On April 30 in NYR history: The day Adam Fox became a Ranger

What happened on April 30 in the history of the New York Rangers

April 30 may be one of the most important date in the history of the New York Rangers, but it will take a while to get there.  That’s because April 30, 2019 was the date that Jeff Gorton pulled off a deal that may go down as one of the best in franchise history, acquiring the rights to Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for two draft picks.

For Fox, the deal fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a New York Ranger.  For the Rangers they got the best blueliner to wear the uniform since Brian Leetch.

The cost was a 2019 second round pick and a conditional third round pick in 2020.  The condition was that the pick becomes a second rounder if Fox played more than 30 NHL games in 2019-20.  Of course he did.

The Hurricanes had no chance of signing Fox after they got him in a trade from the Calgary Flames who had drafted the defenseman in the third round of the 2016 draft.  Fox had made it clear that he wanted to play in New York and was willing to spend one more year at Harvard in order to get to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020.    By making the deal, Gorton didn’t have to wait the year to sign him. It was a smart move.

How good is Adam Fox?  He was third in Calder Trophy voting after his rookie season to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes and in his sophomore year, he has surpassed both of them and is a contender for the Norris Trophy.

There’s a good chance that April 30 will go down as Adam Fox day forever in Blueshirts lore.

Bad playoff memories

April 30 brings back some pretty bad playoff memories highlighted by two individual efforts.  The most recent was in 2015 in the first game of the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Rangers and the Capitals.

The game was tied and heading to overtime when Joel Ward stunned the Madison Square Garden crowd by scoring  with just 1.3 seconds left.  Alexander Ovechkin took the puck away from two Rangers defensemen and threw it to Ward who was uncovered in front of the Rangers net,

The Rangers did go on to win the series in seven games on Derek Stepan’s overtime goal.

In 1972 the Rangers and Bruins played the first game of the Stanley Cup Final, the first final series meeting between the two teams in 43 years.   The Bruins jumped out to a 5-1 lead  behind a hat trick by Ken Hodge, delighting the Boston Garden crowd.  The Rangers weren’t done, clawing back with four straight goals to tie the game midway through the third period on a score by Bruce MacGregor.

The comeback would fail when Ace Bailey scored for the Bruins with only 2:16 left in the game.  The game marked the return of Jean Ratelle from a broken ankle and he contributed one assist.

Today’s birthdays

There’s symmetry on this date with 30 NHL players born on the 30th of April.  One current Rangers, one Ranger hopeful and eight other former Rangers were  born on this date.

Chris Kreider was born on April 30 , 1991 in Boxford, Massachusetts.  A first round draft pick in 2009, Kreider made his debut in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs and has been a fixture in the Rangers lineup ever since.  Signed last year to a big seven-year, $45 million contract, he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Gabriel Fontaine is the Ranger hopeful born on this date in 1997 in Montreal, Quebec. A sixth round draft pick in 2016, Fontaine has been playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack , but this season has been hampered by a shoulder injury that limited him to only four games.  The center is a Restricted Free Agent after this season and the question is whether h e will be offered a contract.

Dale Rolfe was born on this date in 1940 in Timmins, Ontario.  He was a stay-at-home defenseman and  Brad Park’s blueline partner after coming to New York in trade with Detroit in 1971.   His plus/minus rating of +122 ranks fifth all-time in franchise history.  Unfortunately, he is best known for the pummeling he took from the Flyers’ Dave Schultz in the seventh game of the 1974 Eastern Conference Finals.   It was a savage beating and no Ranger stepped in to help him, a memory that will live forever.

Rob Whistle was born on this date in 1961 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In all honesty, with that name he should have been a referee and not a hockey player.  The defenseman was signed as a free agent in 1985 by the Rangers and played 32 games in his one season in New York.   He was traded to the Blues after the one year with the Rangers.

Peter Wallin was a Swedish right winger born on this date in 1957 in Stockholm.  He was signed as a free agent and made his New York debut in 1980 and played 52 games over two seasons. He never developed into a big scorer and returned to Sweden.  He did play with the Rangers when there were relatively few Swedes in the NHL and the Rangers had Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg.

RIch Pilon was born on this date in 1968 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.   A defenseman, he is best known for playing for the Islanders for 12 years where he accumulated 1,526 penalty minutes.  The Rangers claimed him on waivers in December 1999 and he played the rest of that season and the next as a Blueshirt.  In his one full season he was second in penalty minutes to Dale Purinton with 175 PIM.

Jackie McLeod was a right winger born on this date in 1930 in Regina, Saskatchewan.  He played five years for the Rangers from 1949 to 1955, splitting time between New York and the minor leagues.  He did play in seven games in the playoffs in 1950 when the Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final.  His best goal output was six tallies in his rookie season.

Bill McDonagh was born on April 30, 1928 in Rouyn, Quebec.  A left winger, he played four games with the Rangers in the 1949-50 season at age 21, was sent to the minors and never made it  back to the NHL.

Don McKenney was  born on this date in 1934 in Smith Falls, Ontario.  He played 13 years in the NHL, mostly with the Boston Bruins.  A Lady Byng Trophy winner with the Bruins, he played in seven all-star games and led the league in assists in 1960.  The center was traded to New York for Dean Prentice in 1963 and played parts of two seasons as a Ranger before going to Toronto with Andy Bathgate in a blockbuster deal in February 1964.   He won the Stanley Cup with Toronto that season, starring with four goals and 12 points in 12 games.

Mike McDougal was born on April 30 , 1958 in Port Huron, Michigan. A fifth round pick by the Rangers in the 1978 Amateur Draft, he made it to the Rangers for three games in two season  before being waived and claimed by the Hartford Whalers.

The numbers

The Rangers have played only one regular season game on April 30 and won it for a 1.000 points percentage.  That’s much worse than their playoff record on this date.

Playoffs games: 6
Wins: 1
Losses: 5
Winning percentage: 17%