Vanflyer

New York Rangers Team History: Incepted in 1926, the Rangers are one of the original six teams in the NHL. The team experienced mixed success in the early years- having mediocre seasons and somewhat successful post seasons. From the inception to the expansion, the Rangers garnered 3 Stanley Cups and many playoff births. During that era, the at the time coach (Patrick Lester), had to play goal because of injuries in the net. In the early era, Dave Kerr, Buddy O'Connor and Chuck Reyneyr were their superstars. Dave Kerr: Goalie Dave Kerr becomes just the second hockey player to grace the cover of Time Magazine. The Rangers post a solid 27-15-6 record to finish in second place in the American Division. Buddy O'Connor: With Buddy O'Connor capturing the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP the Rangers end a five year playoff drought by finishing in fourth Place with a 21-26-13 record. Chuck Ryneyr: Riding the back of goalie Chuck Rayner who won the Hart Trophy with an impressive 2.62 GAA the Rangers get back into the playoffs by finishing in fourth place with a 28-31-11 record. In the playoffs the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in ten years by dispatching the Montreal Canadiens in five games. The post expansion era did not see the Rangers win a cup until 93-94. In the post expansion era, there were some stand out players: 1) Vic Hadfield- Hadfield's best season was 1971–72. Named the team's captain after the trade of longtime captain Bob Nevin, he became the first Ranger - and only the sixth NHL player - to score 50 goals in a season, nearly doubling his previous best marks; with his linemates Ratelle and Gilbert, the GAG Line totalled 139 goals and 325 points en route to leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals. 2) Mike Richter- The Rangers traded Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks before the 1993–94 season, and Richter had his first campaign as the team's number-one goaltender. He posted a career-best 42 wins and 2.57 goals-against average as the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season team for the second time in three years. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game, which the Rangers hosted at Madison Square Garden that year. In the playoffs, he ramped up his play, becoming the eighth goaltender to post four shutouts in one playoff season. The Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals against the Canucks, and Richter earned a career highlight in Game 4, stopping Vancouver sniper Pavel Bure on a penalty shot. The Rangers defeated the Canucks in seven games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940. Over the next few years, Richter would be consistently ranked among the world's top goaltenders. He led the United States to victory in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, with his efforts earning him tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Injuries plagued much of his career with everything from MCL sprains, ACL sprains and concussions. At some points they occurred together, but he worked hard to rehabilitate his injuries to always make the return to the ice. 3) Brian Leetch- As the Rangers slowly developed into a championship-caliber team, Leetch won increasing respect from fans for his quiet demeanor and entertaining, offensive-minded play. In 1992 he became the fifth defenseman in history, and the only American defenseman, to record 100 points in a season and was awarded the Norris Trophy. Leetch was the last NHL defenseman to record 100 points in a season. In 1994 he again matched his career high of 23 goals in the regular season as the Rangers won the Presidents Trophy. That year the Rangers' 54-year championship drought ended with a 7-game Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks; Leetch became the first non-Canadian to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, remaining the only American to win the award until the Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas in 2011 and the Los Angeles Kings' Jonathan Quick in 2012. He is only the second player in league history, the first and only non-Canadian, to win the Calder Trophy, the Norris Trophy and the Conn Smythe in their career. The only other player to do so was Bobby Orr. 4) Mark Messier- In his first season with the Rangers, Messier won his second Hart Trophy and guided the Rangers to the best record in the NHL. However, they were ousted in six games in the second round by the eventual champions Pittsburgh Penguins led by Mario Lemieux. In 1992–93, the Rangers missed the playoffs and was the first time in Messier's career that he did not play in the postseason. After the season, Mike Keenan was hired as head coach. In the 1993–94 NHL season, the Rangers rebounded to once again finish first overall, and this time were expected to win the Cup. After easily ousting the Islanders and Capitals in the first two rounds, the Rangers road to the Cup would get a lot harder. Down 3–2 in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the rival New Jersey Devils, Messier confronted the New York media and publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory. With fans and players on both sides reading the news headline, it then became a feat comparable to Babe Ruth's called shot and Joe Namath's Super Bowl III guarantee, and backed it up by scoring a natural hat trick in the third period on an empty net goal with ESPN commentator Gary Thorne boasting, "Do you believe it?! Do you believe it?! He said we will win game six and he has just picked up the hat trick!" It helped the Rangers erase a two-goal deficit. The Rangers went on to win the series in a thrilling seventh game double overtime nail biter. Then, in the Stanley Cup Finals, Messier scored the Cup winning goal in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, giving the Rangers their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. He became the first (and to this date, the only) player to captain two different teams to the Stanley Cup, something his former teammate Wayne Gretzky couldn't do the year before, and provided two of the most memorable images of that Stanley Cup Finals. First, when the buzzer sounded he was jumping up and down with overwhelming emotion as ticker tape fell; fireworks burst and fans and teammates celebrated. The other, which would become an iconic image to the Rangers and their fans, taken by George Kalinsky, photographer at Madison Square Garden, showing incredible emotion as he accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.