New York Rangers History

The New York Rangers were born in 1926, the second NHL club in New York after the Americans. Madison Square Garden president George Lewis "Tex" Rickard was awarded the franchise, and the team was quickly dubbed "Tex's Rangers" — a nickname that stuck for good.

Under coach and general manager Lester Patrick, the Rangers were an instant success, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their very first season and winning it all in their second.

The Rangers were one of the league's premier teams in the pre-war era, capturing three Stanley Cups in a 12-year span.

• 1928: First championship. In the Final, 44-year-old Lester Patrick famously stepped in as an emergency goaltender and won the game.
• 1933: Second Stanley Cup, led by Bill Cook, Frank Boucher, and the Cook brothers' line.
• 1940: Third championship — the title that opposing fans would taunt the Rangers about with "1940" chants for the next 54 years.

After 1940, the Cup proved elusive for more than five decades. The Rangers remained a proud Original Six member and iced legendary teams — none more beloved than the early-1970s clubs built around the "GAG Line" (Goal-A-Game) of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, and Vic Hadfield, with Ed Giacomin and Gilles Villemure in goal.

The 1971-72 team reached the Final, and the franchise built a devoted following at the Garden even as the championship drought became part of Rangers lore.

Messier's guarantee before Game 6 of the Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils — followed by his third-period hat trick — became instant legend. Stephane Matteau's double-overtime goal in Game 7 sent the Rangers to the Final, where they beat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Brian Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy, becoming the first American-born player to be named playoff MVP. The Garden crowd's "Now I can die in peace" sign said it all.

Wayne Gretzky finished his Hall of Fame career on Broadway, playing three seasons (1996-1999) before retiring at the Garden in April 1999. The 2000s and 2010s were defined by Henrik Lundqvist — "King Henrik" — who backstopped the Rangers to a 2014 Stanley Cup Final appearance and became the franchise's all-time wins leader.

• 2012: Lundqvist wins the Vezina Trophy; the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final.
• 2014: Stanley Cup Final appearance, falling to the Los Angeles Kings.
• 2020-21: A youth-driven rebuild ushers in a new core led by Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, and Artemi Panarin.
• 2022: Adam Fox wins the Norris Trophy; Igor Shesterkin wins the Vezina — deep playoff runs return to Broadway.

What sets the Rangers apart is a fanbase — "Rangerstown" — that has packed Madison Square Garden through championships and heartbreak alike. The traditions carry the weight of nearly a century:

• "Let's Go Rangers": The chant that echoes through the Garden and spills out onto Seventh Avenue.
• "Potvin Sucks": The whistle-and-chant born of the Islanders rivalry, still heard at the Garden decades later.
• The Blue Seats: Once the rowdiest section in hockey, an enduring symbol of Rangers passion.
• Retired Banners: The names hanging in the rafters — Gilbert, Leetch, Messier, Richter, Lundqvist and more — that every young fan grows up idolizing.