New York Rangers Totally Explained

Everything about New York Rangers totally explained

Tom Renney |general_manager = Glen Sather |owner = Madison Square Garden, L.P.
(James Dolan, managing partner) |captain = Jaromir Jagr |minor_league_affiliates = Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)
Mississippi RiverKings (CHL) |stanley_cups = 1927–28, 1932–33, 1939–40, 1993–94 |conf_titles = 1993–94 |division_titles = 1926–27, 1931–32, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94 }} The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1925 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six. The Rangers have won the Stanley Cup four times, most recently in 1994.

Franchise history

Early years In 1925, the New York Americans joined the National Hockey League, playing in Madison Square Garden. The Amerks proved to be an even greater success than expected, leading Garden president Tex Rickard to go after a team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they'd be the only hockey team to play there.
Rickard was granted a franchise, which he originally planned to name the New York Giants. However, the New York press soon nicknamed his team "Tex's Rangers", and the new name stuck. Rickard managed to get future legendary Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe to assemble the team. However, Smythe had a falling-out with Rickard's hockey man, Col. John S. Hammond, and was fired as manager-coach on the eve of the first season — he was paid a then-hefty $2,500 to leave. Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick, but kept all of the players Smythe had assembled. The new team turned out to be a winner. The Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring 20's nightlife. It was also during this time, playing at the Garden on 48th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their now-famous nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts".

1927–28 Stanley Cup

In only their second season, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons three games to two. One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the Finals involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44. At the time, teams were not required to dress a backup goaltender so when the Rangers' regular goaltender, Lorne Chabot, left a game with an eye injury, Maroons head coach Eddie Gerard vetoed his original choice for a replacement (who was Alex Connell, another NHL goalie of the old Ottawa Senators who was in attendance for the game). An angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in game two of the Stanley Cup Finals, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher would score the game-winning goal in overtime for New York. An expansion team wouldn't come this far this fast in North American professional sports until the Philadelphia Atoms won the North American Soccer League title in their first year of existence.

1932–33 Stanley Cup

After a loss to the Bruins in the 1928–29 finals and a few mediocre seasons in the early 1930s, the Rangers, led by brothers Bill and Bun Cook on the right and left wings, respectively, and Frank Boucher at center, would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1932–33 best-of-five finals, three games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup, exacting revenge on the Leafs' "Kid line" of Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau, and Charlie Conacher. The Rangers would spend the rest of the 1930s playing close to .500 hockey until their next Cup win. Lester Patrick stepped down as head coach and was replaced by Frank Boucher.

1939–40 Stanley Cup

In 1939–40, the Rangers finished the regular season in second place behind the Boston Bruins. The two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gained a two-games-to-one series lead from the Rangers until they recovered to win three straight games, defeating the first-place Bruins four games to two. The Rangers' first-round victory gave them a bye until the finals. The Detroit Red Wings disposed of the New York Americans in their first round best-of-three series two games to one (even as the Americans had analytical and notorious ex-Bruins star Eddie Shore) and the Toronto Maple Leafs ousted the Chicago Black Hawks two games to none. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings would play a best-of-three series to determine who would go on to play the Rangers in the Cup Finals. The Maple Leafs swept the Red Wings and the Finals match-up was determined. The 1940 Stanley Cup Finals started in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first two games went to the Rangers. In game one the Rangers needed overtime to gain a 1–0 series lead, but they won game two more easily with a 6–2 victory. The series then headed to Toronto where the Maple Leafs won the next two games, tying the series 2–2. In games five and six, the Rangers won in overtime, taking the series four games to two to earn their third Stanley Cup.
The Rangers would collapse by the mid-1940s, losing games by as much as 15–0 and having one goaltender with a 6.20 goals-against average. They would miss the playoffs for five consecutive seasons before squeaking into the fourth and final playoff spot in 1948. They lost in the first round and would miss the playoffs again in 1949. In the 1950 finals, the Rangers were forced to play all of their games on the road (home games in Toronto) while the circus was at the Garden. They would end up losing to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime in the seventh game of the finals, despite a stellar first-round performance as underdogs to the Montreal Canadiens.
During this time, Red Wings owner James E. Norris became the largest stockholder in the Garden. However, he didn't buy controlling interest in the arena, which would have violated the NHL's rule against one person owning more than one team. Nonetheless, he'd enough support on the board to exercise de facto control.

