New York Rangers

History

Early years (1926–1942)

George Lewis "Tex" Rickard, president of Madison Square Garden, was awarded an NHL franchise for the 1926–27 season to compete with the New York Americans, who had begun play at the Garden the previous season. The Americans' early success in their inaugural season exceeded expectations, leading Rickard to pursue a second team for the Garden despite promising the Americans that they were going to be the only ice hockey team to play there. The team was originally incorporated under the name "New York Giants Professional Hockey Club" during a league meeting with NHL president Frank Calder on April 17, 1926, but during the meeting the name was then changed to "New York Rangers Hockey Club." The franchise's nickname is attributed to sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, George Haley, who referred to the new team as "Tex's Rangers" because of Rickard's decision to bring a new NHL team to New York.

Rickard's franchise began play in the 1926–27 season. The first team crest played on the club's name with a rearing horse sketched in blue carrying a cowboy waving a hockey stick aloft, with the word "TEX'S" in a crescent at the top of the emblem with "RANGERS" below it. Rickard rejected that design, and management settled on a crest similar to the Americans, a "shield" shape with "NEW YORK" horizontally across the top of the shield and "RANGERS" written diagonally from the top left to bottom right. The diagonal positioning of "RANGERS" carried over to the front of the solid blue jerseys. Future Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was hired to assemble the team. However, he had a falling-out with Rickard's associate, John S. Hammond, and was fired as manager-coach on the eve of the first season – he was paid a then-hefty $2,500 to leave. Smythe was replaced by Pacific Coast Hockey Association co-founder Lester Patrick. The new team Smythe assembled turned out to be a winner. The Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs.

The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring Twenties nightlife. It was during this time, playing at the Garden on 49th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the Rangers obtained their nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts". On December 13, 1929, the Rangers became the first team in the NHL to travel by plane when they hired the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to fly them to Toronto for a game against the Maple Leafs, which they lost 7–6.

In only their second season, they won the 1928 Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons in five games. One of the most memorable stories that emerged from the Cup Final series involved Patrick playing in goal at the age of 44. At the time, teams were not required to dress a backup goaltender. When the Rangers' starting goaltender, Lorne Chabot, left a game with an eye injury, Maroons head coach Eddie Gerard vetoed Patrick's original choice for an emergency replacement, Alex Connell of the Ottawa Senators, who was in attendance. An angry Patrick lined up between the pipes for two periods in game two of the Stanley Cup Final, allowing one goal to Maroons center Nels Stewart. Frank Boucher scored the game-winning goal in overtime for New York.

Original Six era (1942–1967)

The Rangers collapsed by the mid-1940s, losing games by scores as lopsided as 15–0. In 1943–44, goaltender Ken McAuley led the league with 39 losses and 310 goals allowed in 50 games played; his 6.24 goals-against average that year remains the worst in NHL history by a goaltender playing at least 25 games in a season. They missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons before earning the fourth and final playoff spot in 1947–48, losing in the first round. In December, 1948, Boucher resigned as head coach remaining as general manager, giving control to Lynn Patrick, the son of Lester Patrick. In the 1950 Stanley Cup Final, the Rangers were forced to play all of their games, including "home" games, in Toronto, while the circus was held at the Garden. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime in the seventh game of the series.

During this time, Red Wings owner James E. Norris became the largest stockholder in the Garden. However, he did not buy controlling interest in the arena, which would have violated the NHL's rule against one person owning more than one team. Nonetheless, he had enough support on the board to exercise de facto control. The Rangers missed the playoffs 12 of the next 16 years within the remainder of the Original Six era. Boucher, who had been general manager of the squad, resigned citing depression over the team's inability to be a contender. His successor, Muzz Patrick, the younger brother of Lynn Patrick, did not fare well either, resigning in 1964 following criticism about management's unwillingness to improve the team by spending money. Emile Francis took over as both coach and general manager. After a five-year absence, the team made the playoffs, aided by goaltender Eddie Giacomin and 37-year-old former Montreal Canadiens right wing Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, who signed out of retirement in 1966.

Post-Original Six era (1967–1993)

In 1968, the Rangers moved into the fourth version of Madison Square Garden. During the 1969–70 season, the Rangers acquired veteran goaltender Terry Sawchuk, playing his final season with New York.

