The New York Rangers history of 85 years is full of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Joining the NHL in 1926, the New York Rangers became the second team to play in Madison Square Gardens. Although the owner of the stadium, George Lewis Rickard, had promised the New York Americans that they would be the only team, he hired Conn Smythe to put the team together. He only stayed a short time and was fired, but it was no matter because the New York Rangers went on to win their first championship, the American league title, but lost the Stanley Cup finals to the Boston Bruins.
The Rangers stayed on top of their game and won their first Stanley Cup the following year defeating the Montreal Maroons, but they lost again to Boston the following year. Three years later they won their second Stanley Cup, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs by 3 games to 1. Then in 1940 they won another championship, defeating the Leafs for a second time.
Within the first 13 years of the Rangers history, they won three Stanley Cups, and seemed like they were bound for success. But perhaps the number 13 was an unlucky omen because they did not win so much as even a Division Championship until 1990. Some say that a curse was cast upon the team in 1940 when the owners of Madison Square Gardens burned the mortgage that they had just paid off inside the Stanley Cup.
The Rangers became one of the Original Six teams in 1942 since the other franchises had to fold after losing many players who had left to fight in WW2. Although they did not have a winning season for the next 54 years, the fans were loyal and many legendary players made their mark. Vic Hadfield became the first Ranger and the sixth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season in 1972. They reached the Stanley Cup finals that year but lost to Boston despite the efforts of Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert and Brad Park.
Many hockey legends played the last few games of their careers for the Rangers, including Phil Esposito (1975 – 1981), Marcel Dionne (1986 – 1989) and Wayne Gretzky (1996-1999). But perhaps the greatest contribution ever made to the Ranger’s playing history was when Mark Messier became the captain of the Rangers in 1991 and led them to the best record in the NHL that year.
After numerous injuries in the 1993 season kept the Rangers out of the playoffs, they came back the next year and finished first overall. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers were down 3 games to 2 and had little hope. A determined captain, Mark Messier, promised the media and the world that the Rangers would win both Game 6 and Game 7. Down 2- 1 in the third period, Messier scored a hat trick to clinch the win. The Ranger went on to win the Stanley Cup that year, despite the Vancouver Canucks fans chanting “1940”, trying to invoke the famous curse.
In the last decade, the Rangers have had star players such as the great Czech player, Jaromir Jagr, who scored 110 points, beating the Ranger’s single season scoring record. Despite some spectacular wins, Rangers fans continue to show their support by purchasing New York Rangers tickets in the hope of another Stanly Cup victory. In 2010, the franchise decided to honor the Ranger’s history by issuing a Heritage jersey that the team wears every time the Rangers play one of the Original Six teams.