The post-Original Six era

The Rangers remained a mark of futility in the NHL for several years, missing the playoffs in 12 of the next 16 years. However, the team was rejuvenated in the late 1960s, symbolized by moving into a newly-rebuilt Madison Square Garden in 1968. A year earlier, they made the playoffs for the first time in five years on the strength of rookie goaltender Eddie Giacomin and acquired 1950s Montreal Canadiens star right wing Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion.
   The Rangers made the Finals twice in the 1970s, but lost both times to two '70s powerhouses; in six games to the Boston Bruins in 1972, who were led by such stars as Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Johnny Bucyk, and Wayne Cashman; and in five games to the Canadiens in 1979, who had Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, and Serge Savard. This time the Rangers had Esposito, but it didn't matter, as the Canadiens were dominant.
   By 1972, the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals despite losing high-scoring center Jean Ratelle (who had been on pace over Bruin Phil Esposito to become the first Ranger since Bryan Hextall in 1942 to lead the NHL in scoring) to injury during the stretch drive of the regular season. The strength of players like Brad Park, Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, and Rod Gilbert (the last three constructing the famed "GAG line", meaning "goal-a-game") would still carry them through the playoffs. They would defeat the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Blackhawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the finals.
   The Rangers played a legendary semifinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1973–74 playoffs. This series was noted for a game seven fight between Dale Rolfe of the Rangers and Dave Schultz of the Flyers. Schultz pummeled Rolfe without anyone on the Rangers lifting a finger to protect him (the GAG line was on the ice at the time). This lead to the belief that the Rangers of that period were soft, especially when taking into account the bullying endured by the Rangers during the 1972 finals. One example is Gilbert's beating at the hands of Derek Sanderson of the Bruins.
   Their new rivals, the New York Islanders, who entered the league in 1972 after paying a huge territorial fee — some $4 million — to the Rangers, were their first-round opponent in 1975. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders defeated the more-established Rangers eleven seconds into overtime of the deciding game three, establishing a rivalry that continued to grow for years.
   After some off years in the mid-to-late 1970s, they picked up Esposito and Carol Vadnais from the Bruins for Park, Ratelle, and Joe Zanussi in 1975. Swedish stars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson jumped to the Rangers from the maverick World Hockey Association. And in 1979 they defeated the surging Islanders in the semi-finals and would return to the finals again before bowing out to the Canadiens. The Islanders got their revenge, however, eliminating the Rangers in four consecutive playoff series starting in 1981 en route to their second of four consecutive Stanley Cup titles.
   The Rangers stayed competitive through the 1980s and early 1990s, making the playoffs each year except for one but never going very far. An exception was 1985–86, when the Rangers, behind rookie goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, upended the Patrick Division-winning Flyers in five games followed by a six-game win over the Washington Capitals in the Patrick Division Finals. Montreal disposed of the Rangers in the Wales Conference Finals behind a rookie goaltender of their own, Patrick Roy. The Rangers then acquired superstar center Marcel Dionne after almost 12 years as a Los Angeles King the next year. In 1988, Dionne moved into third place in career goals scored (since bettered by Brett Hull). But Dionne's always-churning legs started to slow the next year, thereby ensuring that his goals came further and further apart. “Because you love the game so much, you think it'll never end,” said Dionne, who spent nine games in the minors before retiring in 1989. He would only play 49 playoff games in 17 seasons with the Rangers, Kings, and Detroit Red Wings.
   The many playoff failures convinced Rangers fans that this was a manifestation of the Curse of 1940, which is said to either have begun when the Rangers management burnt the mortgage to Madison Square Garden in the bowl of the Stanley Cup after the 1940 victory or by Red Dutton following the collapse of the New York Americans franchise. In the early 1980s, Islander fans began chanting "1940! 1940!" to taunt the Rangers. Fans in other cities soon picked up the chant.
   Frustration was at its peak when the 1991–92 squad captured the Presidents' Trophy. They took a 2-1 series lead on the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and then faltered in three straight (most observers note a Ron Francis slapshot from the blue line that eluded Mike Richter as the series' turning point). The following year, a 1-11 finish landed the Rangers in the cellar of the Patrick Division. Coach Roger Neilson didn't finish the season. The off-season hiring of controversial head coach Mike Keenan was criticized by many who pointed out Keenan's 0–3 record in the finals.
   During this period, the Rangers were owned by Gulf+Western, which was renamed to Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold to Viacom in 1994. Viacom then sold the team to current owners Cablevision.

1993–94 Stanley Cup: the ending of the curse

The 1993–94 season was a magical one for Rangers fans, as Keenan led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. Two years prior, they picked up center Mark Messier, who was an integral part of the Edmonton Oilers' Cup-winning teams. Adam Graves, who also defected from the Oilers, joined the Rangers as well. Other ex-Oilers on the Blueshirts included trade deadline acquisitions Craig MacTavish (now Oilers head coach) and Glenn Anderson. Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov were a solid 1-2 punch on defence. In fact, Zubov led the team in scoring that season with 89 points, and continued to be an all-star defenceman throughout his career. Graves would set a team record with 52 goals, breaking the old record of 50 held by Vic Hadfield. This record would later be broken by Jaromir Jagr on April 8, 2006 against the Boston Bruins.
After clinching the Presidents' Trophy by finishing with the best record in the NHL at 52–24–8, setting a franchise record with 112 points, the Rangers were pitted against their division rival, the eighth-seeded Islanders, in the first round of the playoffs. The Islanders proved to be little competition, as they were swept in four games by an aggregate score of 22-3. Rangers goaltender Mike Richter earned a pair of shutouts in the series, while supposed Islander upgrade Ron Hextall had a 5.50 GAA to Richter's 0.75. In the second round, the Washington Capitals were dismissed in five games, which set the stage for a matchup with a third division rival, the New Jersey Devils, in the Conference Finals. Despite a 0–6 regular season record against the Rangers, the Devils took them to a full seven games. The series was highlighted by three dramatic multiple overtime games, in which the Rangers were victorious in two. Stephane Matteau scored both of those overtime goals, the first coming during game three at 6:13 of the second overtime period. However, after the fifth game, the Rangers trailed in the series 3-2, and, facing elimination, captain Mark Messier boldly guaranteed a victory in game six back at the Meadowlands in New Jersey—
The back-pages of New York's tabloid newspapers carried the Messier quote "We'll win tonight," and Messier didn't disappoint. Halfway through the game the Rangers trailed 2–0 before Messier set up Alexei Kovalev late in the second period to bring them to within a goal of tying the game. In what is now considered one of the greatest individual performances in sports history, Messier delivered a natural hat trick in the third period to give the Rangers a 4–2 win to send the series to a decisive seventh game to be played at Madison Square Garden. In that seventh game, a Leetch goal midway through the second period stood until Valeri Zelepukin tied the game for the Devils by stuffing the puck under Richter's pads with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation. It appeared once again that the Curse of 1940 would undo the Rangers. Surprisingly, Matteau's second overtime winner of the series, coming at 4:24 of the second overtime period, would clinch the series for the Rangers. Rangers radio announcer Howie Rose called the play in dramatic fashion shouting simply, "Matteau! Matteau! Stephane Matteau!"
The Stanley Cup Finals pitted the Rangers against the upstart Vancouver Canucks who were the seventh seed in the Western Conference. After dropping game one in overtime 3–2, largely due to Canucks' goaltender Kirk McLean's 52-save performance, the Rangers came back to win the next three games to take a commanding 3–1 series lead. The Rangers lost game five in New York and then Game 6 in Vancouver, forcing another seventh game at Madison Square Garden. There, the Rangers would finally prevail. Goals from Leetch, Graves, and Messier beat Vancouver captain Trevor Linden's pair of markers and sealed the seventh game with a 3–2 victory, clinching the Rangers' first Stanley Cup win in 54 years. Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, the first non-Canadian to win it, and Messier became the first Ranger captain to hoist the Cup on Garden ice, as well as the first player in NHL history to captain two different teams to a Stanley Cup.