In 1971–72, the Rangers reached the 1972 Stanley Cup Final despite losing high-scoring center Jean Ratelle to injury during the last half of the regular season. The strength of players such as Brad Park, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert (the last three constructing the famed "GAG line", standing for "goal-a-game") carried them through the playoffs. They defeated the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Black Hawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the Cup Final.

The following season in 1972–73, the team made the semifinals against the Black Hawks again, but lost in five games. The Rangers' conference semifinals series against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1974 playoffs, which they lost in seven games became the first Original Six club to lose a playoff series to a 1967 expansion team. This series was noted for a game seven fight between Dale Rolfe of the Rangers and Dave Schultz of the Flyers. The Rangers' new rivals, the New York Islanders, who entered the League in 1972–73 after paying a territorial fee – $4 million – to the Rangers, were their first-round opponents in the 1975 playoffs. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders defeated the Rangers 11 seconds into overtime of the deciding game three.

In a blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins, the Rangers acquired Esposito and Carol Vadnais from the Bruins for Park, Ratelle and Joe Zanussi in 1975–76. On January 8, 1976, Emile Francis was fired after the team got to a bad start. Ron Stewart who was coaching the team was also fired. John Ferguson Sr. took over as both coach and general manager for the remainder of the season. To assist in Ferguson's contention building, the team acquired Ken Hodge from Bruins in exchange for Rick Middleton. However, the team failed to make a playoff push and Ferguson was fired in 1978. Madison Square Garden's new owner, Sonny Werblin, hired Fred Shero to take over as head coach and general manager. In the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Rangers defeated the Islanders in the semifinals and advanced to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Canadiens.

In four consecutive playoffs (1981–1984), the Rangers were eliminated by the rival Islanders, who went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1981, 1982, and 1983.

Ending the curse (1993–94)

The 1993–94 season was the Rangers' most successful in 54 years. With several transactions up to this point, the Rangers had acquired seven players who had been part of the Edmonton Oilers' Cup-winning teams: Oilers captain (and new Rangers captain) Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Kevin Lowe, Jeff Beukeboom, Esa Tikkanen, Craig MacTavish, and Glenn Anderson. Graves set a team record with 52 goals, breaking the prior record of 50 held by Vic Hadfield. The Rangers clinched the Presidents' Trophy by finishing with the best record in the NHL at 52–24–8, setting a franchise record with 112 points earned. In the playoffs the Rangers made it past the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping the New York Islanders, and then defeating the Washington Capitals in five games. However, in the conference finals against the third-seeded New Jersey Devils, with the Rangers down 3–2 in the series and heading back to the Meadowlands for the sixth game, Messier guaranteed a win to the press. During the game he scored a hat trick in the third period to lead the Rangers to a 4–2 win, setting up a seventh game back at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers won game seven, 2–1, when Stephane Matteau scored a goal in double overtime, leading the team to the Cup Final for the first time since 1979. In the Final, the Rangers led the series 3–1, but the Canucks won the next two games to force a seventh game. In the seventh game, the Rangers took a 2–0 first period lead, with Messier scoring later to put the Rangers up 3–1, the eventual Cup-winning goal they won 3–2. Defenceman Brian Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, while Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov became the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Cup.

Expensive acquisitions and postseason drought (1994–2005)

Despite coaching the Rangers to a regular season first-place finish and the Stanley Cup victory, head coach Mike Keenan left after a dispute with general manager Neil Smith. Paramount Communications, the owners of the Rangers, were acquired by Viacom who then sold the team to ITT Corporation and Cablevision in August 1994. During the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, the Rangers won their first-round series with the Quebec Nordiques, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Flyers in four games with succeeding head coach Colin Campbell. Neil Smith orchestrated a deal that sent Sergei Zubov and center Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and left-winger Luc Robitaille in the summer of 1995. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens in six games in the 1996 playoffs, but lost their second-round series to the Penguins in five games.

The Rangers then acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1996. With Gretzky, the team went to the conference finals in 1997, where they lost 4–1 to the Flyers. During the season, ITT sold their stake of the Rangers to Cablevision. Mark Messier, a former Oiler teammate of Gretzky's, left in the summer of 1997 and the team failed in a bid to replace him with Colorado Avalanche superstar Joe Sakic. Robitaille was also traded during the summer for Kevin Stevens. The Rangers missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, finishing no higher than fourth in their division. Gretzky retired at the end of the 1998–99 season.

