New York Rangers

Lore & Background

Founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard, the Rangers are one of the Original Six teams that competed in the NHL before its 1967 expansion, along with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The team attained success early on under the guidance of Lester Patrick, who coached a team containing Frank Boucher, Murray Murdoch, and Bun and Bill Cook to win the Stanley Cup in only their second season.

In 1928, they became the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the trophy, and are still the fastest true expansion team in NHL history to do so. The team won two more Stanley Cups in 1933 and 1940. Following this initial grace period, the franchise struggled between the 1940s and 1960s, where playoff appearances and successes were infrequent. The team enjoyed a mini-renaissance in the 1970s, making the Stanley Cup Final twice, losing to the Bruins in 1972 and the Canadiens in 1979.

The Rangers subsequently embraced a rebuild for much of the 1980s and early 1990s, which eventually paid dividends in 1994, the team, led by Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter, captured their fourth Stanley Cup. The team was unable to duplicate that success in the years that followed, and entered into another period of mediocrity, enduring a franchise-record seven-year postseason drought from 1998 to 2005. After the arrival of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in 2006, the Rangers thrived, missing the playoffs just once between 2006 and 2017.

The Rangers returned to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, falling to the Los Angeles Kings in five games. Between 2012 and 2024, they reached the Eastern Conference finals five times.

Reader's Guide

The Rangers play their home games at Madison Square Garden. The team'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. The first team crest featured a rearing horse with a cowboy waving a hockey stick, but Rickard rejected that design, and management settled on a shield shape with 'NEW YORK' horizontally across the top and 'RANGERS' written diagonally. The diagonal positioning of 'RANGERS' carried over to the front of the solid blue jerseys.

Did You Know?

• The Rangers were originally incorporated under the name 'New York Giants Professional Hockey Club' before being changed to 'New York Rangers Hockey Club'.
• 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.
• 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 Madison Square Garden.