Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division
New York Rangers
| Team's name: New York Rangers Conference: Eastern Division: Atlantic  Location: New York, New York Nickname: Rangers Mascot: none Team Colors: Blue, Rangers and White Joined the Conference: 1926 General Manager: Glen Sather Hockey Head Coach: Tom Renney Hockey Stadium: Madison Square Garden Current Capacity: 18,200 First Year of Hockey: 1925 Team Titles: Stanley Cup: 1927-28, 1932-33, 1939-40, 1993-94 Conference Championships: 1993-94 Division Championships: 1926-27, 1931-32, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1993-94 |
Based in New York, the Rangers are members of the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. The team is among the oldest in the NHL, having joined the League in 1926. The team was originally known as the New York Americans, or “Amerks,” but was nicknamed “Tex’s Rangers” after then- owner Tex Rickard. The Rangers managed to win the American Division title in their first season, 1927-27, but were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the playoffs.
The next year, the Rangers defeated the Montreal Maroons to claim their first Stanley Cup.
The next several years were less successful – although the Rangers did make it to the 1928-29 finals, where they lost to the Bruins again – until the 1932-33 postseason. Once again, the Rangers would claim a Stanley Cup, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one. Several years later, in 1940, the team would yet again claim the Cup against Toronto. That win would mark the end of an era for the team.
By the mid-1940s, the team imploded, experiencing tremendous losses and reporting dismal season statistics. After five consecutive years without entering the postseason, the Rangers were finally able to enter the playoffs in the final playoff spot. They lost in the first round and again slid backwards, missing the playoffs during 12 of the next 16 years.
The next several decades showed some improvement, with the team again becoming competitive in the regular season. In fact, the Rangers would make the postseason throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, although they would rarely go beyond the first few rounds. The exception came in the 1986 postseason, in which rookie goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck helped the team defeat the Flyers and the Capitals. Montreal finally trumped the New York team with the crucial assistance of its own goaltender, Patrick Roy.
After a brief moment of success in the 1991-92 season (the Rangers captured the President’s Trophy), the team collapsed the next season. The next few years were marked by a flurry of sales: the Rangers were sold to Viacom, which then sold the team to ITT Corporation and Cablevision, until ITT sold its stake to Cablevision.
In 1994, a new coach, Mike Keenan, led the Rangers to their fourth – and thus far, final – Stanley Cup. The team had a hot season, setting a franchise record with 112 points, claiming a season-best record with 52-24-8, and capturing the President’s Trophy. The team swept its rival New York team, the Islanders, in the first round and the Capitals in the second. Although the third round was a close one against the Devils, the Rangers managed to clinch the victory.
The Rangers acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1996, but the Great One did little to help the team. After one last bid at the postseason, the New York team went for the next seven seasons without a playoffs performance.
The turn of the century saw a series of changes to the team, both in the roster and in the management. Despite the changes, the team nonetheless missed the playoffs from 2002 to 2004.
After the 2004-2005 lockout, the Rangers again focused on rebuilding the roster. Tom Renney was hired as new head coach, and he began adding talented young players such as Petr Prucha, Dominic Moore, and Blair Betts. Despite the changes, the team was declared the worst in the league by Sports Illustrated. In an astonishing turn of events, however, the Rangers finished the season with their best record since 1993-94. The new players, along with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Straka, had revived the team.
The Rangers were able to make the postseason for the subsequent three years. In 2009, the team hired John Tortorella as new head coach. The team was able to enter the 2008-09 postseason at the seventh seed, but was defeated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.
New York Rangers Current Roster
| Centers | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 15 | Blair Betts | 29 | 6-3 | 207 | L |
| 23 | Chris Drury | 32 | 5-10 | 202 | R |
| 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 22 | 6-1 | 210 | L |
| 19 | Scott Gomez | 29 | 5-11 | 200 | L |
| 29 | Lauri Korpikoski | 22 | 6-1 | 183 | L |
| Left Wings | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 16 | Sean Avery | 29 | 5-9 | 185 | L |
| 91 | Markus Naslund | 35 | 5-11 | 195 | L |
| 34 | Aaron Voros | 27 | 6-3 | 178 | L |
| Right Wings | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 80 | Nik Antropov | 29 | 6-6 | 230 | L |
| 24 | Ryan Callahan | 24 | 5-11 | 185 | R |
| 28 | Colton Orr | 27 | 6-3 | 220 | R |
| 20 | Fredrik Sjostrom | 25 | 6-1 | 217 | L |
| 13 | Nikolai Zherdev | 24 | 6-2 | 197 | R |
| Defense | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 5 | Daniel Girardi | 24 | 6-2 | 200 | R |
| 27 | Paul Mara | 29 | 6-4 | 219 | L |
| 53 | Derek Morris | 30 | 6-0 | 220 | R |
| 6 | Wade Redden | 31 | 6-2 | 208 | L |
| 33 | Michal Rozsival | 30 | 6-2 | 212 | R |
| 18 | Marc Staal | 22 | 6-3 | 196 | L |
| Goalies | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 30 | Henrik Lundqvist | 27 | 6-1 | 195 | L |
| 40 | Steve Valiquette | 31 | 6-5 | 205 | L |