New York Rangers: Who you should root for these in the playoffs
The New York Rangers will be watching postseason hockey on the couch with the rest of us this spring. Here’s a guide to help Rangers fans decide who is worth rooting for.
It has not been often that the Rangers have missed the postseason. The team hasn’t qualified for the playoffs just once during the Henrik Lundqivst era. This period of sustained success has brought a bevy of memorable runs. This year, another franchise will embark on the journey to win Lord Stanley’s Cup.
There are 16 possible teams to root for in the playoffs. However, for Ranger fans, the field is far narrower than 16. Aside from straight up rooting interests, there are also draft considerations to consider. It is in the franchise’s best interest for certain teams to achieve specific outcomes.
But also, their are lots of players, coaches and other hockey personnel with Rangers ties. Maybe that will factor into your decision of who to root for. Read on to find the most prominent Rangers connections within the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Lightning
A conditional first round draft pick in this year’s draft. That is the biggest reason that every Rangers fan should be rooting for the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup. If they win this year or next, the 2019 second round pick acquired in the Ryan McDonagh deal becomes a first rounder.
In a perfect world, the Lightning win the Cup this season and next season which puts the team in a cap crunch. Both Nikkita Kucherov and the team’s rising prospects, Brayden Point and Mikihal Sergachev, will require extensions following the 2020 season. With the right recipe, Tampa Bay could fall apart and give the Rangers a high first round pick following a cup victory.
The main reason is the sentimental aspect. Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Ryan Callahan, Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi are all former Rangers on the team. No true Rangers fan would begrudge those players the right to hoist the Cup, as painful as that would be. As close as they all came in New York, it would be satisfying to see them have that level of success.
And one more connection the Lightning have to the Rangers: Assistant general manager Pat Verbeek scored 51 goals in 89 games over two seasons for the Rangers in the mid 90’s.
Pittsburgh Penguins
This one gets an obligatory section since there are a few sentimental connections here. If Pittsburgh three peats, though, there will be a unified groan in the other 30 NHL cities.
The Penguins have a number of New York Rangers connections. Former Rangers include Carl Hagelin, Derick Brassard, Matt Hunwick and Josh Jooris. Even their coach, Mike Sullivan, was a Rangers draft pick (he never played for the team) and served four years as assistant coach to John Tortorella.
We see how it could be tough to root for them, though.
New Jersey Devils
There are a number of reasons for Ranger fans to hope for success for the Devils and one big reason to want them to lose in the first round. The Rangers own the Devils 2018 second round draft pick, acquired in the Michael Grabner deal. The sooner the Devils exit the playoffs, the higher the pick for New York.
The Devils do play the Tampa Bay Lightning, though. If they knock out the Lightning, the pick they owe the Rangers in this year’s draft will look a lot better.
There are two former Blueshirts on the Devils besides Grabner. John Moore is a regular on defense and Brian Boyle was one of the most inspirational stories for the season, coming back from a cancer diagnosis. A Stanley Cup for Boyle would be a perfect ending to a fairy tale story. If family connections mean anything, Jimmy Hayes, brother of Kevin, plays for New Jersey.
Just like the Penguins, seeing the cross-river rivals succeed might not taste to good.
Boston Bruins
All Ranger fans know that Rick Nash and Nick Holden are toiling for the Bruins. As his career winds down this could be one of the last shots for Rick Nash to win the big prize, a fitting result for a great Ranger. Sidelined with his fourth concussion, his return to action is still up in the air.
Besides Holden and Nash, there are some Ranger family connections on the Bruins. Jake DeBrusk is the son of former Rangers draft pick Louie DeBrusk, who was traded to Edmonton in the Mark Messier deal. Ryan Donato is the son of Ted Donato, who played one season in New York.
Finally, in the front office, the executive director of player personnel is John Ferguson Jr. His dad was a former Rangers coach and general manager who is best known for designing the ugliest Rangers uniform ever and also for signing Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson from Winnipeg of the WHA.
One reason to hope for an early playoff exit is that it improves the position of the 2018 first round pick acquired for Rick Nash (and the third round pick from the Nick Holden trade too).
Columbus Blue Jackets
There is only one former Ranger on the Blue Jackets, but when Brandon Dubinsky played in New York, he bled Ranger sblue. Now a grizzled veteran at age 31, Dubinsky was benched late in the season by head coach John Tortorella.
