Rangers honored their Legendary Blueshirts

Those players who proved their play was legendary to the Garden Faithful

New York, NY- On Monday Night, January 26th, the New York Rangers hosted the Boston Bruins, but before the game, they honored those famous Rangers on another Centennial Night as they opened the Zamboni & visitor locker room doors to introduce those players who achieved legendary status to Rangers fans as they performed at their highest level and created their most memorable moments towards the ultimate goal, to win the Stanley Cup or get close to it.

Darren Turcotte

He played six seasons with the Rangers. Selected in the 1986 NHL Draft, the Boston, Massachusetts native playedin the 1988-89 season till he was traded to the former Hartford Whalers in the 1993-94 season. He played 325 games, scored 122 goals, and had 133 assists for 447 points. After spending a season and a half in Hartford, Turcotte continued his career with the original Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks, and finished his career with the Nashville Predators.

After his playing career, Turcotte went into coaching youth and junior hockey across Canada and the United States. Then made the switch from coaching boys to girls’ hockey, and is currently the head coach of theNipissing Lakers women’s ice hockey program.

Radek Dvorak

He played three and a half seasons with the Rangers. Traded from the Florida Panthers in the 1999-2000 season, the Tabor, Czechoslovakia native (Now Czechia and Slovakia are two separate countries) was put on a line with all Czech players, with Petr Nedved, who was brought back for a second stint, and called up from the Minors was drafted Czech winger Jan Hlavac, as they became the Czechmate line. They even did a commercial for the Rangers, going all over New York City and each eating a hot dog with one another.

Dvorak played three seasons with the Rangers since his trade in the middle of the 1999-2000 season till he was traded in the middle of the 2002-03 season to the Edmonton Oilers. He played 256 Games, scored 65 goals, and had 99 assists for 164 points. He went back to Cazchia for a season and then returned to the NHL to play for Edmonton, a season in St. Louis, and then back to the Panthers for three and a half seasons, and then stints in Atlanta, Dallas, Anaheim, and finished in Raleigh for the Hurricanes.

The 1994 Stanley Cup Championship Team

Members of that magical Stanley Cup season came back to be honored once again by the Garden Faithful, as they strutted back on the ice and took their bows. From the front office to the head coach and those magical players who were drafted by the Rangers, to those who had experience winning the Stanley Cup with other teams, and finally ended that 54-year curse since 1940. Every time the Rangers visited other teams inside their bulding could no longer mockingly chant that year toward the Rangers anymore.

Neil Smith

For 11 seasons, he was hired as the President and General Manager of the Rangers from the 1989-90 season till the 1999-2000 season. The Toronto, Ontario Native made Shrewed trades to bring in talented players to help merge with the homegrown Rangers who were drafted and played at Madison Square Garden. He brought in notable superstars like Bernie Nichols from the Los Angeles Kings and Mike Gartner from the Washington Capitals.

At the time, Smith made a trade with the Buffalo Sabres for one of their top goal scorers, Ray Sheppard, and the Rangers would return a cash payment for the move. The price of bringing over Sheppard from Western New York to Broadway was a single dollar. But during the 1991-92 season, while the NHL was celebrating its 75th Anniversary, Smith made the biggest deal of his life as he sent Bernie Nichols, Louie DeBrusk, Steven Ric,e and David Shaw to the Edmonton Oilers for Mark Messier.

Before Messier was traded, Smith signed Adam Graves from the Oilers as a free agent, then brought over other former Oilers like Jeff Beukeboom, Esa Tikkanen, and Kevin Lowe. During the 1993-94 season, Smith had to make a big trade for players to help improve the team to make it a true Stanley Cup Contender in the playoffs. Sending Mike Gartner to Toronto for Glen Anderson, sending Tony Amonte to Chicago for Brian Noonan and Stephane Matteau, and drafting the first four Russian hockey players like Sergei Nemchinov, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Zubov, and Alexander Karpovtsev.