In March 2000, Smith was fired along with head coach John Muckler, and that summer, Cablevision CEO and owner James Dolan hired Glen Sather as general manager. By the end of the 2000–01 season, the Rangers had acquired some veterans. Messier returned to New York, Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames and Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers by the Flyers. The Rangers also acquired Pavel Bure late in 2001–02 from the Florida Panthers. Approaching the 2004–05 NHL lockout, they also acquired Alexei Kovalev, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Rucinsky, and Bobby Holik. However, none of the acquisitions helped them obtain a playoff spot. Towards the end of the 2003–04 season, general manager Glen Sather traded away Brian Leetch, Kovalev, Rucinsky, and Nedved.

Henrik Lundqvist era (2005–2020)

With the emergence of Swedish rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist during the 2005–06 season, the Rangers finished the season with a record of 44–26–12, their best record since 1993–94. Jagr broke the Rangers' single-season points record with a first-period assist in a 5–1 win against the New York Islanders on March 29, 2006. The assist gave him 110 points on the season, breaking Jean Ratelle's record. Less than two weeks later, on April 8, Jagr scored his 53rd goal of the season against the Boston Bruins, breaking the club record previously held by Adam Graves. Two games prior, on April 4, the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3–2, in a shootout, to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 1996–97. In the 2006 conference quarterfinals, the Rangers faced off against the Devils and were defeated in a four-game sweep. Jagr fell two points short of winning his sixth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 2005–06, but did win his third Pearson Award as the players' choice for the most outstanding player.

In the 2006–07 offseason, the Rangers signed Triple Gold Club winner and 12-time 30-goal scorer Brendan Shanahan to a one-year contract. On October 5, 2006, Jagr was named the first team captain since Mark Messier's retirement. On February 5, 2007, the Rangers acquired forward Sean Avery in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. The Rangers swept the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the next round by the Buffalo Sabres.

At the 2007 NHL entry draft, the Rangers chose Alexei Cherepanov 17th overall, who had been ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the number one European skater. In the 2007 offseason, they signed Scott Gomez to a seven-year contract, as well as Chris Drury to a five-year deal. The Rangers made the playoffs for the third consecutive season and the second round for the second consecutive season. In the first round against the New Jersey Devils, in game three, Sean Avery faced himself towards Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and moved his arms and stick in an attempt to screen any shots from the Rangers. After the game, the league made it an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to purposefully screen the goalie with your arms and stick. Following their first-round victory, they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. The following offseason saw the departures of captain Jaromir Jagr to the KHL and Martin Straka, who left to play in the Czech Republic.

Following Jagr's departure, Chris Drury was named captain on October 3, 2008. The Rangers were one of four NHL teams to open the 2008–09 season in Europe, being featured in the Victoria Cup final, defeating the European Champions Cup winner Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Bern, Switzerland. This was followed by two NHL regular season games against Tampa Bay in Prague on October 4 and 5; the Rangers won both games. However, on October 13, 2007, 2007 first-round pick, Alexei Cherepanov collapsed and died during a KHL game in Russia. After the Rangers went 2–7–3 in 12 games, coach Tom Renney was fired, with 2004 Stanley Cup and Jack Adams Award winner John Tortorella named as his replacement. The Rangers made the 2009 playoffs, but gave up a 3–1 series lead to the Washington Capitals to lose in seven games.

The Drury years (2020–present)

On January 31, 2021, defenseman Tony DeAngelo was placed on waivers following reports that he had an altercation with teammate Alexandar Georgiev following an overtime loss. According to The Athletic, his continued "maturity" issues, combined with a marked decline in his play, led the Rangers to put him on the market; there were no takers. In a game against the Washington Capitals on May 3, 2021, Capitals forward Tom Wilson cross-checked Pavel Buchnevich in the head and slammed Artemi Panarin into the ice, ending his season. Wilson, a repeat offender, was fined the league maximum of $5,000 for the incident. The Rangers organization released a statement expressing disappointment in this decision, calling head of player safety George Parros "unfit to continue in his current role". The NHL subsequently fined the Rangers $250,000 for their comments. Two days later, Rangers owner James Dolan fired president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton. Despite the timing, Dolan stated the firings were not related to the Wilson incident and statement, citing "culture" issues within the organization. Chris Drury was then announced as the Rangers' new president and general manager. On May 12, Drury fired head coach David Quinn and replaced him with Gerard Gallant. Despite a tumultuous season, a major bright spot was the play of Adam Fox; he led NHL defensemen with 42 assists, finished second in points with 47, and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

