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New York Rangers all-time top forward lines

By Jim Madden

New York Rangers Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka in action against the Tampa Bay Lighting. New York Rangers defeat the Tampa Bay Lighting 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on December 22, 2005. (Photo by Dave Saffran/NHLImages)
New York Rangers Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka in action against the Tampa Bay Lighting. New York Rangers defeat the Tampa Bay Lighting 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on December 22, 2005. (Photo by Dave Saffran/NHLImages) /
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Swedish hockey players and teammates Anders Hedberg (left) and Ulf Nilsson of the New York Rangers pose together on the ice, late 1970s or early 1980s. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
Swedish hockey players and teammates Anders Hedberg (left) and Ulf Nilsson of the New York Rangers pose together on the ice, late 1970s or early 1980s. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) /

Honorable mention – close but no cigar

Picking the top ten lines inevitably means that some outstanding trios don’t make the final list. Here are the honorable mentions, forward lines that were no slouches but were not quite good enough..

The Bones line

The 1950 New York Rangers may have finished in fourth place during the regular season but rode the hot hands of the Bones Line centered by Don “Bones” Raleigh, with wingers Ed Slowinski and Pentti Lund to the Stanley Cup Finals.

With Lund shadowing the great Maurice “Rocket” Richard and holding him to one goal, the Rangers dispatched the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens in five games. Lund, Slowinski and Raleigh combined for nine of the team’s 15 goals and 21 of the team’s 41 points.

Lund led all playoff scorers with 11 points while sharing top goal scoring honors with Slowinski and Detroit’s Sid Abel each scoring 6 goals.  Raleigh had two overtime game winners in games four and five giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead in games before the Red Wings rallied to win the final two games and the Stanley Cup.

It’s no surprise that the Blueshirts lost the series.  They had been kicked out of Madison Square Garden by the circus and had to play two “home” games in Toronto.  Five of the seven games were played at Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

The Joker line

From 1971 to 1974 Pete Stemkowski centered the Rangers’ third line between Ted Irvine and Bruce MacGregor.  Stemkowski, also known as the Polish Prince, was the team’s practical joker while Irvine was known for his flamboyant scoring celebrations and wise-guy attitude with opponents.  MacGregor played the consummate role of straight man.

The trio were often called upon to stop the opponent’s top scoring line or shadow specific players.  MacGregor was asked to negate Montreal’s Yvan Cournoyer or Chicago’s Bobby Hull.  These strategic matchups were crucial but the line also contributed key goals including Stemkowski’s two epic OT goals in the 1971 Stanley Cup semifinals vs. the Blackhawks.  MacGregor outscored Cournoyer in the 1974 quarterfinals as the Rangers disposed of the defending Stanley Cup champions in six games.  As a third line they combined for 177 goals during their three plus seasons together.

Honorary Swede line 

Before the 1978-79 season the Rangers signed Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg as free agents from the WHA’s Winnipeg Jets.  The Rangers experimented with several left wingers to play with the two Swedish superstars who were among the WHA’s top scorers playing with the legendary Bobby Hull.  Pat Hickey settled in on the left wing slot as the honorary Swede to form the team’s number one line.

Hickey was coming off a breakthrough 40 goal the previous season and fit in superbly with Nilsson and Hedberg giving the Rangers two formidable scoring lines and power play units.  Hickey had a career year with 34 goals and 75 points with eight tallies on the power play.  Hedberg tied for the team lead in scoring with 33 goals and 78 points.

The playmaker in the pivot Nilsson was on a torrid pace averaging over a point per game showing the form that won him the scoring titles in the World Hockey Association.  On a fateful night in late February at Madison Square Garden, Nilsson sustained a broken ankle after a collision with the New York Islanders’ Denis Potvin.  Nilsson was never quite the same player but finished with 27 goals and 66 points in just 59 games leaving Ranger fans to memorialize Potvin at every home game since.

The FLY line 

The Rangers came close to acquiring Eric Lindros in a blockbuster deal with the Quebec Nordiques before the1993 season however Lindros eventually arrived on Broadway in the summer of 2001 in a multiplayer deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.  The Rangers also acquired high scoring winger Theo Fleury that summer via free agency.  Rangers Coach Ron Low put 24-year-old Mike York on the left side with Fleury and Lindros to form the F-L-Y line.

The FLY line became a lethal combination of power and speed that became one of the most formidable scoring lines in the NHL during the 2001-2002 season.  Lindros regained his dominant force in the middle after missing the previous season to injury.  Lindros finished as leading scorer with 37 goals and 73 points with Fleury and York rounding out the top three scorers for the Rangers that season.

That’s it for the honorable mention.  Time to turn our attention to the top ten forward lines in Rangers history.

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