1994–2004: expensive acquisitions

Despite having coached the Rangers to a regular season first place finish and the Stanley Cup, head coach Mike Keenan left after a dispute with General Manager Neil Smith. During the 1994–95 lockout-shortened season, the Rangers struggled to find their form and lost in the second round of the playoffs. They snuck in with the 8th seed and defeated Quebec in the first round, but were swept by Philadelphia in the 2nd round. Succeeding Rangers coach Colin Campbell orchestrated a deal that sent Sergei Zubov and center Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenceman Ulf Samuelsson and left winger Luc Robitaille in the summer of 1995.
The Rangers landed an aging Wayne Gretzky in 1996, but even with The Great One, they'd fizzle out. Their 1994 stars were aging and many retired or dropped off in performance. Gretzky's greatest accomplishment was leading them to the 1997 Eastern Conference finals, where they lost 4–1 to the Eric Lindros-led Philadelphia Flyers. After General Manager Neil Smith ran Messier, a former Oiler teammate of Gretzky's, out of town in the summer of 1997 and failed in a bid to replace him with Colorado Avalanche superstar Joe Sakic, the Rangers began a streak of seven seasons without making the playoffs, despite routinely having the highest payroll in the league.
In March 2000, Smith was fired along with head coach John Muckler, and, that summer, James Dolan hired Glen Sather to replace him. By the end of the 2000–01 season, the Rangers had landed a lot of star power. Mark Messier had returned to New York, Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames, and Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers also acquired Pavel Bure late in the 2001-02 season from the Florida Panthers. It was the rookie season of goalie Dan Blackburn, who made the NHL All-Rookie Team even as the Rangers fell back to last place in the conference. Despite these high-priced acquisitions the Rangers still finished out of the playoffs. Later years saw other stars such as Alexei Kovalev, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Rucinsky and Bobby Holik added, but in 2002–03 and 2003–04, the team again missed the playoffs. Blackburn started strongly in 2002–03, but burned out after 17 games. He missed 2003–04 due to mononucleosis and a damaged nerve in his left shoulder. Blackburn couldn't rehabilitate the damaged nerve, and was forced to retire at age 22.