The Rangers finished the 2021–22 season with a record of 52–24–6. For the third time in franchise history, the Rangers overcame a 3–1 series deficit, this time against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a first round matchup that concluded with a game-winning overtime goal from Artemi Panarin. After defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games, they faced the back-to-back defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and lost the series in six games. Igor Shesterkin was named the Vezina Trophy winner following the season's conclusion. By the end of the following season, the Rangers had acquired Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues and Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks, but lost to their river rivals, the New Jersey Devils, in the first round of the playoffs. Gallant was then fired as head coach and replaced with Peter Laviolette.

In the 2023–24 season, the Rangers clinched their fourth Presidents' Trophy, and in the first round of the 2024 playoffs swept the Washington Capitals. After defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the conference finals.

Uniforms

The classic Rangers sweater has been in use since the franchise's foundation, with several alterations along the way. The current blue uniform has the serifed word "RANGERS" in red and white drop shadow arranged diagonally, with red and white stripes on the sleeves and tail. Originally, the uniform was light blue, before it switched to a darker classic Rangers "Broadway Blue" in 1929. In addition, the original versions neither had a drop shadow nor were serifed. During the 1946–47 season, the word "RANGERS" was arranged in an arch form above the sweater number. It adopted its current form the next season, along with dropshadowed numbers, except for a brief period where the city name was used, a tie-down collar was not used and the tail and sleeve stripes were separated by thin blue stripes. Red pants have been used with the uniform since the 1929–30 season.

The white jerseys were first unveiled in the 1951–52 season. The serifed word "RANGERS" is also arranged diagonally, but in blue with red drop shadow. The white sweaters, with minor changes such as a tie-down collar and arched player names, have remained virtually unchanged since.

During the tenure of general manager John Ferguson Sr., he sought to modernize the Rangers sweater by featuring rounded numbers, a darker shade of blue and the shield logo, which was unveiled in the 1976–77 season. A blue and red stripe (white and red stripe in the blue sweaters) extend from the yoke to the sleeves, while blue pants were used. However, it proved unpopular with the fans, and following the 1977–78 season it was replaced by an updated version of their classic uniforms. Ferguson used this similar design when he became general manager of the original Winnipeg Jets.

The modernized classic uniforms introduced in 1978 featured some subtle changes. Both jerseys featured a V-neck collar in a red-white-red pattern, and bolder stripes on the sleeves and waistline. On the blue jersey, the red and white stripes were separated by thin blue stripes, along with the waistline stripes being raised above the hemline so that the patterns on both jerseys matched. From 1978 to 1987, the blue jersey (then the road jersey) featured "NEW YORK" diagonally across the front instead of the traditional "RANGERS" wordmark, similar to their 2010s heritage alternate jerseys. In 1997, the Rangers reverted the blue jersey's design, restoring the old striping pattern, and becoming the first team to re-introduce lace-up collars. and the design was carried over to the Reebok Edge template in 2007.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Rangers. For the full season-by-season history, see List of New York Rangers seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime/shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Players and personnel

Current roster

Updated July 23, 2026

Team captains

Reference:

General managers

The current general manager is Chris Drury who had been named on May 5, 2021.

Head coaches

The current head coach is Mike Sullivan who was hired on May 2, 2025.

Team and league honors

Awards and trophies

The following lists the league awards which have been won by the Rangers team and its players and alumni:

Hall of Famers

The New York Rangers acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rangers inductees include 53 former players and ten builders of the sport. The nine individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former Rangers executives, general managers, head coaches, and owners. In addition to players and builders, several broadcasters were also awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Sal Messina, a color commentator, was the first Rangers broadcaster to be awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Other Rangers broadcasters awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award include John Davidson (awarded in 2009), and Sam Rosen (awarded in 2016).

Players

Builders

Retired numbers

The Rangers have retired nine numbers for eleven players in their history, and the NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.

Notes:

1 The number was retired in honor of two different players.

Franchise records

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten-point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

* – current Rangers player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game average

Goaltending leaders

These goaltenders rank in the top ten in franchise history for wins. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season.

* – current Rangers player

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/O = Ties/Overtime losses; GA = Goal against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts

Single-season records

Source: