By Daniel Feuerstein | March 12th, 2026 | New York, NY
On Thursday, March 5th, the New York Rangers held a centennial celebration honoring the Modern Era players who reinvigorated the hockey club after a lockout ended the entire 2004-05 season. After an intense labor negotiation, the NHL decided to cancel the entire season as they felt the players weren’t understanding the need for spending reform. Former players turned into owners, Wayne Gretzky (then with the Phoenix Coyotes ownership group), and Mario Lemieux (then with the Pittsburgh Penguins) informed the hockey media they had to make this move to save the sport because the players’ union didn’t understand the issues at hand.
But once the new season came in, the Rangers went right into a brand new era of NHL hockey, bringing over veterans from the Czech Republic, Sweden, and discovering a goaltender they drafted in the later rounds, and bringing up talented prospects that could make a difference. Making trades for tough third and fourth liners, that made this era of Rangers hockey exciting and fun.
TOM RENNEY: He was a part of the Rangers Organization as the Director of Player Personnel, overseeing the amateur scouting department and assisting the senior scouting department. He continued to work his way up as the Vice President of Player Personnel, until he was officially giventhe reigns as the head coach of the Rangers, as he took over for Glen Sather, who was temporarily. behind the bench as he continued his duties as President and General Manager, Renney took over with 20 games left in the 2003-04 season. Made the playoffs in three of his four seasons as the head coach, but in the 2008-09 season, he was fired with four games remaining. He coached 327 games with a record of 164 Wins,117 losses, and 46 Overtime Losses for374 points.
GLEN SATHER: He is well known as the famed head coach and General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers and helped them win four Stanley Cups with both Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. Sather, as the General Manager, got the Oilers their fifth Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins in the 1989-90 season with Messier as the Captain. He also traded Messier to the Rangers to help them earn the Stanley Cup in the 1993-94 season. After his time with the Oilers, Sather came to the Rangers as President and General Manager in the 2000-01 season. He spent fifteen seasons as the General Manager until he stepped down in 2015, allowing Jeff Gorton to take over. Then, in 2019, he officially stepped down as President of the Rangers as the club brought back John Davidson from his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Sather also played for the Rangers in four seasons with the club, playing 186 games, scoring 18 goals with 24 assists for 42 points from the 1970-71 season till the 1973-74 Season. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category in the class of 1997.
COLTON ORR: His second time at Madison Square Garden on a Centennial Celebrations Night. We will never forget Orr’s defensive prowess and his strong skating abilities, but we will always remember him for his fights and his tremendous right hand that was so devastating to his opponents. We will never forget the knockout punch he delivered to Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers. He delivered the shot right into Fedoruk’s left side on his jaw, and he crumbled down to the ice. While Fedoruk was o.k. after the game, he didn’t return to the bench. But that lasting memory of the type of player Orr was, and why he is so beloved as a Ranger
STEVE VALIQUETTE: For five seasons, Steve Valiquette was the backup goaltender to Hockey Hall of Fame member Henrik Lundqvist, going back and forth from the AHL to the NHL. He had two stints with the Rangers while going in between seasons in Europe and the Hartford Wolf Pack. Began in the 2003-04 season and returned to Broadway from 2006-07 till 2009-10. The Etobicoke, Ontario native got his name chanted by the Garden faithful when he won a big shootout game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in 39 Games with a record of 14 Wins, 14 losses, and 6 Overtime losses.
After retiring from hockey, Valiquette joined MSG Network as an analyst for pre-game, intermission, and post-game commentary. He continues to do that with his former Goaltender tEammate Henrik Lundqvist, who occasionally joins the network as a part-time analyst, as he does for TNT Sports coverage of the NHL, with studio host John Gianone and locker room reporter at The Garden Michelle Gingras.
DEREK DORSETT: He was traded to the Rangers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2012-13 season, where he began in the playoffs for 11 games, then played a full season in the 2013-14 season. The Kindersley, Saskatchewan native was mostly used as a fourth-line player for defense and grit. He played 51 games, scoring four goals and four assists for 8 points in the 2013-14 season, and then was picked up as a free agent from the Vancouver Canucks.
Dorsett was forced to retire after he had a severe Herniated Cervical Disc in his neck. He had to have surgery that ended his career. He retired on November 30th, 2017.
DARIUS KASPARITUS: Signed as a free agent and played four seasons with the Rangers from the 2002-03 till the 2006-07 season, where he finished his North American Hockey career with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The Elektrinal, Lithuanian, then of the Soviet Union played 215 Games, scored six goals, and earned 28 assists for 34 points. A feisty defenseman who always knew how to get under your skin and always found an edge to take the advantage. A reliable defensive defenseman.
After retiring, he signed up as an Assistant Coach with the KHL Hockey Team SKA Saint Petersburg, for half a season in 2010. He is currently the President of a business he cofounded called the Verzasca Group, located in Florida, a Real Estate Development Company.
MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO: He played five seasons with the Rangers. Michael Del Zotto was selected in the 2008 NHL Draft, from the 2009-10 season till he was traded to the Nashville Predators in the 2013-14 season. The Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario native played 292 games, scored 26 Goals, and earned 95 assists for 121 points. He was the second defensive pairing behind Ryan McDonagh and was a part of the second power play unit. He was remembered for his playoff game-winning goal at Madison Square Garden against the Washington Capitals after giving a hit to Alexander Ovechkin, then catching up to the play and ripping a big shot from the far point to take the two-goal lead in Game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
After his trade to the Predators was over, he played for several teams in the NHL. The Philadelphia Flyers, the Vancouver Canucks, the St. Louis Blues, the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Ottawa Senators, and then finished his professional career in the AHL.
DOMINIC MOORE: He had two separate stints with the Rangers. Selected in the 2000 NHL Draft, he started in Hartford of the AHL, till he received a call-up for nine games in the 2003-04 season, stayed in Hartford in the 2004-05 season, then got recalled in the 2005-06 season. His return to the Rangers was in the 2013-14 season until the 2015-16 season. The Thornhill, Ontario native played 322 Games, scored 31 goals, and earned 40 Assists for 71 Points. He was mostly used as a fourth-line player and was a strong skater. A great penalty killer and always found a way to put himself into position to score the big goals when the Rangers needed it.
Moore is well known for his Game Winning Goal in Game 6 of the 2013-14 Eastern Conference Final, beating Dustin Torkarski in the second period inside the far post. That goal sent them to the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1993-94 Cup Winning Season. He was fed a brilliant pass by Brian Boyle from behind the net.
After his NHL Career ended, Dominic Moore later on decided to go into broadcasting and was a member of ESPN’s return to broadcasting the National Hockey League. When the NHL moved the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City to become the Utah Mammouth, Moore was hired as the Television analyst for all the games and is currently in his second season with the Mammouth.
KEVIN KLEIN: He was traded to the Rangers from the Nashville Predators for Michael Del Zotto in the 2013-14 season. He played three and a half seasons till the 2016-17 season. The Kitchener, Ontario native played 224 games, scored 22 goals, and earned 50 Assists for 72 points. A reliable defensive defenseman and a hard hitter along the end boards. Unfortunately, back spasms derailed the rest of his career, and he was forced to retire at the end of the 2016-17 season.
BRIAN BOYLE: Traded to the Rangers from the Los Angeles Kings, Brian Boyle played five seasons with the Rangers from the 2009-10 season to the 2013-14 season. The Hingham, Massachusetts native played in 355 Games, scored 33 goals, and earned 46 assists for 79 points. A strong fourth-line player and was an amazing passer of the puck. He was on the penalty kill and was on the same line as Brandon Prust. He was involved with the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Team, making beautiful stretch passes to Carl Hagelin and to Dominic Moore against the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs.
After leaving the Rangers, Boyle signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but in between his time with Florida and Pittsburgh, Boyle was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. Thankfully, he was able to be leukemia-free but continues to take medication for it. After retiring from Professional Hockey, Boyle joined NHL Network as a studio analyst, and recently, he has been doing part-time analyzing work at the MSG Network, covering the Rangers. First, between the benches, then the studio, and now as a part-time game analyst when Dave Maloney isn’t able to make the games.