His biggest deal was bringing over the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, to the Rangers and rejoining Mark Messier in the 1996-97 season. That year, the Rangers were a surprise team making a run to the Stanley Cup. They defeated the Florida Panthers in five games of the first round, then faced the New Jersey Devils and defeated them in five games of the second round. Both series, the Rangers lost in game one, and took the next four consecutively. But in the Eastern Conference Final, that script didn’t repeat as they split with the Philadelphia Flyers in the first two games, but lost the next three, losing Brian Leetch to an injury in Game 4 at the Garden.

Mike Keenan

“Iron” Mike Keenan was an NHL Head Coach for 20 seasons. His first four seasons as a head coach he was with the Philadelphia Flyers after their first two Stanley Cups were won in the 70’s. He was in Philadelphia from the 1984-85 season til the 1987-88 season, then the Chicago Blackhawks came calling, and he spent four seasons in the old Chicago Stadium from the 1988-89 season till the 1991-92 season. He took a break and did radio for the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 1992-93 season. Keenan had three shots to win the Stanley Cup. Twice with Philadelphia against the Oilers, and once with Chicago against the Penguins.

When the 1993-94 season began, the New York Rangers came calling, and both parties, who had chances to win the Stanley Cup, failed. It was a match made in heaven and in hell at the same time. But that season saw the Rangers play better, stronger, and more determined than ever. Even though there was some form of turmoil within the locker room at the Garden and during their practices when the Rangers used the ice palace in Rye Playland at the time.

But at that time, the Rangers had a great regular season. 52 wins, 24 losses, and 8 ties for 112 points, winning the President’s Trophy. Sweeping the New York Islanders in Round one scoring 12 goals and allowing none in the first two games at the Garden. Then, taking out the Washington Capitals in five games in round two, with Brian Leetch scoring the winner. A hard fought seven games series in the Eastern Conference Finals agains tthe Devils, winning in double overtime at The Garden, then another hard fought seven game series in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks to end that long, hard jinx.

Sadly, Keenan left the Rangers a little over a month after winning the cup, as he had a long-season feud with President and General Manager Neil Smith. In July of 1994, he claimed that a one-day delay in a bonus payment constituted a breach of contract, using this as justification to void his deal and join the St. Louis Blues as coach and GM. Since he left the Rangers, Keenan has had stops after St. Louis with Vancouver, Boston, Florida, and Calgary. He never reached the Stanley Cup Final ever again.

When he went to Russia and coached Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, helping them win the championship in a seven-game series against HC Lev Praha in the 2013-14 season, becoming the only head coach to win the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup. In his visit to the Spitin Chickletts podcast, he told Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonet that before he went to the Rangers in the 1993-94 season, Ed Snider, who owned the Flyers, wanted to bring him back. When Snider learned of the news, Keenan became public enemy number one.

Kevin Lowe

He played three and a half seasons with the Rangers, traded from the Edmonton Oilers as a restricted free agent in the 1992-93 Season till the 1995-96 season. The Lachute, Quebec native played 217 games, scored 10 goals, and earned 38 assists for 48 points. He was given the Alternate Captain’s A on his sweater during road games for the Rangers.

After his last season in New York City, Lowe returned to the Oilers to finish his career in his final two seasons. After his playing career, Lowe became the assistant coach in 1998 for Ron Low, then the head coach of the Oilers the following year. Then moved up to the front office and gave his assistant coach and fellow Oilers/Rangers teammate, Craig MacTavish, the head coaching position. He is now the President of Hockey Operations.

Sergei Nemchinov

He played five and a half seasons with the Rangers from the 1991-92 season till the 1996-97 season, when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. The Moscow, Soviet Union/Russia native was selected in the 1990 NHL Draft when the country finally allowed its players to leave their native land to try their chances in the NHL.

Nemchinov was the first Russian to play for the Rangers, playing 418 games, scoring 105 goals, and had 120 assists for 225 points. After being traded to the Canucks, Nemchinov had one and a half seasons with the New York Islanders, then moved across the Hudson to play for the New Jersey Devils, and then finished his playing career back in Russia with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

He was one of the first four Russians on the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup in the 1993-94 season, along with Right Wing Alexei Kovalev, and defensmen Sergei Zubov & Alexander Karpovtsev. They skated around Madison Square Garden with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Canucks in Game 7 of the finals.

