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Rangers connections: A rooting guide to the Playoffs

By Steve Paulus

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 07: The Stanley Cup is on display during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2015 NHL Champions before the Blackhawks take on the New York Rangers during an NHL game at the United Center on October 7, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 07: The Stanley Cup is on display during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2015 NHL Champions before the Blackhawks take on the New York Rangers during an NHL game at the United Center on October 7, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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New York Rangers
Kevin Hayes #13 of the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Eastern Conference connections

1. Philadelphia Flyers – The Broad Street Bullies have two high profile Rangers alumni.  Kevin Hayes departed New York for Philadelphia s a free agent and had a solid first year in the orange and black.

Coach Alain Vigneault is true to form, off to a great start coaching a new team.  He took the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first year and the Flyers seemed poised to go deep.

Assisting VIgneault is Assistant Coach Ian Laperriere who had a brief stop in New York in the mid-90’s.   Working on player development for the Flyers are former Ranger defenseman Kjell Samuelsson and Brett Hextall, the grandson of Ranger great Bryan Hextall.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning – The southern version of the Rangers has fewer former Blueshirts than previous seasons, but Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk are key members on the Bolts’ blueline.  One year removed from being bought out by the Blueshirts, Shattenkirk has a lot to prove after signing a sweetheart deal with the Lightning.

3. Washington Capitals – Carl Hagelin departed the Rangers and went on to  win two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. Now, he is a valuable third line forward who is still as speedy as when he was in New York. Assistant Coach Scott Arniel served in the same role for Rangers under Alain Vigneault.

There are a lot of Ranger connections in the front office.  Senior Vice President and General Manager is Brian MacLellan who played for the Blueshirts.  Former Ranger Steve Richmond is the Director of Player Personnel.

Dick Patrick is Washington’s  President of Hockey Operation. His son Chris is  the Director of Player Personnel.  When the Caps won the Cup in 2018 the pair became the sixth and seventh members of the Patrick family to win the Cup.  Dick Patrick is the son of Ranger legend Muzz Patrick and the grandson of Ranger immortal Lester Patrick whose son Lynn also won a Cup with the Blueshirts.

4. Boston Bruins – John Moore was a member of the Rangers 2014 Cup Finalists and is a depth defenseman for the Bruins who didn’t see action in the Qualifying round.

Other Ranger connections include former Blueshirt goalie Mike Dunham who is the team’s goaltending coach and John Ferguson Jr., Director of Player Personnel. Ferguson is the son of the former  Ranger coach and general manager.   FInally,  Bruins player Jake DeBrusk is the son of Louie DeBrusk who was drafted by the Rangers, but never played for them.

5. Carolina Hurricanes –  Who else but Brady Skjei?  Sure, his devastating check knocked Jesper Fast out of the series, but when he was traded he was fifth on the team in terms of longevity. He logged the second most minutes of any Hurricanes defenseman in the three game series.

6. New York Islanders – Derick Brassard is an Islander, his sixth team in five years. Always a popular and clutch Blueshirt, he is almost 33 and nearing the end of his career.  It’d be nice for “Brass” to win a Cup, but not with the hated Islanders.

Assistant Coach Jim Hiller played all of two games with the Rangers in 1993-94.

7. Columbus Blue Jackets –  Although Brandon Dubinsky is still on the roster, he is injured and not playing.  There is one other former Ranger on the postseason depth roster, defenseman Adam Clendening.

Former Ranger coach John Tortorella is one of the highest profile ex-Rangers in the playoffs.   Although still a quote seeker’s dream, Torts has mellowed somewhat and is up for his second Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year.

Helping out in the front office is Rich Nash  who is a special assistant to the general manager.  The Blue Jackets’ Development Coach is Greg Campbell, son of former Ranger coach Colin Campbell.

8. Montreal Canadiens – Former Ranger Dale Weise is in his second tour with the Canadiens, and the veteran is playing left wing on the fourth line.  Two Canadiens have a family connection with Max Domi the son of ex-Ranger tough guy Tie Domi and backup goalie Charlie Lindgren is Ryan’s big brother.

In the front office, former Ranger Shane Churla is their Director of Amateur Scouting.  Christer Rockstrom is Montreal’s chief European scout.   Rockstrom spent 21 years as the Rangers’ European scout and was responsible for scouting Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov, Sergei Zubov and his greatest find, Henrik Lundqvist.

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