On May 26 in NYR history: The worst trade ever

What happened on May 26 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in1976, the New York Rangers made the worst trade in franchise history. sending a young star to the Boston Bruins for an aging player near the end of his career.  Of course, the trade was Rick Middleton for Ken Hodge.  Of all of the deals made by the Blueshirts, this one has to rank as the most misguided effort to improve the team.

The man responsible was General Manager John Ferguson and this was the first trade he made since taking over for Emile Francis in January.  Francis had pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal in November, acquiring Phil Esposito from the Bruins in exchange for Jean Ratelle and Brad Park.

Esposito scored 29 goals in 62 games with the Rangers, good numbers but nowhere near the nearly goal a game he had averaged in eight years in Boston.  Ferguson was on the hot seat and he needed to get Esposito’s production back to where it had been and the answer was easy. Get him Ken Hodge.  Which he did in a straight one-for-one deal for the 23 year old Middleton.

How bad was this deal?  Just awful.

How did it work out?  Describing this trade as a disaster would be an understatement. Hodge, 32, played one season and 18 games in a second season as a Blueshirt. His one full season was fine as he scored 21 goals and had 62 points in 78 games and he finished his Rangers career with 23 goals and 68 points in 96  games.  He didn’t work any magic for Esposito.  In his only season with Hodge in New York, Esposito scored 34 goals, far from the seasons of 76, 66, 55, 68 and 61 goals he had scored in Boston.

Rick Middleton played 12 full seasons for the Bruins and scored 402 goals.  He averaged over a point a game, finishing with 898 points in 881 games. He topped the 40-goal mark five times with a high of 51 goals in 1981-82. He excelled in the postseason, scoring 100 points in 111 playoff games for Boston.

402 goals versus 23 goals.  898 points versus 68 points.  12 seasons versus one season.  As we said, awful.

A loss that change the face of the team

On this date in 1995 the Rangers dropped a 4-1 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers, losing their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series in four straight.  It was a ignominious end to the season for the defending Stanley Cup champions.   The problem was not the fact that the Rangers lost their hold on the title, but it was how they reacted to the loss.

The Flyers manhandled the Rangers in the series, led by the dominance of Eric Lindros and the “Legion of Doom” line.  With Lindros at center, the line included  left winger John LeClair and right winger Mikael Renberg.  But it wasn’t only that line, it was also the Flyers size with players lik  Dave Brown, Rod Brind’amour and Shawn Antoski.

The Rangers believed that they needed more size to counter the Flyers and on August 31, they traded Sergei Zubov and Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh for Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson.   The deal was really Zubov for Samuelsson swapping Zubov’s skill and passing ability in exchange for Samuelsson’s size and physicality.

While Samuelsson proved to be exactly what the Rangers wanted, they should have kept Zubov who went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Stars.  Ironically, they didn’t face the Flyers in the playoffs in 1996, losing instead to the Penguins an Zubov.

Today’s birthdays

18 NHL players were born on May 26 including four New York Rangers.

Jimmy Vesey was born on this date in 1993 in Boston, Massachusetts.  Drafted by Nashville, his rights were traded to Buffalo, but he decided to become an Unrestricted Free Agent by finishing his college career at Harvard.  The Rangers won the Vesey sweepstakes and he signed with the Blueshirts and played three seasons in New York.  The left winger was consistent in those seasons, scoring 16, 17 and 17 goals, but the Rangers were forced to trade him to Buffalo to clear cap space. In two seasons since leaving New York he has shuffled from Buffalo to Toronto and Vancouver.

P.J.Stock was born on this date in 1975 in Montreal, Quebec.  A center, he was an undrafted free agent signed by the Blueshirts in 1997.  He played parts of three seasons in New York, better known for his feisty play than his scoring, totaling 114 penalty minutes in only 38 games in his rookie season.  He left via free agency in 2000 and finished his career with Montreal, Philadelphia and Boston.

Steve Rice was born on this date in 1971 in Kitchener, Ontario. A highly regarded first round pick by the Rangers in 1989 he played only 11 games in his one season he New York. The following fall, the right winger was one of a contingent of Rangers sent to Edmonton  in exchange for Mark Messier. Rice never lived up to his promise though he played seven more years in the NHL in Edmonton and Hartford.

Christian Thomas was a right winger who was born in 1992 in Toronto, Ontario. He was the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  The Rangers had high hopes for him, son of Steve Thomas, a veteran of 20 NHL seasons.  After two seasons in the AHL, he made it to the Rangers for one game before he was traded to Montreal. He played only 27 NHL games in four years before finishing his career in Sweden and the KHL.

The numbers

Playoff games: 2
Wins: 1
Losses: 1
Winning percentage: 50%