After his playing career, Nemchinov has been in Russia as a General Manager for HC CSKA Moscow for three seasons, then moved to Coaching and has led the Men’s Junior Ice Hockey Team from 2009 to 2011. He then joined South Korea as their assistant coach for their Ice Hockey National Team in 2019. He has had a stint in the Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Federation with intensive training and then became the Sports Director of Admiral Vladivostok in March of 2020.

Craig MacTavish

He was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to play the final 12 games of the 1993-94 Regular Season and became a defensive and strong faceoff winner during the run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The London, Ontario native was the last helmet-less player in the National Hockey League. Scored four goals and had two assists for six points, but in the playoffs, he played 23 games, scored a goal, and had four assists for five points.

In Game 7 of the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Final, MacTavish took the final faceoff inside his own zone at the far side circle and won the draw clean to put the puck into the corner, and started the celebration of a Championship with Mark Messier on the ice to make sure there was no interference from a Canucks player.

He would head south to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, then finish up his career with the St. Louis Blues. After his career ended, MacTavish went right away into coaching and was an assistant for the Rangers in two seasons before heading back to Edmonton as the assistant coach to Kevin Lowe, then took over as the head coach of the Oilers. Had several stints in the front office and other coaching roles in the NHL and the AHL.

But the one moment that many people will never forget in the NHL from MacTavish as the head coach of the Oilers was the Alberta Rivalry at the Saddledome in Calgary, when the Flames mascot, Harvey the Hound, reached over the glass behind the Oilers bench to taunt MacTavish, and got his long tongue yanked out of its mouth in anger.

Brian Noonan

He was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks, along with Stephane Matteau, for Tony Amonte and had two stints with the Rangers. Came over in the middle of the 1993-94 season till the middle of the 1994-95 season when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. Then returned to the Rangers in the middle of the 1996-97 season before being traded again to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Boston, Massachusetts native played in 101 games, scored 24 goals, and earned 24 assists for 48 points. In the playoffs, he scored four goals and seven assists for 11 points. A strong defensive forward and had some goals in the second round of the 1993-94 playoffs against the Washington Capitals. After his career ended, Noonan is now coaching in Illinois.

Mike Hartman

He played two seasons with the Rangers. Traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1992-93 season till the middle of the 1994-95 season, when he was released and played in the minor leagues with the Defunct Detroit Vipers of the defunct International Hockey League, and spent the rest of his professional career in the minor leagues with the then Orlando Solar Bears, Hershey Bears, and the Charlottle Checkers then of the ECHL.

The Detroit, Michigan, native played 39 games, scored a goal, and had an assist for two points. Was mostly a depth player and used sparingly.

Jeff Beukeboom

Making his second return on a Centennial Night for the Rangers. Jeff Beukeboom was brought over to be the defensive partner to Brian Leetch, or, in those days, a protector. During game seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. He injured his knee and couldn’t continue. He was still an important player for the Rangers at that time.

Jay Wells

He played three and a half seasons with the Rangers, traded from the Buffalo Sabres in the 1991-92 season, till the 1994-95 season. The Paris, Ontario, native played 186 games, scored five goals, and had 23 assists for 28 points. He was the third defensive pairing with Alexander Karpovtsev or Doug Lidster during the regular season.

A 15-year career in the NHL at that point, he finally earned his first and only Stanley Cup by raising it over his head, skating around Madison Square Garden. And he was the only Rangers player to keep his playoff beard till the end.

Joe Kocur

He was traded from the Detroit Red Wings at the end of the 1990-91 season till the end of the 1995-96 season, playing five seasons. The Kelvington, Saskatchewan, native played 278 games, scored 14 goals, and earned 15 assists for 29 points. Kocur was known for his defensive play and his fighting prowess, making sure the opposition would never try to take down the Rangers’ best players.

Even though he didn’t play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals due to injury, he was able to get on the ice and celebrate his first Cup before going back to Detroit and winning two more as a player, and one more as the video coach. He was featured in a book called Bruise Brothers with former Red Wings teammate enforcer Bob Probert.