2005–present: post-lockout success

Towards the end of the 2003–04 season Sather finally gave in to a rebuilding process by trading away Leetch, Kovalev, and eight others for numerous prospects and draft picks. With the retirements of Bure and Messier as well as Lindros signing with the Maple Leafs, the post-lockout Rangers, under new head coach Tom Renney, moved away from high-priced veterans towards a group of talented young players, such as Petr Prucha, Dominic Moore, and Blair Betts. However, the focus of the team remained on veteran superstar Jaromir Jagr. The Rangers were expected to struggle during the 2005–06 season for their eighth consecutive season out of the postseason. For example, Sports Illustrated declared them the worst team in the league in their season preview, but behind stellar performances by Swedish rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Straka, Prucha, and Jagr, the Rangers finished the season with their best record since 1993–94 (44–26–12).
   Jaromir Jagr broke the Rangers' single-season points record with a first-period assist in a 5–1 win against the New York Islanders on March 29, 2006. The assist gave him 110 points on the season, breaking Jean Ratelle's record. Less than two weeks later, on April 8, Jagr scored his 53rd goal of the season against the Boston Bruins, breaking the club record previously held by Adam Graves. Two games prior, on April 4, the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2, in a shootout, to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since the 1996-97 season. On April 18, the Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators 5–1, and, due to wins by division rivals New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers fell back to third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference to end the season. In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals the Rangers drew a matchup with the Devils and were defeated in a four-game sweep. In the process they were outscored 17–4, as New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur took two shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average to Lundqvist's 4.25. In the first game of the series Jagr suffered an undisclosed injury to his left shoulder, diminishing his usefulness as the series went on. Jagr missed game two of the series and was back in the lineup for game three. He was held to one shot on goal. On his first shift of game four, Jagr re-injured his shoulder and was unable to return.
   Jagr fell two points short of winning his sixth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 2005–06 (the San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton claimed the award, his first, with 125 points), but Jagr did win his third Pearson Award as the players' choice for the most outstanding player. He has thus tied Guy Lafleur in third, and needs one more to tie his ex-centerman, Mario Lemieux, in second and two more to tie Wayne Gretzky in first for times receiving the Pearson Award. On opening night of the 2006–07 season, Jagr was named the first team captain since Messier's retirement.
   With the Rangers doing so well in 2005–06, expectations were raised for the 2006–07 season, evidenced by Sports Illustrated then predicting the Rangers would finish first in their division. Realizing that the team had trouble scoring goals in the 2005-06 campaign, the Rangers went out and signed long-time Red Wing Brendan Shanahan to a one-year contract. However, the organization remains committed to its rebuilding program despite the signing of the 37-year-old winger.
   Though the Rangers started a bit slow in the first half of the 2006–07 season, the second half was dominated by the stellar goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. The acquisition of Sean Avery brought new life to the team, and the Rangers finished ahead of Tampa Bay and the Islanders to face Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. The Rangers swept the series thanks to play from all around the ice. However, the Rangers lost the next round to Buffalo four games to two in a hard-fought series.
   At the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers chose Alexei Cherepanov 17th overall. Cherepanov had been ranked by Central Scouting as the number one European skater and was considered to be a top five pick leading up to the draft, but fell due to teams being unsure whether he'd ever come to the NHL from Russia. The 2007 free agency season started with a bang for the Rangers signing two high profile centerman, Scott Gomez from the New Jersey Devils for a seven-year, $51.5 million dollar contract as well as Chris Drury from the Buffalo Sabres for a five-year deal worth $32.25 million. The moves, along with retaining most other key players, have been met favorably as the Rangers appeared to be strong Stanley Cup contenders, making the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the second round for the second season in a row.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Rangers. For the full season-by-season history, see New York Rangers seasons Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Records as of May 5, 2008 2002–03

82	32	36	10	4	78	210	231	1308	4th in Atlantic	Did not qualify
2003–04	82	27	40	7	8	69	206	250	1459	4th in Atlantic	Did not qualify
2004–05	Season canceled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06¹	82	44	26	—	12	100	257	215	1194	3rd in Atlantic	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Devils)
2006–07	82	42	30	—	10	94	242	216	1107	3rd in Atlantic	Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Sabres)
2007–08	82	42	27	—	13	97	213	199	917	3rd in Atlantic	Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1-4 (Penguins)

� ¹ As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes shootout losses.

Notable players

Current roster

As of May 4, 2008

Goaltenders
#	align=left	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
30	Henrik Lundqvist	L	2000	Are, Sweden
40	Stephen Valiquette	L	2003	Etobicoke, Ontario

Defensemen
#	align=left	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
3	Michal Rozsival	R	2005	Vlasim, Czechoslovakia
5	Daniel Girardi	R	2006	Welland, Ontario
8	Marek Malik	L	2005	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
18	Marc Staal	L	2005	Thunder Bay, Ontario
27	Paul Mara	L	2007	Ridgewood, New Jersey
34	Jason Strudwick	L	2007	Edmonton, Alberta
51	Fedor Tyutin	L	2001	Izhevsk, U.S.S.R.
55	Christian Backman	L	2008	Alingsas, Sweden

Forwards
#	align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
10	Nigel Dawes	LW	L	2003	Winnipeg, Manitoba
14	Brendan Shanahan – A	RW	R	2006	Mimico, Ontario
15	Blair Betts	C	L	2004	Edmonton, Alberta
16	Sean Avery	LW	L	2007	Pickering, Ontario
17	Brandon Dubinsky	C	L	2004	Anchorage, Alaska
19	Scott Gomez	C	L	2007	Anchorage, Alaska
20	Fredrik Sjostrom	RW/LW	L	2008	Fargelanda, Sweden
22	Lauri Korpikoski	C	L	2004	Turku, Finland
23	Chris Drury	C	R	2007	Trumbull, Connecticut
24	Ryan Callahan	RW	R	2004	Rochester, New York
25	Petr Prucha	RW/LW	R	2002	Chrudim, Czechoslovakia
28	Colton Orr	RW	R	2005	Winnipeg, Manitoba
44	Ryan Hollweg	LW/C	L	2001	Downey, California
68	Jaromir Jagr – C	RW	L	2004	Kladno, Czechoslovakia
82	Martin Straka – A	LW	L	2005	Pilsen, Czechoslovakia

