New York Rangers: Where do Ranger goalies rank in the top 100?
The Hockey News has a special edition out featuring the top 100 goaltenders in NHL history. How many Ranger goalies are on the list and where is Henrik Lundqvist ranked?
18 of the greatest goalies of all-time played for the Rangers including two in the top ten and 14 in the top 50. Current Ranger and future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist makes the list at #24 and if he could add a Stanley Cup to his resume he would easily crack the top 20. You’ll recognize some of these players from their long careers on Broadway while some others only had a cup of coffee in the Ranger jersey. Here goes:
The top ten
#1 – Terry Sawchuk – The greatest goalie of all time played just eight games as a Ranger, but his tenure in New York ended in tragedy when he died after a brawl with his teammate Ron Stewart. After the season ended both players had been drinking at a pub near the Long Beach, NY house that they shared. After, they got into an argument about a debt and it turned into a shoving match on their lawn. Sawchuk fell and injured his liver and gallbladder. He underwent several surgeries, but died of a blood clot a month later. The 39 year old was traded to the Rangers in June, 1969 for forward Larry Jeffrey to serve as back-up to Eddie Giacomin. He played in eight games, winning three with one shutout and finished his Ranger career with a 3-1-2 record and a 2.91 GAA.
Sawchuk is the greatest goalie because of his 14 years in Detroit. He won four Vezina Trophies and was an 11-time all star. The last shutout of his storied career came as a Ranger when he blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins in March, 1970.
#4 – Jacques Plante – Plante is the first goalie to wear a mask and won a record five Vezina Trophies in a row with Montreal. Again, he is an all-time great who ended up in New York at the tail end of his career. The 35-year old was traded to the Rangers in 1963 for Gump Worsley. Hampered by injuries, his Ranger career with a bad team was undistinguished and in his second year he was demoted to the AHL. That demotion and a bad knee forced his retirement. Ironically, he came back when drafted by St. Louis in the 1967 expansion and won a seventh Vezina Trophy in 1969.
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#20-29 The King makes the list
After Jacques Plante at #4, no former Ranger makes the list until Lorne Chabot at #20. Henrik Lundqvist appears at #24, ahead of Tom Barrasso (#26) and Carey Price (#27). The King could still move up as he adds to his win total and builds on his already impressive record. The question is can he crack the top 20?
#20 – Lorne Chabot – Chabot is a controversial figure in hockey history and was involved in one of the most famous moments in Ranger history. First, the controversy. Lorne Chabot is not in the Hall of Fame and that omission is a subject of much discussion among hockey historians. To some he was one of the greatest goalies ever while to others he was merely adequate. His career stats are better than average, but he wasn’t a perennial all-star and only won one Vezina Trophy.
Chabot will go down in Ranger lore for his role in the 1928 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Maroons. In the second game he was struck by a puck above the eye. Ranger Coach-GM Lester Patrick, who was 44-years old, had to replace him in that game and then journeyman Joe Miller was signed and played the last three games of the Finals as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Fearing permanent eye damage, the Rangers traded Chabot to Toronto, where he starred.
There’s one more bit of trivia about Chabot’s time with the Rangers. In 1926, their first season, the team wanted to promote the game to Jewish fans s so they actually called him Leopold Chabotzky in home games though he was French Canadian and not Jewish. Only in New York.
#22 – Johnny Bower -Bower played parts of three seasons with the Rangers with little success. Although he beat Gump Worsley for the starting job as a 29-year old rookie in 1953-54, he lost out to Worsley the following season and was traded to an AHL team a year later. He went on to star for the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning four Stanley Cups and two Vezina Trophies.
#24 – Henrik Lundqvist – It is really not necessary to recount the many career totals for Henrik Lundqvist. Already the greatest Swedish goalie, barring injury he should pass both Sawchuk and Plante into 6th place on the wins list. He leads the Rangers in every career category and is arguably the greatest Ranger of all time. An Olympic goal medalist and world champion, the only honor that has eluded him is the Stanley Cup.
#25 – Gump Worsley – Lorne John “Gump” Worsley had the misfortune of playing for really bad Ranger teams for a decade. He won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season. In ten years as a Ranger he made the playoffs four times and the team never got out of the first round. Worsley was traded to Montreal when he became involved in the players union and he went on to win four Stanley Cups and two Vezina Trophies with the Canadiens. Gump had a quick wit. During his Ranger career, when asked which team gave him the most trouble his answer was “the New York Rangers.”
#28 – Harry Lumley – Lumley played all of 20 minutes in one game with the New York Rangers, when he was loaned to the team by the Detroit Red Wings. That one game did bring Lumley and the Rangers a distinction. He set a record that still stands as the youngest goaltender to ever play in the NHL . He was only 17 years old.
#30-39 Eddie! Eddie!
The Rangers place two goalies in the next ten. With Ed Giacomin at #30, he could slip down the list as #32 Jonathan Quick continues to play. Giacomin would be in the top 20 if not for Carey Price at #27 and Robert Luongo at #29.
# 30 – Ed Giacomin – Giacomin was the heart and soul of the New York Rangers for ten years. he was one of the best stickhandling goalies of his generation and was the inspiration for the great Ranger teams of the late sixties. His career highlight was taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1972 when they lost a tough six game series to the Bruins. He is third all-time with 267 wins and is second with 49 shutouts.