Stephane Matteau

He was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks along with Brian Noonan for Tony Amonte in the middle of the 1993-94 season and then traded to the St. Louis Blues in the 1995-96 season for two seasons. The Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, native played 85 games, scored 11 goals, and had 10 assists for 21 points, but in the playoffs, he scored six goals and four assists.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, Matteau scored two game-winning double-overtime goals. He beat Martin Brodeur at the former Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands in Game 3, but his most famous double overtime goal was in Game 7 when he picked up the puck in the near corner of the Devils zone, skated behind the net and made a wrap around shot that made the puck slide slowly through the pads of Brodeur and sent the Garden into a frenzy.

Former New York Rangers Radio Broadcaster Howie Rose on WFAN called Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals when Marv Albert was calling the New York Knicks games on NBC Sports for their respective Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Glenn Anderson

He was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New York Rangers at the 1993-94 season’s trading deadline for Mike Gartner. The five-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Edmonton Oilers played 12 games, scoring four goals and had 12 assists for 16 points, but in the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he scored three goals and three assists for six points and was on the top line with Mark Messier and Adam Graves.

He signed with the St. Louis Blues the following season and then had stints with a return to Edmonton and back to St. Louis before he retired. Anderson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the class of 2008.

Mike Richter

He played all of his 15 seasons with the Rangers from the 1988-89 playoffs in one game, till the 2002-03 season. The Abington, Pennsylvania, native was selected in the 1985 NHL Draft, joining John Vanbiesbrouck during the Roger Nielson era, and both men started taking turns as the starting goaltender, as both men gave the Rangers a dilemma.

When the 1993-94 expansion draft came, the Rangers traded Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks, but he was eventually selected by the Florida Panthers. That move gave Mike Richter the definitive nod that he would be the full-time starting goaltender of the Rangers. He played 666 games, with 301 wins, 258 losses, and 73 Ties. with a 2.89 Goals Against average and a Save Percentage of .904

Many will remember some of his big moments in the playoffs during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals when he held the fort at the Brendan Byrne Arena while down two to nothing, and allowed Alexei Kovalev to score the goal at the end of the second period, to set up the magical moment for Mark Messier and the comeback win to force a Game 7.

He had another big moment in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, when Brian Leetch took down Pavel Bure from behind on the breakaway and the referee gave the Russian Rocket a penalty shot. Richter was calm, cool, and collected. He skated out, then slowly back toward his crease, keeping his pads together until he forced Bure to go to his left, and Richter stuck his right pad out to make the save.

At the time, Richter was the all-time winningest Rangers goaltender with 301 career wins, passing Eddie Giacomin until Henrik Lundqvist took that over. He also won internationally in the first-ever 1996 World Cup of Hockey, as the final was a three-game series that was won in Montreal at the Bell Centre. Richter was also the MVP of the 1994 NHL All-Star Game that was also held at Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, Richter’s career came to an abrupt end as he suffered from concussions that forced him to retire from the game he loves. That allowed him to return to school and sign up for Yale’s highly competitive Eli Whitney Students Program, Yale College’s admissions program for non-traditional students. He graduated with a degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with a concentration in Environmental Policy. He is currently the President of Brightcore Energy.

Richter was the first player in the 1994 Stanley Cup team to have his Jersey reired on February 4th, 2004

Adam Graves

His second apperance in the Centennial Celebrations, Graves at the time set the Rangers record for most goals in a season, passing Vic Hadfield on a road trip in Edmonton, scoring his 50th and 51st goals. He ended with 52 in that season. Given the Alternate Captain’s “A” on the road. He was on the top line with Mark Messier and, at the time, Mike Gartner, till he was traded to Toronto for Glenn Anderson.

But his big goal in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was on the power play in the first period. With the Rangers leading one to nothing, Sergei Zubov brought the puck up the ice, entered the Canucks’ zone, but fell while making the pass to Alexei Kovalev down the near side. With Graves entering the slot and accepting the pass, he took the shot and snapped it past Kirk McLean for the two-goal lead.

Brian Leetch

He played 17 seasons with the Rangers, from the 1987-88 season till the middle of the 2003-04 season, when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then spent one more season with the Boston Bruins before retiring from the game. Leetch began his career after the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native was a first-round draft pick in the 1986 NHL Draft.

