New York Rangers: The best undrafted players in franchise history

The Rangers have a knack for picking players who have potential off the ice.  Two undrafted free agents signed by the Rangers have gone on to become successes behind the bench or in the front office.

Peter Laviolette -Laviolette had a short NHL career. A very short NHL career. It consisted of 12 games with the New York Rangers in 1988-89. After four years at Westfield State College and a brief stint in the IHL, the Rangers inked the defenseman to a contract. After that brief debut on Broadway he ended up the AHL where he played for five years before retiring to try coaching.  As a coach, he won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricane in 2006 and has made the Finals with Philadelphia and Nashville making him one of only three active coaches who have made it to the Finals three times.

George McPhee – Everybody knows George McPhee as the miracle worker of the Vegas Golden Knights. What most people don’t know is that the Rangers thought they had signed an all star when they signed the winger after he capped a four years career at Bowling Green University with the Hobey Baker Award in 1982. The Rangers thought they had pulled off a coup by signing the undrafted player who had 80 points in 40 games as a senior.

That feeling was reinforced when he potted three goals in the 1983 playoffs before playing a regular season NHL game. The NHL record was set that spring by McPhee and Edmonton forward Ray Cote  and was ultimately broken by Chris Kreider with five goals in the 2012 playoffs.

McPhee never lived up that the promise of that playoff, playing 109 games over four years with 21 goals and 45 points. McPhee turned to a career in management and was the Assistant GM in Vancouver when they played the Rangers for the Stanley Cup in 1994. He was the GM in Washington for 18 years and did the Rangers a big favor when he dealt Jaromir Jagr to the Blueshirts.  Fired by Washington in 2014 he has found great success in Las Vegas.