Rangers’ fortunes fluctuated from year-to-year. The team’s best performance in that time came with a losing appearance in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings.

Notable players

Numerous former New York Rangers players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. One of the team’s earliest Hall of Fame players was center Frank Boucher. Part of the Rangers’ famous Bread Line with fellow Hall of Famers Bill and Bun Cook, Boucher was one of the team’s most important contributors in the 1920s and 1930s. In his thirteen years with the Rangers, Boucher scored 152 goals and recorded 262 assists. He also won the NHL’s Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship on several occasions. Center Phil Esposito, perhaps best known for the years he played for the Boston Bruins, spent the latter portion of his career in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the Rangers. During his six years in New York, Esposito recorded 184 goals and 220 assists. Goaltender Ed Giacomin was one of the greatest netminders in Rangers history. He manned the crease for the Rangers from 1965–1976, playing in 539 games and making more than 15,000 saves in that time. Right winger Bryan Hextall was a Rangers fixture for eleven years in the 1930s and 1940s and a key part of the team’s success during that span. Over the course of his career, he put up 187 goals and 180 assists. He was also the patriarch of a hockey family that included sons Bryan, Jr. and Dennis Hextall, as well as grandson Ron Hextall. Although he got his start with the Edmonton Oilers, forward Mark Messier spent a large portion of his career with the Rangers and was a pivotal part of the 1993–1994 Stanley Cup-winning team. In ten years as a Ranger, Messier accumulated 250 goals and 441 assists. Defenseman Brian Leetch was a Rangers mainstay from 1987–2003 who put up 240 goals and 740 assists in that time.

There have been many other notable New York Rangers as well. One of the Rangers’ all-time most popular netminders, goaltender Mike Richter played in New York from 1989–2003 and backstopped the team during its 1993–1994 Stanley Cup run. In total, Richter played in 666 games and made more than 19,000 saves over the course of his career. Among Richter’s most notable predecessor in the Rangers’ net was goaltender John Davidson, who played with the team from 1975–1983. He played in 222 games and made more than 6,300 saves in that time. Following his retirement, Davidson went on to become one of hockey’s most well-regarded broadcasters, calling Rangers games for years. In 2019, he joined the Rangers’ front office and became the team’s president. Other notable Rangers include Adam Graves, Jaromir Jagr, and Henrik Lundqvist.

Bibliography

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“New York Rangers.” Internet Hockey Database, 2020, www.hockeydb.com/stte/new-york-rangers-7089.html. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.

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“# 1 New York Rangers.” Forbes, December 2019, www.forbes.com/teams/new-york-rangers/#76d49e7e17d3. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.

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“Rangers in the Community.” New York Rangers, 2020, www.nhl.com/rangers/community?icmp=int‗web‗nyr‗comm‗topnav. Accessed 7 Apr. 2020.