Why this season resembles the 1988-90 New York Rangers
The New York Rangers enter this season with a highly rated group of young players reminding many of the 1988-90 Rangers.
As the team announced its intent to rebuild in 2017, the ESPN’s Corey Pronman rated the New York Rangers prospect pipeline 29th out of the NHL’s 31 teams. The challenge for General Manager Jeff Gorton was to stockpile draft picks and prospects as he traded away the team’s veterans over the past few seasons. It’s no surprise the Ranger organization reflects a massive turnover of players since Gorton’s rebuild began however it’s a huge surprise that the quality of the organization prospect depth has risen so quickly.
The NHL Network recently aired a show in which they ranked the NHL’s top 100 prospects as well as the teams with the top ten prospect pipelines. The New York Rangers prospect pipeline was ranked #1 in the NHL and had the most prospects in the top 51 with Kappo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin and K’Andre Miller among the tops in the league.
It’s been decades since the Rangers boasted such a highly rated farm system. With this many rookies looking to crack the Rangers lineup it reminds us of the1988-90 Rangers under GM Phil Esposito and Coach Michel Bergeron. Esposito earned the name Trader Phil with the number of deals he completed but he doesn’t quite get the credit for the strong draft record during his tenure.
The 1988-89 season, the year of the rookie
The 1988-89 Rangers had future Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne both entering training camp as 37-year olds. Dionne was acquired the year before at the deadline, Lafleur was coaxed out retirement and trying to make a comeback after a four year hiatus. But despite the focus on the twilight of Dionne and Lafleur the buzz in camp was about the young players that were coming up through the Rangers system.
First round draft pick Ulf Dahlen had made his Rangers debut the season before with a solid rookie season of 29 goals. Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch and winger Tony Granato led a group of Rangers prospects from the 1988 USA Olympic Hockey team into the Rangers organization which included forwards Corey Millen, Kevin Miller and goaltender Mike Richter.
Leetch was a first round pick taken ninth overall in 1986 and immediately became a dominant NHL defenseman. The rugged puck carrier by way of Boston College finished his rookie campaign with 23 goals and 48 assists for 71 points. The 23 goals were not only the most by a Ranger rookie defenseman, they were the most by any rookie defenseman in NHL history. The 71 points were the second most by a rookie defenseman all-time. Leetch won the Calder trophy as NHL rookie of the year becoming the eighth Ranger to win the honor.
As prolific as Leetch’s star took off, Granato had a rather inauspicious start to his NHL career. The 165 pound winger was a long shot to make the NHL because of his lack of size but made the team with a feisty showing in training camp. He struggled with just one point in his first seven games. Bergeron moved him around with Dionne and Lafleur it wasn’t until tough guy Chris Nilan was put on Granato’s line to give him space that his game come to life.
By December Dionne was released and Esposito acquired Carey Wilson from the Hartford Whalers for veteran Don Maloney. Bergeron quickly put Wilson between Granato and Tomas Sandstrom and the combination took off. Granato finished with 36 goals which led the Rangers that season and along with three hat-tricks, both the most ever by a Rangers rookie. He would take third in the Calder balloting giving the Rangers their best one-season finish for rookie of the year honors.
Late in the 1988-89 season the Rangers called up forward Darren Turcotte from the Denver Rangers and the fast skating forward burst onto the scene with a hat trick and seven goals in his late season audition. The Rangers struggled down the stretch with Esposito firing Bergeron and taking over behind the bench. While the Rangers qualified for the playoffs, they were swept away by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another silver lining from the season was the NHL debut of rookie goaltender Mike Richter in game four of those playoffs. Esposito’s future was not as bright however as the Rangers brass ended Trader Phil’s run on Broadway replacing him with Neil Smith after the quick playoff exit.
The 1989-90 season
The youth movement continued into the 1989-90 season as the composition of the Rangers roster was more than half first and second year players. Turcotte and Richter led the next surge of Ranger rookies to make their way to stardom. Turcotte led all NHL rookies with 32 goals and his 66 points placing him third in team scoring. He set a rookie Rangers record of scoring goals in seven straight games that stands to this day. He finished sixth in the Calder balloting.
