March 3 in Rangers history, the infamous day they traded Brian Leetch

What happened on March 3 in the history of the New York Rangers

March 3 is a date that should live in infamy in the long and storied history of the New York Rangers franchise.  Why?  Because it was the day that the Rangers traded the greatest player in team history, Brian Leetch.

It was on this date in 2004 that Glen Sather pulled the trigger on a trade that sent Leetch to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  It was one of nine trades in a week as Sather purged the roster of a non-playoff team.  He traded Leetch, Alex Kovalev, Petr Nedved, Chris Simon, Matthew Barnaby, Vladimir Malakhov, Martin Rucinsky, Greg de Vries and Jussi Markkanen.

Leetch was the brightest star of all of those players and trading him should have been unthinkable.  What makes it worse was what the Rangers got in exchange. Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, Lori Korpikoski and Michael Sauer.   That’s what the Blueshirts ended up with in a trade for arguably the best U.S. born defenseman in NHL history and future Hall of Famer.

Was he washed up?  The 35-year-old scored 15 goals and 51 points for New York and Toronto.  How he could have come back for the Rangers after the 2004-05 lockout at age 37 is a question. He scored five goals and 32 points in a final season with the Bruins.

Tragically,  Leetch was only 41 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in franchise history.  He was only 32 games from becoming the all time leader in games played for the Rangers. One more season and he would have held those records besides being the franchise leader in career assists.

Oh yes, he was also traded on his birthday. .

Good-bye Brooklyn (sort of)

On this date in1942, the Rangers played the Brooklyn Americans for the last time as the franchise folded after the season.  The game was played at Madison Square Garden and it ended in 4-4 tie. The games was classified as a road game as the Americans played all of their home games in Manhattan at the Garden.

The Americans had planned on an arena to be built in Brooklyn,but the onset of WWII resulted in a shortage of building materials.  With no chance of a move to Brooklyn, the team ended operations  The NHL didn’t play a game in Brooklyn until 2015 when the Islanders made the Barclays Center their home rink.   The Rangers made their Brooklyn debut on December 2, 2015, losing 2-1 in a shootout.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL players were born on this date including the best player to wear the Rangers jersey.

On this date in 1968, Brian Leetch was born in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Drafted in the first round (9th overall) of the 1986 Entry Draft, he is arguably the best U.S. born defenseman in NHL history (others would argue for Phil Housley or Chris Chelios). He holds numerous franchise records and his number two hangs from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Kelly Miller was born on this date in 1963 in Lansing, Michigan.  Drafted by the Rangers in 1982, he was a left winger best known for his defensive prowess.  He played just over two seasons in New York before going to Washington in what could have been GM Phil Esposito’s worst deal.  Miller and Mike Ridley were traded for Bobby Carpenter who was swapped for an ancient Marcel Dionne later the same season.  Miller played 13 years for the Capitals as a defensive specialist, scoring 162 goals in the process.

Colton Orr was born on March 3, 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He was a right winger who was one of the best fighters in Rangers history. He played three full seasons in New York, topping 125 penalty minutes in each season.  Orr is fondly remembered for his knockout of Flyers tough guy Todd Fedoruk in 2007. Orr left the Rangers to sign with Toronto as a free agent and he played for the Leafs for six years, leading the league in penalty minutes in 2013..

Jack Gordon was a center, born on this date in 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He played 36 games for the Rangers over three seasons, scoring three goals and 13 points.  He was a star in the AHL and was later the coach of the Minnesota North Stars.

Stephen Kraftcheck was born on this date in 1929 in Tinturn, Ontario.  He was a defenseman who played 156 games in four NHL years, three with the Rangers.  He was a perennial all-star in the AHL and played two full seasons in New York from 1951-53.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 42 times on March 3.  Though they have lost more regulation games than wins, they have a 3-1 record in overtime decisions and shootouts.

Games: 42
Regulation wins: 14
Regulation losses: 15
Ties: 9
Overtime wins: 1
Shootout wins: 2
Shootout losses:  1
Points percentage: .488

Last year

Blues 3, Rangers 1

After winning nine of ten games the Rangers dropped their third game in a row and saw their playoff hopes fading with a tough match against the Capitals looming.  The Blues won their eighth game in a row, and played like the defending Stanley Cup champions, breaking a 1-1 tie midway through the third period.

Artemi Panarin saw a 13 game point scoring streak ended and the only goal came from Mika Zibanejad.  Alexandar Georgiev made 19 saves, allowing two goals.  The Blues added an empty net goal to ice the win.