Ranger fans were heartbroken when GM Emile Francis traded Giacomin to Detroit in 1975 as part of a youth movement. The very next game brought the Red Wings to Madison Square Garden and what followed was one of the great moments in Ranger history. Greeted with a standing ovation and chants of “Eddie! Eddie!”, Giacomin could do no wrong. The fans cheered for every save and booed when the Rangers scored. Needless to say, it was a win for Detroit and one of the most memorable nights in Garden history.
# 37 – Chuck Rayner – Rayner spent almost his entire career in a Ranger uniform and was one of the best goalies in the NHL. Unfortunately, he was yet another great goalie who was limited by bad Ranger teams. In 1950 Rayner won the Hart Trophy and guided the team to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in a decade. They lost to Detroit in seven games in a series that had five games played in Detroit and two games in Toronto as the circus had taken over Madison Square Garden. Even against those odds, it took double overtime in in the seventh game for Detroit to finally vanquish the Rangers. Rayner is one of only seven goalies to win the Hart Trophy.
#40-49 Mick Richter and the Beezer
Two longtime Ranger heroes make the list. Closing in on them are Sergei Bobrovsky at #46 and Pekka Rinne at #48. Marc Andre Fleury is sitting just ahead of them at #40.
#42 – John Vanbiesbrouck – That the Beezer makes the list just before Mike Richter is something Ranger fans may disagree with. However, Vanbiesbrouck played eight years beyond his nine seasons in New York and that tilts the rankings in his favor. Beezer won the Vezina Trophy in his second Ranger season in 1986 and was in goal when the Florida Panthers made the Finals in 1996. Vanbiesbrouck is notable as one of the first top US born goalies and is the winningest US born goalie of all-time with 371 victories. Those 371 wins puts him in 16th place all-time.
#43 – Mike Richter – Mike Richter may be #43 on the all time list, but he is number one in the hearts of modern Ranger fans. That’s due to his his work the spring of 1994 when he stood on his head and led the way to Nirvana. Whether it was stopping Pavel Bure on a penalty shot or outdueling Martin Brodeur in a double overtime game seven win, Richter was the torchbearer for that team. Richter played 13 seasons for the Rangers before concussions forced him into retirement. He never won a Vezina Trophy and isn’t in the Hall of Fame (yet), but his number 35 hangs from the Garden rafters. He also holds the one Ranger record that Lundqvist may never break, 16 playoff wins in one season.
#44 – Dave Kerr – Dave Kerr played seven of his ten years as a New York Rangers, but he could be higher on the all-time list if he had continued playing instead of retiring at age 31. In 1941, one year removed from winning the Stanley Cup and the Vezina Trophy, he demanded a salary of $10,000. Rebuffed by GM Lester Patrick, he called it quits. Did he deserve the money? Well, in 1940 he played all 48 regular season games with a record of 27-11-10 with a 1.54 GAA and eight shutouts. He added eight more playoff wins including three shutouts. That season included a then-NHL record 19 game unbeaten streak. In 1938 he became the first hockey player to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine and he played every single regular season game for five straight seasons from 1936-41. Yes, he deserved the money.
#49 –Al Rollins – Rollins makes the all-time list for his stellar career in Toronto and Chicago. He only played ten games as a Blueshirt in his final season in 1959-60.
#50-100 An odd assortment of goalies
After the top 49 there are five former Ranger goalies in the top 100. None of them had distinguished careers in New York as they all made the list for work done elsewhere.
#50 – John Ross Roach – Roach was the first rookie goalie to lead his team (the Toronto St. Patricks) to the Stanley Cup in 1922. Traded to the Rangers in in 1928 for Lorne Chabot, he played four seasons in New York. To this day, Roach holds the Ranger season records for lowest GAA (1.41) and shutouts (13).
# 79 – Jim Henry – Henry, who had his greatest seasons with the Boston Bruins, began his career as a Ranger with 29 wins in 1941-42. World War II got in the way of his career as he spent three years in the military and never regained his rookie form with the Rangers. In 1948 he was traded to Chicago for Emile Francis.
# 82 – Kirk McLean – To Ranger fans, Kirk McLean is much better known as the Canucks goalie who almost prevented the Blueshirts from winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. Most do not remember that he ended his career on Broadway, played 45 games and notching 15 wins from 1999-2001.
#86 – Cesare Maniago – Maniago was one of the prime beneficiaries of expansion as he was claimed from the Rangers by the Minnesota North Stars. He went on to play nine seasons as their top goaltender. Prior to expansion he played two season with the Rangers as a backup to Ed Giacomin, getting into 34 games
#94 – Guy Hebert – Like Kirk McLean, Hebert made his name elsewhere and ended his career in New York in 2001. A star goalie for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Hebert was one of six goaltenders to see action for the Rangers that season. Who were the others would make a great trivia question. They answer? Kirk McLean, Jason LaBarbera, Johan Holmqvist, Vitali Yeremeyev and Mike Richter.
Looking ahead
The New York Rangers are well represented in the list of top 100 goaltenders. Who’s the next Ranger to crack the top 100? Could it be Igor Shestyorkin or Alexandar Georgiev? Ranger fans can only hope.