BRANDON PRUST: His second apperance to a Centennial Night. We always remember Prust as a hard-nosed fourth liner, penalty killer, and scorer of short-handed goals. He was always the brash one and backed it up every time he was on the ice. We will never forget the line brawl he was a part of against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
SEAN AVERY: His second appearance in a Centennial Night Ceremony, Sean Avery with a big smile on his face, as he always knows that he is welcomed by the Garden Faithful every time he makes a trip to a Rangers Game. Brashness, toughness, and a pain in the backside, Sean Avery was always that guy everyone had to watch out for. But he will forever be known as the guy who harassed Martin Brodeur and always found ways to call him names every time the Rangers played the Devils in the regular season or in the playoffs.
BRANDON DUBINSKY: He played six seasons with the Rangers from the 2006-07 season to the 2011-12 season. He was drafted in the 2004 NHL Draft. The Anchorage, Alaska, native played 393 games, scored 61 goals, and earned 132 assists for 193 points. Dubinsky, along with Ryan Callahan, was the start of the young players coming up through the draft and playing in the AHL at the Hartford Wolf Pack. A tough-nosed goal scorer who can also defend himself and do well on the ice. Dubinsky sadly didn’t resign with the Rangers and, after a year in the ECHL with the Alaska ACes, was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he finished his career. Dubinsky was also the second Alaskan-born player on the Rangers after Scott Gomez.
CARL HAGELIN: He played four seasons with the Rangers from the 2011-12 season to the 2014-15 season. He was drafted in the 2007 NHL Draft. The Nykvarn, Sweden, native played 266 games, scored 58 goals, and earned 72 assists for 130 points. Left as a free agent and signed with the Anaheim Ducks the following year. Made up that dynamic second scoring line with Derrick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.A speedy winger with finesse and guile while on his skates. He scored a big short-handed goal in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs and was on the team that reached the Stanley Cup Final.
After his Rangers tenure, he signed with the Anaheim Ducks for a season, then signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins for four seasons, traded to the Los Angeles Kings, and then signed with the Washington Capitals. Hagelin was forced to retire after hip replacement surgery in 2023.
MARC STAAL: The latest Famous family that has all siblings playing in the NHL. First the Sutters, then the Broten’s, and now the Staal’s. He played 13 seasons with the Rangers in the 2019-20 season. Marc Staal was drafted in the 2005 NHL Draft. The Thunder Bay, Ontario, native played 892 Games, scored 43 goals, and earned 145 assists for 188 points. A very tall defenseman with a rocket of a shot from the point and used on the penalty kill and on the power play at times, Staal was good with his stick and a good skater as well. The Rangers did trade for his brother Eric for a short time, and he scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was on the 2013-14 Stanley Cup Finals team.
After his time with the Rangers, Staal signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, then a season at the Florida Panthers, and finished his career at the Philadelphia Flyers.
MARION GABORIK: He signed a free agent deal, leaving the Minnesota Wild to come over to the Rangers, and played four seasons from the 2009-10 season to the 2012-13 season, then was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Trencin, Czechoslovakia, native played 255 Games, scored 114 goals, and earned 115 assists for 229 points. A dangerous goalscorer who loves to snap his shots on the net and can skate very well with the puck. He has scored on breakaways as well. We will never forget his triple-overtime playoff goal at our Nation’s Capital against the Washington Capitals.
After being traded to the Blue Jackets, Gaborik was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for four and a half years, then finished his career in Ottawa with the Senators. After announcing his retirement, he opened his own Ice house to help Ice Hockey in Slovakia and has a hockey school.
HENRIK LUNDQVIST: His third appearance for a Centennial Night Ceremony as he became the face of Goaltending in the net to advance the position from Worsley, to Giacomin, to Davidson, to Vanbiesbrouck, to Richter. While the Rangers did draft USA Gold Medal World Juniors Champion Goaltender Al Montoya, Lundqvist rose to excellence for over a decade, becoming the winningest Goaltender in Rangers History and the new shutout king in Rangers History, passing both Richter and Giacomin.
HONORABLE MENTION: While he couldn’t make it to Madison Square Garden, the man who started the Modern Era after the lockout was Jaromir Jagr. He began a new tradition at the Garden after Rangers Victories with the stick salute at Center Ice inside the big logo. After his time in the NHL, he went back to Czechia to play for Rytiri Kladno and owned the team. He just recently retired at the age of 54, but he made a video for Rangers fans on GardenVision.
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