A professional ice hockey team called the New York Rangers is situated in New York City. They participate in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a part of the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division. The squad shares Madison Square Garden with the National Basketball Association’s New York Knicks as its home venue in the Manhattan borough (NBA). They share the New York metropolitan area with the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders, two other NHL clubs. NYC is the hub of professional sports which is one of the wonderful experiences to enjoy during your visit or stay. 

Early Years and History

To compete with the New York Americans, who had started playing at the Garden the previous season, George Lewis “Tex” Rickard, president of Madison Square Garden, was given an NHL franchise for the 1926–1927 campaign. Despite having promised the Amerks that they would be the sole hockey team to play in the Garden, Rickard sought out a second team after the Americans’ early success in their rookie season exceeded expectations. The new group rapidly earned the moniker “Tex’s Rangers”.

The Rangers, one of the Original Six clubs who participated in the NHL prior to its 1967 expansion, were established in 1926 by Tex Rickard. The other Original Six teams were the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Lester Patrick, who led a team that included Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, Bun, and Bill Cook to Stanley Cup victory in 1928, helped the team find success early on. As a result, they were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the cup. Later, in 1933 and 1940, the squad would win two more Stanley Cups.

The franchise struggled from the 1940s to the 1960s after this first grace period, during which time playoff participation and victories were few. The team experienced a mini-renaissance in the 1970s when they twice reached the Stanley Cup finals but fell short against the Bruins and Canadiens. The Rangers then adopted a rebuilding strategy for the majority of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, which paid off in 1994 when the club, captained by Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter, won their fourth Stanley Cup.

In the years that followed, the group struggled to repeat its popularity and fell into another slump. They struggled for most of the 2000s and had a record-breaking seven-year postseason drought from 1998 to 2005 until returning to form after the NHL Lockout in 2004–2005. The Rangers flourished upon the addition of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, missing the playoffs just once from 2006 to 2017. In 2014, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing in five games to the Los Angeles Kings.

Four of the former Rangers players who were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame were Buddy O’Connor, Chuck Rayner, Andy Bathgate, and Messier. They were also members of the squad when they each won the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The Expensive Acquisitions and Post-Season Drought

Head coach Mike Keenan quit after a disagreement with general manager Neil Smith, after leading the Rangers to first place in the regular season and the Stanley Cup championship. The 1994–95 Rangers won their first-round series against the Quebec Nordiques during the lockout-shortened campaign but fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the playoffs in four games under interim head coach Colin Campbell. In the summer of 1995, general manager Neil Smith arranged a trade that sent defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and left winger Luc Robitaille to Pittsburgh in exchange for center Sergei Zubov and center Petr Nedved. The 1995–96 Rangers won their first-round playoff series against the Canadiens in six games but fell to the Penguins in five.

Smith and head coach John Muckler were sacked in March 2000, and James Dolan recruited Glen Sather to take their places that summer. By the close of the 2000–01 campaign, the Rangers had acquired a sizable number of A-list players. Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames, Messier had relocated back to New York, and the Flyers had dealt Eric Lindros to the Rangers. Pavel Bure was also acquired by the Rangers from the Florida Panthers late in the 2001–02 season. Goalie Dan Blackburn also had his first season, and despite the Rangers dropping to last place in the Conference and missing the playoffs, Blackburn made the NHL All-Rookie Team.

In 2002–03, Blackburn had a bright start but burned out after 17 games. Due to mononucleosis and a damaged nerve in his left shoulder, he was unable to play from 2003–04. Blackburn was forced to retire at the age of 22 because he was unable to repair the injured nerve. General manager Glen Sather of the New York Rangers ultimately bowed to a rebuilding process before the close of the 2003–04 campaign when he dealt Brian Leetch, Alexei Kovalev, and eight other players for a variety of prospects and draft picks. The post-lockout Rangers, led by new head coach Tom Renney, moved away from a group of expensive veterans toward a group of talented young players, including Petr Prucha, Dominic Moore, and Blair Betts, because of the retirements of Pavel Bure and Mark Messier as well as Eric Lindros signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Team Uniforms and Identity

Since the start of the team, the traditional Rangers sweater has been worn, with a few changes along the way. On the current blue uniform, the word “RANGERS” is serifed and positioned diagonally in a red and white drop shadow. The sleeves and tail also have red and white stripes. The outfit was first bright blue before changing to the traditional Rangers “Broadway Blue” in 1929. The earliest versions were also not serifed nor featured a drop shadow. The phrase “RANGERS” was positioned in an arch shape above the jersey number for the 1946–1947 season. Except for a brief period where the city name was utilized, a tie-down collar was not used, and the tail and sleeve stripes were divided by thin blue stripes, it adopted its present shape the next season, along with drop shadowed numbers. Since the 1929–30 season, the outfit has been worn with red pants. In order to comply with a regulation requiring NHL teams to wear a dark home jersey and a light away jersey, the white jerseys were initially introduced during the 1951–1952 season. Similarly positioned diagonally but in blue with a crimson drop shadow is the serifed word “RANGERS.” The tail and sleeves are highlighted by a quinticolor of blue, white, and red stripes, and the ensemble is finished off with a blue shoulder yoke with white and red stripes. Since then, the white sweaters haven’t changed much other than to include a tie-down collar and arched player names.

The Drury Years 

Defenseman Tony DeAngelo was placed on waivers by the New York Rangers on January 31, 2021, because of reports that he argued with teammate Alexandar Georgiev after an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  According to the Athletic, the Rangers did this because of his ongoing “maturity” issues and a sharp decline in his performance; however, they were unsuccessful in finding a buyer. Tom Wilson, a player for the Washington Capitals, cross-checked Pavel Buchnevich in the head during a game against the Capitals on May 3, 2021, ending Panarin’s season. Wilson, a serial offender, received the league’s maximum $5,000 sanction for the incident. In a statement, the Rangers organization expressed unhappiness with this choice and deemed George Parros, director of player safety, “unfit to continue in his current job.” Two days later, Rangers owner James Dolan fired President John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton. Despite the timing, Dolan insisted the firings were unrelated to the Wilson incident and statement, citing “culture” problems within the company. The NHL later fined the Rangers $250,000 for their remarks. The Rangers’ new president and general manager was then introduced as Chris Drury. David Quinn, the team’s head coach, was let go by Drury on May 12 because they were unable to make the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2021. Despite a turbulent season, Adam Fox’s performance stood out as a big positive; he finished second among NHL defensemen in points with 47, led the league with 42 assists, and took home the James Norris Memorial Trophy. If you wish to learn more about history. Visit Unveiling the Rich History and Strong Community of Summit, New Jersey

The Recent Events

The Rangers announced Gerard Gallant as their next head coach on June 16, 2021. The Rangers finished the 2021–22 regular season with a record of 52-24-6. After defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-1, the Rangers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2017–18 campaign. The Rangers overcome a 3-1 series deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round for the third time in the team’s history thanks to an overtime goal by Artemi Panarin. After falling behind 2-0 and 3-2 in the series, they would defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in the following round to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2015. They would play the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals, but despite holding a 2-0 series lead, they would lose. Following the season, Igor Shesterkin was declared the Vezina Trophy winner.

Finally, the varied sports events are just one of the many unparalleled entertainment experiences to embark on in NYC this 2022. Equally exciting goals can be the interactive tours of Manhattan or immersing in the theater shows or playing the thrilling games at Resorts World. But if sports is your cup of tea, then the imperial state will never disappoint you.