The best and worst draft classes of the 1970s

Best: Class of 1978

Notables

Don Maloney (2nd round, 26th overall, forward)

Tom Laidlaw (6th round, 93rd overall, defense)

Dave Silk (4th round, 59th overall, forward)

Andre Dore (4th round, 60th overall, defense)

Steve Weeks (11th round, 156th  overall, goalie)

Analysis

Maloney posted 502 points, including 195 goals, in 653 games for the Rangers. He led them in assists with 48 in 1980, and had 57 points in 85 playoff games. He set an NHL playoff record with 20 points in the 1979 playoffs. Maloney spent his final three NHL seasons with the Hartford Whalers and New York Islanders, finishing off his playing career with 564 points (214 goals) in 765 games.

Among those selected after Maloney, only five were more productive: Tony McKegney (32nd overall, Buffalo Sabres, 639 points in 912 games), Stan Smyl (40th overall, Vancouver Canucks, 673 points in 898 games), Keith Acton (103rd overall, Montreal Canadiens, 584 points in 1,023 games), Paul MacLean (109th overall, St. Louis Blues, 673 points in 719 games) and Anton Stastny (198th overall, Flyers, 636 points in 650 games).

Laidlaw was a steady presence on the blue line for seven seasons in New York.  With the Rangers, he scored most of his NHL career goals (20 of 25) and points (119 of 164).

History shows that Laidlaw was an atonement of sorts by the Rangers, who whiffed on consecutive picks in the third round, taking forward Ray Markham and defenseman Dean Turner at 43rd and 44th overall, respectively.

Turner played only 35 NHL games, 27 of them for the Colorado Rockies, and only one for the Rangers.  Markham played just 14 contests for the Rangers (and in the NHL).

In picking Markham and Turner, the Rangers passed on defenseman Curt Giles and forward Bengt Gustafsson, grabbed by the Minnesota North Stars and Washington Capitals at 54th and 55th overall, respectively.

The Rangers eventually traded for Giles who posted 733 penalty minutes and 242 points in 895 NHL games, while Gustafsson notched 555 points in 629 matches.

Silk enjoyed his best NHL years with the Rangers, notching 30 of his 54 goals and 63 of his 113 points for them.

Prior to joining the Rangers, Silk played for the United States’ National and Olympic teams in 1979-80. He tallied five points in seven games for the “Miracle on Ice” team at Lake Placid, N.Y., including two assists in the Americans’ epic upset of the Soviet Union.

Like Silk, Dore’s most productive NHL seasons were in New York, posting 153 of his 261 penalty minutes and 46 of his 95 points there.

Weeks will never have his jersey number in the Garden’s rafters, but he was serviceable for the Rangers with a 3.83 goals-against average, .866 save percentage in 94 games.

Honorable Mentions

1971

The Rangers nabbed Steve Vickers at 10th overall and were rewarded.  In 698 games, all with the Rangers, the winger posted 586 points (246 goals).  He had four 30-goal seasons, including a career-best 41 goals in 1975, and is eighth among all-time Rangers in points.

Three picks later, the Rangers took defenseman Steve Durbano. Unfortunately for them, Durbano  never played a game for New York and lasted just six seasons in the NHL with stints in St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Durbano was a tough guy and led the NHL with 370  penalty minutes in 1975-76.

With the very next pick, the Boston Bruins grabbed Terry O’Reilly.  Dubbed “Bloody O’Reilly” by the press, the ornery forward hurt opponents to the tune of 2,095 penalty minutes and 606 points (204 goals).

With the 19th overall pick, Buffalo took forward Craig Ramsey (672 points in 1,070 NHL games).

Montreal secured Larry Robinson with the very next pick. Nicknamed “Big Bird” for his size (6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds), he would become a Hall of Fame defenseman and earned six Stanley Cup rings, six all-star honors (1st and 2nd team), two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe Award.

The other notable Rangers selection came in the fourth round, when they took forward Jerry Butler.  However, he played just 112 of his 641 NHL games for New York.

From the fifth round and beyond, the Rangers made 11 more picks.  Of those, nine never played a NHL game. The other two combined to play 10 NHL matches.

1973

Rangers got forwards Rick Middleton and Pat Hickey with the 14th and 30th overall picks, respectively.

The Middleton pick was impressive considering the first round had 16 slots.  He posted 90 points (46 goals) in 124 games for the Rangers.

As most of you know, he then became part of one of the worst trades in Rangers’ history.  For those too young to remember, click here.

1974

The Rangers bolstered their blue line with the selections of Dave Maloney (14th overall) and Ron Greschner (32nd).

Maloney was a steady and tough presence in 605 games for the Blueshirts, posting 1,113 penalty minutes and 295 points (70 goals).

Greschner was tough and helped out on offense, producing 610 points and 1,226 penalty minutes in 981 matches, all with the Rangers. Among all-time Rangers, he’s first in penalty minutes and seventh in scoring, as well as second to Brian Leetch among defensemen in points, assists (431) and goals (179).

The Rangers chose wisely and shouldn’t be criticized for either pick. However, this class isn’t their best of the decade.

That’s because the New York Islanders got Bryan Trottier at 22nd overall, while Boston took Mark Howe at No. 25, and Buffalo snared Danny Gare at No. 29.

Trottier and Howe had Hall of Fame careers, while Gare scored 354 NHL goals, leading the league with 56 and 11 game-winners in 1980.

Meanwhile, and as most Rangers fans are aware, Trottier accomplished far more as a player on Long Island than as a head coach in Manhattan.

An Islanders center for 15 years, Trottier posted 1,353 points (500 goals), won the Calder in 1976, the Hart and Art Ross in ’79, a Conn Smythe and a Stanley Cup in ’80, and three more Cups from ’81 to ’83.  (He won two more Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, for good measure.)

As Rangers’ bench boss in 2002-03, he was fired after 54 games and only 21 wins.

Howe, the only defenseman of the three, posted 742 points over a combined 929 games with the Flyers, Whalers and Detroit Red Wings. That includes 545 regular-season helpers.

In hindsight, it’s almost unfair to the Rangers, although they did grab forward Eddie Johnstone  at  104th overall. One of four players drafted in that round to make the NHL, he had 234 points (109 goals) in 371 games for the Blueshirts. The other three combined for 74 points in 184 games.

Point: Rangers!