[12][13][14] Finally, during the ticker-tape parade celebrating the Rangers' win, Rudy Giuliani, witnessing his first New York sports team championship victory just five months after becoming mayor, dubbed Messier "Mr. June," conjuring Reggie Jackson's "Mr. October" nickname.[15] 4) Tony Granato- In his first season in the NHL, the feisty right-winger scored 36 goals for the Rangers in 1988-89 and was named to the NHL all-rookie team. Halfway through the next season Granato was sent to the Los Angeles Kings along with Tomas Sandstrom for star centre Bernie Nicholls. As a King, Granato topped the 30-goal mark three times and helped the Kings reach the Stanley Cup final for the first time in franchise history in 1993. A member of Team USA at the 1991 Canada Cup tournament, Granato played five seasons with the Kings before signing as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks in the summer of 1996. 5) Wayne Gretzky- Gretzky ended his professional playing career with the New York Rangers, where he played his final three seasons and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997.[93] The Rangers were defeated in the Conference Finals in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers, despite Gretzky leading the Rangers in the playoffs with 10 goals and 10 assists.[61] For the first time in his NHL career, Gretzky was not named captain,[94] although he briefly wore the captain's 'C' in 1998 when captain Brian Leetch was injured and out of the lineup.[95] After the 1996–97 season, Mark Messier signed a free agent contract with the Vancouver Canucks, ending the brief reunion of Messier and Gretzky after just one season.[96] The Rangers did not return to the playoffs during the remainder of Gretzky's career.[97] 6) Tony Amonte- Tony Amonte’s outstanding NHL career started on Broadway with the Rangers. The Blueshirts’ 4th round pick in the 1988 NHL Draft, Amonte made the Rangers in the 1991-92 season and quickly ended up on Mark Messier’s right wing. Amonte finished the season with 35 goals (one shy of the Rangers’ rookie record) and was nominated for the Calder Trophy. The Hingham, Massachusetts native followed his rookie year up with 33 goals and 76 points in the 1992-93 season. After struggling through the 1993-94 season, Amonte was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline for Brian Noonan and Stephane Matteau. 7) Doug Weight- Doug Weight spent the first two seasons of his distinguished nineteen-year career with the Rangers. The Blueshirts’ second-round pick in the 1990 NHL Draft, Weight scored eight goals and totaled 30 points in 53 games during his rookie year in 1991-92. The next season, the 22-year-old was traded on March 17 to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for one of the key members of the 1994 Stanley Cup team, Esa Tikkanen. 8) Eric Lindros- Flyers GM Bobby Clarke eventually traded Lindros to the New York Rangers on August 20, 2001 for Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl, and a 2003 3rd-round draft choice (Stefan Ruzicka). He would play the next three seasons in New York. In 2001–02, Lindros averaged a little over a point a game with 37 goals and 36 assists for 73 points in 72 games. His impressive start also led to his seventh and final All-Star selection, but due to an injury he was unable to participate and was replaced by teammate Mike York. Though 2002–03 was the first injury-free season of his career, he struggled to match his previous season, only collecting 53 points in 81 games. In 2003–04, Lindros' eighth concussion limited him to just 39 games, though he did collect 32 points. He again became an unrestricted free agent after the season. 9) Adam Graves- That spring he cemented his popularity with the New York fans by playing a vital role in the team's first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. That year he was also awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his work with charities. Although the Rangers' fortunes would wane over the next few years as they sank into mediocrity after the 1997–1998 NHL season, he remained one of the most popular players. In June 2001, after winning the Bill Masterton Trophy, he was traded to San Jose, where he finished his career. Graves is now an instructor at the New York Rangers youth hockey camp. Adam Graves won the NHL's most prized trophy and championship, The Stanley Cup, twice; in 1989–90 with the Edmonton Oilers and in 1993–94 with the New York Rangers. Graves also won a championship on the international level for his native Canada. In 1988 he was a member of the winning Canadian Junior team at the World Championships. In the tournament Graves recorded 5 goals in 7 games. He was also given the honor to captain the 1993 World Championships in Munich, Germany. 10) Petr Nedved'- Nedvěd's second stint in New York would be more successful than the first, and the six seasons he would spend with the Rangers would represent the most stable portion of his career. Although the team would struggle and miss the playoffs every year through this stretch, Nedvěd would be a consistent offensive performer, leading the Rangers in scoring twice and finishing second on another occasion. In 2000–01, playing with Jan Hlaváč and Radek Dvořák - a trio dubbed the 'Czech Mates' - he had the second-best season of his career, finishing with 32 goals and 78 points. Honorable mention, Terry Sawchuk.