Richter, taken in the second round in 1986 had a stellar freshman season with the Rangers moving into the back up role to John Vanbiesbrouck forming a solid U.S. goaltending tandem. Richter had a 12-5-5 record and a goals against of 3.00 and save percentage of .904 in 23 games. He finished fourth for the Calder and his dazzling start resulted in a seventh place finish in voting for the Vezina.
Two other rookie players cracked the Rangers lineup that season with tough checking center Mark Janssens and big bruising winger Troy Mallette. Janssens would play in all 80 Rangers games as a top faceoff guy who wasn’t shy about mixing it up as evidenced by his 161 in penalty minutes third most on the club. Mallette took over the protector role and set a Rangers team and rookie record of 305 penalty minutes which remain as all-time season records. The combative duo made certain no opposition would take liberties with the Rangers budding stars who helped the club earn their first Patrick Division title.
On the cusp of a championship
The Rangers retooling and youth movement would continue in the years that followed but wouldn’t end there. While Leetch and Richter would be the only long term players to remain with the Rangers, Neil Smith would parlay their youth pool of assets into key pieces that would eventually help the club climb the Stanley Cup summit.
Granato and Sandstrom were traded in January of 1990 to the Los Angeles Kings for all-star centerman Bernie Nicholls. Nicholls was coming off a 70 goal and 150 point season and gave the Rangers the top center that they seemed to be missing. In March, Smith traded Dahlen to the Minnesota North Stars for all-star sniper Mike Gartner. Gartner had eleven straight seasons of more than 30 goals and would top 40 goals in his next three seasons in New York.
Smith’s tinkering continued the following season as Mallette was sent to the Edmonton Oilers as compensation for Smith signing free agent forward Adam Graves. Turcotte was involved in a three-way deal that helped land wingers Steve Larmer and Nick Kypreos. After one full season with the Blueshirts, Smith shipped Nicholls to Edmonton for the quintessential team leader in Mark Messier who would lift the first Stanley Cup in 54 years for the Rangers in 1994.
The Rangers 2019-20 rookie crop
With potentially four rookies set to make their Madison Square Garden debut this season, there hasn’t been this much youthful excitement around the Rangers in almost 30 years dating back to the 1988-89 season.
Second overall pick Kappo Kakko is the perennial favorite among NHL talent experts to have the biggest impact in the NHL this season. The 18-year old Kakko has good size and speed along with a high hockey IQ which allows him to make smart decisions with the puck. The six foot two inch 190 pound forward boasts a great puck possession quality and has shown to be a beast in the corners and great in traffic. Kakko should play among the top six forwards this season and among the favorites to take home the Calder by season’s end.
The Rangers took Vitali Kravtsov with the ninth overall pick in 2018 and the 19-year old winger from Russia is also projected to be among the top Rangers forwards this season. The six foot four 185 pound Kravtsov is a big winger with a great combination of grit and speed who has the potential to be one of the best power forwards in the NHL for years to come.
Adam Fox will make his long awaited NHL debut this season. The right shot puck moving defenseman completed his collegiate career at Harvard University where he was a Hobey Baker finalist. The buyout of veteran Kevin Shattenkirk opens a potential spot on the right side for Fox who brings vision, speed, and power-play skills that are sorely needed. He joins a young defensive unit that the Rangers are building around. Coach David Quinn will need to be patient with Fox as he learns the NHL game.
While the 23-year old Shesterkin will learn the North American rink dimensions and game in Hartford, he will be ready for the call up if needed. Shesterkin put up some ridiculously stingy numbers in the KHL last season leading the league with a 1.11 goals against and .953 save percentage. His quick quick feet and tremendous reflexes will continue to improve under the tutelage of Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire.
The Rangers traded up to take the 19-year old Miller with the 22nd overall pick in 2018. At six foot four and 210 pounds he continues to build muscle that will develop an incredible combination of thunder and lightning to his blueline game. Miller, a converted forward, will begin is sophomore season with the NCAA Wisconsin Badgers. Still somewhat of a raw talent, Miller will continue to hone his defensive talents with emphasis on improving his positioning and game reading skills from the back end.
The Rangers produced highlight videos of the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons aptly named “The year of the rookie” and “Poised for glory”. These videos remind many fans of the team’s rebuilding efforts which ultimately led to a Stanley Cup. The 2019-20 Rangers look to make their own mark and the future indeed is bright for the New York Rangers.
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