He played 1,129 games, scored 240 goals, and earned 741 assists for 981 points. He holds Rangers records with 741 Assists, 514 Power Play Points, and 408 Power Play Assists. He is second behind Rod Gilbert in career points. Leetch was one of the best offensive defencemen in his era of the NHL. Not only did he quarterback the power play, but he came forward many times to create chances or score goals.

Several times, Leetch was able to take the puck from his own end along the end boards. Skated all the way across the rink, then cut in front of the opposition’s crease and scored on the goaltender. A skill that we rarely see in today’s NHL in a long time. The last two defensemen to do that for the Rangers were Neil Pionk against the Montreal Canadiens and recently Matthew Robertson in an overtime winner against the Boston Bruins.

In the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, Leetch had 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points, earning him the Conn Smyth Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He scored the opening goal in the series against the Islanders, the series-winning goal in the second round against the Washington Capitals, the spinarama goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils, and he opened the scoring in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Leetch is a two-time Norris Trophy winner and had his number retired by the Rangers on January 24th, 2008. He was also inducted with Mike Richter in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Denver in 2008, and then he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the class of 2009. He was teammates with Mike Richter for the 1998 Olympic Hockey Team, and again in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey for Team USA.

Mark Messier

He was traded to the Rangers from the Edmonton Oilers for Bernie Nichols, Louie DeBrusk, and Steven Rice after the first game of the 1991-92 season. Messier arrived in Montreal, Quebec, as the second game of the season was his first game with the club, and helped the Rangers finally earn a win at The Forum in overtime. In the home opener, he was officially given the Captain’s “C” in the pregame ceremony with other former Rangers Captains of the past as the NHL was celebrating its 75th anniversary season.

The Edmonton, Alberta Native had two stints with the Rangers. From the 1991-92 season to the 1996-97 season. Left to join the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons, he rejoined the Rangers in the 2000-01 season and retook the Captain’s “C” from Brian Leetch. After another four years, Messier finally retired at the end of the 2003-04 season. He played 698 games, scored 250 goals, and earned 441 assists for 691 points.

In the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Messier decreed before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals that the Rangers would win. He made a guarantee like Joe Namath did for the Jets before Super Bowl Three at the former Orange Bowl. Down three games to two, and after Kovalev scored in the second period, Messier took down the Devils all by himself with a Hat Trick and pushed the Rangers into Game 7.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, Messier scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks on the Power Play in the second period. Just shoving the puck under Kirk McLean’s pads, sending the Garden into a frenzy. After Craig MacTavish won the faceoff and the clock ran down to all zeros, Messier started the celebration by jumping around and took the Stanley Cup from commishioner Gary Bettman and skated around the Garden.

He is a six-time Stanley Cup Champion, winning his first four with Wayne Gretzky as Captain, then took over the Captain “C” winning it a fifth time, before moving to the Rangers. His #11 was the second jersey to be retired from the 1994 Stanley Cup Winning Team, after Mike Richter on January 12th, 2006. While Messier tried to get back into the Rangers organization as either a coach or a general manager, at the time, President & General Manager Glen Sather didn’t give him the position.

For the past several season Mark Messier has been a Studio Analyst with P.K. Subban and Host Steve Levy on ESPN and ABC. Giving his insights into the games on their network.

Honorable Mentions

Alexander Karpovtsev

Flying in from Russia were his wife, Janna, and his daughter, Stacy, for Alexander Karpovtsev. Sadly, Karpovtsev was part of the plane crash that killed the entire team of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on September 7th, 2011. Standing with Janna and Stacy were Adam Graves and Sergei Nemchinov during a tv timeout, and they were on the Gardenvision during the introduction.

John Amarante

From 1980 through 2015, John Amarante was the Rangers’ national anthem singer, and every time he sang, he was the Rangers’ good luck charm. Before the game started, the Rangers posted on Gardenvision his rendition of the National Anthem.

Those were the players, Coaches and front office people who made their status toward the Rangers, legends of the team, including that 1994 Stanley Cup Team.

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