You could say that about all drugs really.

Same with shoulder pads. Shin guards and skates are a different story.

Yet, if you look at all the dollars spent to prevent, fight, etc., it is confounding to the mind. I get the pusher part. Yet with some legalization- that dissapatates some what quickly.

Excellent question. I loved the movie with Russel Crowe playing the "insider". Intriguing on the corporate "legalized" drug aspect.

I lived in the netherlands for awhile. While there is no perfect solution, there solution seemed much more humane and civilized while removing a large portion of the organized crime aspect (not entirely of course). I agree that the pushers should get stiff penalized. I am not sure about the legalization of Marijuana- considering today's high octane brands.

The drug thing is definitely a mammoth problem. The problem is that it is a disease and putting people in prison does not really help (unless they have associated violent problems as well). There needs to be greater treatment center infrastructure in both countries and at an affordable rate.

What do you have against crack and crime?

When I started to play, my shoulder pads were just thick quilted cloth and my elbow pads foam (like whats inside of the hockey helmet).

The fact that he did those things in two-prong sense: 1) to help get greater exposure (ie. revenue) for the team, 2) keep the dollars in his pocket vs. another companies pockets. The spectacor was really the brilliant stroke for that time period. He then had the gate receipts, the parking receipts, security, concessions, etc.

I say this with all seriousness- maybe they called him the N word or mongrel. It is Germany after all (my apologies to those germans that are not racist scum supremist).

I wonder how the AHL TV contracts work. If I am b sports network and know there are hockey junkies out there, I would immediately start laying the ground work on tv contracts to televise starting december if there is still no NHL contract. I would do it for all the large market teams. Perhaps 5 games a week.

1) Wow 2) I never knew Joffrey was Jerry McGuire!!!

I don't wish the guy failure. Many goalies are enigmas in their personalities. I have no problem with that. I just want the guy to perform and truthfully, don't think he is anything other than a mediocre goalie. His March play gave me inspiration and hope. His play in the playoffs against the pens gave me distraught. His play against the Devils gave me hope again. This is the record I am tired of listening too. I don't want sup-par followed by mediocrity followed by excellence followed by sub-par....etc. I want a good goalie that 80% of the time will give you a chance to win. What I have seen from Bryz- he can not deliver that. If you remove his march stats, he was nearly last in the league. I don't want to hear this "I did not know what to expect from Philly" bull crap and the "pressure was so hard". Don't hold the Flyers hostage for your mammoth contract if you don't have what it takes to handle the reins. Truthfully- knowing Bobs past and his heritage of his father (blue collar hard worker), I would have road that horse. Maybe it would have been Nitty repeat, but I would have tried.

The seeds were sowed when they traded the pick for his rights. Everything is a domino from there (as you have pointed out).

The sequence of events that orchestrated both will go down in the history of one of the worse moves the Flyers did.

And watching Bobs win 30 in Columbus (no small feat).

Since I live on a remote island, I of course will watch as I am addicted to hockey. If I was living in Van or outside Philly, I would still attend. The ONLY people that can really sway their dissatisfaction are the season tix holders and the time to do it is now by canceling. To do it once everything has been settled doesn't mean much.....as time goes by....it will fadeaway and have minimal to no impact.

What would be really interesting is to here allot of players from the 60's, 70's and 80's speak about experience (PCS) with this problem. I am still in Don Cherry's camp about the equipment. The players got stronger and faster and the equipment became armor. Remove the hard plastic pads (elbow and shoulder particularly) and you will see a reduction. In fact, remove the helmelts and go back to wooden sticks and you will see a significant increase in the amount of respect that players have for each other. Today, a players feels invulnerable. Even 30 years ago, the players played fearless, but always knew their vulnerability and played with a certain level of respect. Remove the 5 minute instigator and you will see allot less of all these concussions (aside from getting clocked in a fight for being a ****).

I know I am nitpicking here, but he played in one playoffs and it was his rookie season where he obviously had problems down the stretch. Additionally, his numbers for that playoff were actually better than Bryz's this past year. Add to that, his regular season numbers his rookie season were the same as Bryz's this past year- sans no shutouts. If you want to make an argument that you think his potential is a career backup based deficiencies you see in his style fine, but if you are going to do it on stats alone, you are mistaken. Bobs is superiorly quicker than Bryz. Is he perfect- no. Bryz has played North American hockey for 1/3 of his life. Bobs has played North American hockey for two seasons.

One time at band camp..... (okay I topped your worst post ever~!) p.s. was it not warm CHERRY pie??

um, does it really matter??

Um......what kind of pie are we exactly talking about here??

Take Bryz's Stellar March out (sure stat manipulation) and both players would be close to the same. Additionally, upto the second week in January, Bobs had significantly better numbers than Bryz and was rankede in the top 20 in two categories while Bryz's numbers were in outerspace. So while Bryz was the number 1, Bobs played significantly better the first half of the year and Bryz played significantly better for the month of March. So what?

Cool! No comment about the Suter / Parise signings by Minnesota? Eff him. Nothing to look at here.