New York Rangers: Five all time greats who were almost Rangers
By Josh Lipman
The New York Rangers have a long history of bringing star players to Broadway. From Phil Esposito to Wayne Gretzky to Jaromir Jagr, plenty of all time greats wind up wearing Ranger jerseys at some point in their careers. Even the Rangers don’t land everyone, though.
Not every star even becomes available, of course. But sometimes the Rangers find themselves with a brilliant chance to add a future Hall of Famer only to ring a shot off the post.
Whether a deal falls through, a team matches an offer, or something else goes wrong; plenty of factors can foul up what looks like a foolproof play. Sometimes it’s not even the Rangers’ fault.
Here are five Hall of Famers who came agonizingly close to walking into Madison Square Garden’s home locker room. For the purposes of this list, current players, and those simply passed over in the draft, do not count.