Hall-of-Famers

Players

Andy Bathgate, C, 1952–63, inducted 1978
Doug Bentley, LW, 1953–54, inducted 1964
Max Bentley, C, 1953–54, inducted 1966
Frank Boucher, C, 1926–44, inducted 1958
Johnny Bower, G, 1953–54, inducted 1976
Neil Colville, C, 1936–49, inducted 1967
Bill Cook, RW, 1926–37, inducted 1952
Bun Cook, LW, 1926–36, inducted 1995
Art Coulter, D, 1935–42, inducted 1974
Dick Duff, LW, 1964–65, inducted 2006
Phil Esposito, C, 1975–81, inducted 1984
Marcel Dionne, LW, 1986–89, inducted 1992
Bill Gadsby, D, 1954–61, inducted 1970
Mike Gartner, RW, 1990–94, inducted 2001
Bernie Geoffrion, RW, 1966–68, inducted 1972
Eddie Giacomin, G, 1965–75, inducted 1987
Rod Gilbert, RW, 1960–78, inducted 1982
Wayne Gretzky, C, 1996–99, inducted 1999
Doug Harvey, D, 1961–62, 1963–64, inducted 1973
Bryan Hextall, LW, 1936–48, inducted 1969
Tim Horton, D, 1970–71, inducted 1977
Harry Howell, D, 1952–69, inducted 1979

Ching Johnson, D, 1926–37, inducted 1958

Jari Kurri, LW, 1996, inducted 2001

Guy Lafleur, RW, 1988–89, inducted 1988

Pat LaFontaine, C, 1997–98, inducted 2003

Edgar Laprade, D, 1945–55, inducted 1993

Harry Lumley, G, 1943, inducted 1980

Mark Messier, C, 1991–1997, 2000–2004, inducted 2007

Howie Morenz, C, 1935–36, inducted 1945

Buddy O'Connor, C, 1947–51, inducted 1988

Brad Park, D, 1968–75, inducted 1988

Lynn Patrick, LW, 1934–43, 1945–46, inducted 1980

Jacques Plante, G, 1963–65, inducted 1978

Babe Pratt, D, 1936–42, inducted 1966

Jean Ratelle, LW, 1960–75, inducted 1985

Chuck Rayner, G, 1945–55, inducted 1973

Glen Sather, LW, 1970–73, inducted 1997

Terry Sawchuk, G, 1969–70, inducted 1971

Babe Siebert, LW, 1932–35, inducted 1964

Earl Siebert, D, 1931–36, inducted 1963

Allan Stanley, D, 1948–54, inducted 1981

Clint Smith, C, 1937–43, inducted 1991

Gump Worsley, G, 1952–63, inducted 1980

Builders

Herb Brooks, Coach, 1981–85, inducted 2006

Emile Francis, inducted 1982

William M. Jennings, inducted 1974

Roger Neilson, Coach, 1989–93, inducted 2002

Craig Patrick, inducted 2001

Lester Patrick, inducted 1945

Lynn Patrick, inducted 1980

Team captains

Bill Cook, 1926–37

Art Coulter, 1937–42

Ott Heller, 1942–45

Neil Colville, 1945–48

Buddy O'Connor, 1949–50

Frank Eddolls, 1950–51

Allan Stanley, 1951–53

Don Raleigh, 1953–55

Harry Howell, 1955–57

George Sullivan, 1957–61

Andy Bathgate, 1961–64

Camille Henry, 1964–65

Bob Nevin, 1965–71

Vic Hadfield, 1971–74

Brad Park, 1974–75

Phil Esposito, 1975–78

Dave Maloney, 1978–80

Walt Tkaczuk, 1980–81

Barry Beck, 1981–86

Ron Greschner, 1986–87

Kelly Kisio, 1987–91

Mark Messier, 1991–97

Brian Leetch, 1997–2000

Mark Messier, 2000–04

No captain, 2004–06 (2004–05 lockout)