Speaking of Torts, the former Rangers coach is still thought of fondly by many Rangers fans. In the front office, John Davidson is the President of Hockey Operations and is best known as the goalie who took the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979. After his playing career, J.D. spent over 20 years in the broadcast booth for the Rangers.
The Rangers would get the added benefit of the Washington Capitals also being mired in a perpetual cycle. Over the past 10 years, the Capitals and Rangers have the most postseason wins of any teams that have not won the Stanley Cup.
Toronto Maple Leafs
There’s a sentimental reason to root for the Maple Leafs and that is 37 year old Dominic Moore. A Ranger draft pick in 2000, he returned to New York for three seasons (2013-16) and scored some important playoffs goals.
A gritty defensive specialist, Moore had to endure the loss of his wife to cancer in 2013 and won the Bill Masterton Trophy as a Ranger in 2014. There is also a Rangers family connection as William Nylander is the son of former Rangers Michael Nylander who centered for Jaromir Jagr for two years. Finally, team president Brendan Shanahan had two 20 goal seasons playing for the Rangers from 2006-08.
Vegas Golden Knights
The fact that the Golden Knights finished the season as the most successful expansion team ever is reason enough to root for their playoff success. Former Rangers center Oscar Lindberg had a solid season for the Knights and former Connecticut Whale forward Jonathan Marchessault scored 27 goals.
General manager George McPhee was also a former Ranger who played parts of five seasons in New York. McPhee set an NHL record in 1983 when he scored three playoff goals for the Rangers before scoring a regular season goal. That record was topped by Chris Kreider in 2012 when he scored five playoff goals as a rookie with no regular season experience.
Another reason to root for McPhee is that he traded Jaromir Jagr to the Rangers when he was the general manager of the Washington Capitals.
Minnesota Wild
As much as Eric Staal was a disappointment in his brief stint with the Rangers he is still Marc’s brother and a former Blueshirt.
His teammate Matt Cullen is also a Ranger alumni. Considering that Staal was a complete washout in New York and that Cullen has two Stanley Cup rings with the Penguins, there are not a lot of reasons to root for the Wild.
They likely won’t last too long anyway, so fret not.
Philadelphia Flyers
The last former Ranger in action is Dale Weise. His career as a Ranger lasted all of 10 games but he is best remembered as the recipient of an illegal hit in the 2014 playoffs while with Montreal. The hit that resulted in a two game suspension for John Moore. There is a family connection to the Rangers as Nolan Patrick’s father is Steve Patrick and his uncle is James Patrick, both of whom played for the New York Rangers.
Behind the bench is assistant coach Ian Laperriere who had a brief tour with the Rangers in 1995-96. Laperriere was traded to Los Angeles in one of those horrible one-sided deals that would haunt the Rangers for years. Laperriere and Mattias Norstrom went to the Kings and played there for a decade while the Rangers got all of one season out of Jari Kurri and Marty McSorley.
Other Connections
That’s it for former New York Rangers playing in the postseason, but there are a number of other connections to playoff teams.
The Washington Capitals’ Christian Djoos is the son of former Ranger Per Djoos (one of the better hockey names ever). In the front office, Brian MacLellan played for the Rangers in the mid-80’s and is now the Washington general manager. Capitals President Dick Patrick is from the Patrick family, as close to hockey royalty as you can get. His grandfather was Hall of Famer Lester Patrick, who coached the Rangers to two Stanley Cups. He is the son of former Rangers player and coach Muzz Patrick. Also in the Hall of Fame is his uncle, Lynn Patrick, who also coached and played for the team.
Colorado Avalanche left winger Colin Wilson is the son of former Ranger Carey Wilson. Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette had a 12 game career as an NHL player, all with the Rangers. Predators assistant general manager Paul Fenton played eight games with the Rangers in 1986-87.
Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille played two seasons for the Rangers. The Kings’ special assistant to the general manager is former Ranger director of player development Jack Ferreira.
Two California assistant coaches have a link to New York. San Jose Sharks’ Dave Barr played six games for the Rangers in 1983. Anaheim’s Mark Morrison was a Rangers draft pick who played 10 games for New York in the early-80’s.
Even the Winnipeg Jets have a Ranger connection. Assistant director of player personnel Mike Keane played one season for the Rangers and is best known for accidentally hitting teammate Pat LaFontaine. That collision resulted in a career-ending concussion for LaFontaine.
So, Who to Cheer For?
There are reasons to root for every team in the playoffs this year, some better than others. Ranger fans must look to the future and a Tampa Bay Lightning championship has the biggest practical and sentimental upside.