On March 6 in NYR history: Mike Gartner becomes a Ranger

On this date in 1990, the Rangers made a trade that got them one of the great goal scorers in NHL history.   They traded former first round pick Ulf Dahlen to the Minnesota North Stars for right winger Mike Gartner.

Gartner had tormented the Rangers for ten years as a Washington Capital.  He averaged 40 goals a season for the Caps, but found himself dealt to Minnesota in March 1989 with Larry Murphy for Dino Ciccarelli and Bob Rouse.

In 67 games for Minnesota, the 30-year-old Gartner had scored 34 goals , but the Stars were enticed by the potential of Dahlen who was only 23 years old and had scored 29 and 24 goals his first two seasons.    So they made the swap and Gartner immediately paid off for the Rangers, scoring 11 goals in 12 games.

Gartner was a prolific goal scorer for the Rangers. In his first season he scored 49 goals, just missing becoming the second Ranger to top the 50 goal mark.  In 322 games in New York he scored 173 goals and 286 points.

Gartner never raised the Stanley Cup in his career as he was traded late in he 1994 campaign to Toronto for Glenn Anderson.  Coach Mike Keenan thought he couldn’t win with Gartner and wanted Anderson who was a Cup winner with Edmonton.

Today’s birthdays

29 NHL players have been born on March 6 including five New York Rangers.

Andy Aitkenhead was born on this date in 1904 in Glasgow, Scotland. He played 106 games for the Rangers over three season from 1932-35.  He had a 6-1 record in the playoffs for the 1933 Stanley Cup Champions.  He has the fourth lowest career  goals against average in franchise history.

Reg Sinclair was a right winger who played two seasons for the Rangers,He was born on March 6, 1925 in Lachine, Quebec.   He made All-Star game appearances in his two seasons in New York when he scored 18 and 20 goals in 1951 and 1952.  He was traded to Detroit where he finished his career.

Chris Mueller was born on this date in 1986 in West Seneca, New York. He played seven games in 2014-15 for the Rangers after being signed as a free agent. He had one goal and one assist in those seven games, spending most of the season in Hartford.

Peter Goegan was a defenseman, born on this date in 1934 in Fort William, Ontario. He played 11 years in the NHL, mostly for the Red Wings and he played only seven games for the Rangers in 1961-62. In an odd turn of events, he was traded from Detroit to New York in February 1962 for Noel Price   October of that year, he was traded back to Detroit from the Rangers.  Who was he traded for?  Yup, Noel Price.

Nicklas Jensen was acquired by the Rangers from Vancouver for Emerson Etem in January 2016.  The Dane was born in 1993 in Herning, Denmark. He played seven games for the Rangers that season and has been playing in Europe ever since, most recently for Jokerit in the KHL.

The numbers

34 games on March 6 going into today’s tilt with the Devils.

Games: 34
Regulation wins: 13
Regulation losses: 17
Ties: 2
Overtime losses: 1
Points percentage: .441

Last year

The Rangers were off, savoring their overtime win over the Capitals, watching the scoreboard and preparing for the Devils.  The good news was that Igor Shesterkin was getting close to returning.