Jaromir Jagr, 2006–present

First-round draft picks

1963: Al Osborne (4th overall)

1964: Bob Graham (3rd overall)

1965: Andre Veilleux (1st overall)

1966: Brad Park (2nd overall)

1967: Bob Dickson (6th overall)

1968: none

1969: Andre Dupont (8th overall) & Pierre Jarry (12th)

1970: Norm Gratton (11th overall)

1971: Steve Vickers (10th overall) & Steve Durbano (13th)

1972: Al Blanchard (10th overall) & Bob MacMillan (15th)

1973: Rick Middleton (14th overall)

1974: Dave Maloney (14th overall)

1975: Wayne Dillon (12th overall)

1976: Don Murdoch (6th overall)

1977: Lucien DeBlois (8th overall) & Ron Duguay (13th)

1978: none

1979: Doug Sulliman (13th overall)

1980: Jim Malone (14th overall)

1981: James Patrick (9th overall)

1982: Chris Kontos (15th overall)

1983: Dave Gagner (12th overall)

1984: Terry Carkner (14th overall)

1985: Ulf Dahlen (7th overall)

1986: Brian Leetch (9th overall)

1987: Jayson More (10th overall)

1988: none

1989: Steven Rice (20th overall)

1990: Michael Stewart (13th overall)

1991: Alexei Kovalev (15th overall)

1992: Peter Ferraro (24th overall)

1993: Niklas Sundstrom (8th overall)

1994: Dan Cloutier (26th overall)

1995: none

1996: Jeff Brown (22nd overall)

1997: Stefan Cherneski (19th overall)

1998: Manny Malhotra (7th overall)

1999: Pavel Brendl (4th overall) & Jamie Lundmark (9th)

2000: none

2001: Dan Blackburn (10th overall)

2002: none

2003: Hugh Jessiman (12th overall)

2004: Al Montoya (6th overall) & Lauri Korpikoski (19th)

2005: Marc Staal (12th overall)

2006: Bob Sanguinetti (21st overall)

2007: Alexei Cherepanov (17th overall)

Retired numbers

1 Eddie Giacomin, G, 1965-75: Number retired on March 15, 1989

2 Brian Leetch, D, 1987-2004: Number retired on January 24, 2008

7 Rod Gilbert, RW, 1961-78: Number retired on October 14, 1979

9 Adam Graves, LW, 1991-2001: Number to be retired in 2008-09

11 Mark Messier, LW/C, 1991-97 & 2000-04: Number retired on January 12, 2006

35 Mike Richter, G, 1989-2003: Number retired on February 4, 2004

99 Wayne Gretzky, C, 1996-99: Number retired league-wide by NHL on February 6, 2000 (No official banner at Madison Square Garden)

Team records

Most points, season - Jaromir Jagr (2005-06) - 123

Most goals, season - Jaromir Jagr (2005-06) - 54

Most points by defenseman, season - Brian Leetch (1991-92) - 102

Most game-winning goals, season - Jaromir Jagr (2005-06), Mark Messier (1996-1997) and Don Murdoch (1980-1981) - 9

Most shots on goal, season - Jaromir Jagr (2005-06) - 368

Most wins by goaltender, season - Mike Richter (1993-94) - 42

Most wins by rookie goaltender, season - Henrik Lundqvist (2005-06) - 30 Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Rangers player Player

Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Rod Gilbert	RW	1,065	406	615	1,021	.96
Brian Leetch	D	1,129	240	741	981	.87
Jean Ratelle	C	862	336	481	817	.95
Andy Bathgate	RW	719	272	457	729	1.01
Mark Messier	LW/C	698	250	441	691	.99
Walt Tkaczuk	C	945	227	451	678	.72
Ron Greschner	D	982	179	431	610	.62
Steve Vickers	LW	698	246	340	586	.84
Vic Hadfield	LW	839	262	310	572	.68
Adam Graves	RW	772	280	227	507	.66