The New York Rangers have a crop of young stars with bright futures. What franchise records are in danger of being broken by these players?
The old saying is that records were made to be broken. When looking at some of the single season New York Rangers franchise records, there are some records that probably won’ t be broken. However, there are numerous New York Rangers team records just waiting to be broken.
What are the odds that this team of 20-somethings will be the ones to re-write the Rangers record book? Let’s take a look.
Been there, done that
Even strength assists: 46 – Mark Messier 1991-92
When the season was shut down, Artemi Panarin had already tied Mark Messier with his 46 assists. With 12 games left, Artemi Panarin would have blown Messier’s record out of the water. There’s always next season.
The big ones that could be broken
When you look at the best offensive seasons in the Rangers record book, there are a number of records that could easily be broken.
Goals: 54 – Jaromir Jagr 2005-06
This one is within reach and Mika Zibanejad is the guy to do it. He scored 41 goals in 57 games this season and that would work out to a total of 58.9 goals if he played a full 82 games. The only thing standing between ZIbanejad and Ranger immortality is good health. If not Zibanejad, is Kakko a possibility? Only time will tell.
Assists: 80 – Brian Leetch 1991-92
Brian Leetch’s record was almost equaled by Sergei Zubov in 1993-94 when he totaled 77 assists. There is one current Ranger who has an excellent shot at besting Leetch and of course, that is Artemi Panarin. This season he totaled 63 assists in 69 games and over an 82 games season that would be 75 assists, good for third most in Ranger history.
Easily one of the most gifted playmakers in franchise history, consider that he did this with Jesper Fast on his right wing for much of the season. Put a more gifted scorer on Panarin’s wing and he could top the 80 assist mark as soon as next season.
Even strength points: 82 – Jean Ratelle 1971-72
This is another record that was within reach of Artemi Panarin when the season was shut down. With 25 goals and 46 assists, Panarin had totaled 71 even strength points in 69 games and with 12 games to go, he had a good chance of topping Ratelle’s mark.