On June 4 in NYR history: The biggest deal in franchise history

What happened on June 4 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1963 the New York Rangers pulled off the biggest trade in franchise history with seven players changing teams. The deal was with the Montreal Canadiens and two Hall of Fame goalies changed teams.  That record held until a 2003 deal between the Rangers and Penguins that involved eight players.

The Rangers acquired goalie Jacques Plante, center Phil Goyette and left winger Don Marshall.  Going to Montreal was netminder Gump Worsley, left winger Dave Balon, right winger Leon Rochefort, and forward Len Ronson.

Who won the deal?  Considering that the Canadiens went on to win four Stanley Cups in the next five years, it has to Montreal, but the Rangers did better statistically.   Plante played barely two seasons before going to the Blues in the intra-league draft. Of course, he won the Vezina Trophy in his first year in St. Louis.  Goyette played six productive seasons in New York and Don Marshall was a quality winger for the Rangers for seven seasons, a Second Team All-Star in 1967.

Worsley spent six injury ridden seasons with the Habs,but did win those four Cups, highlighted by a scintillating 11-0 record in the 1968 playoffs at age 38,  Balon played four seasons in Montreal and made a return to the Rangers in 1968, while Rochefort and Ronson didn’t have much of an impact.

The bottom line on the deal was even though Plante didn’t do much, Goyette and Marshall played an important role in getting the Rangers back into playoff contention after missing the postseason seven of eight years.

Boom Boom takes the reins

On this date in 1968, when the country was consumed by the shooting of Robert Kennedy, the Rangers announced that Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion was retiring as a player and taking over as coach.  He replaced Emile Francis who had been behind the bench for two and a half seasons, allowing Francis the opportunity to focus on his duties as General Manager.

Geoffrion had coached the Quebec Aces in the AHL for two seasons before making a comeback as a player with the Rangers.  Those teams won their divisional titles, but failed in the playoffs so he had been fired.

Geoffrion made his comeback with the Rangers after starring for 14 years in Montreal, winning one Hart and two Art Ross Trophies.  After scoring 17 goals in his first season, he was hindered by ulcers in his second year and decided to stop playing and focus on coaching.

Geoffrion lasted only 43 games as coach of the Rangers, forced to resign as his bleeding ulcers flared up yet again.

Taking control of the Final

On June 4, 1994, the Rangers took control of their Final series with the Vancouver Canucks, beating them 5-1 at the Pacific Coliseum.  Pavel Bure scored just one minute into the game, but that was the total offense for the Canucks as the Rangers scored five unanswered goals.

Brian Leetch led the way with two goals as the Blueshirts took a 2-1 lead in the series and regained home ice advantage.

A sign of things to come

On this date in 2014, the Rangers dropped the first game of the Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings as Justin Williams scored 4:36 into the first overtime period.  The Rangers blew a 2-0 lead as they were held to only 27 shots on goal compared to 43 for the Kings.

It was a golden opportunity for the Rangers to steal a game in Los Angeles and they thought they had it after Benoit Pouliot scored in the first period, followed by a Carl Hagelin shorthanded goal.  The Kings tied the score barely six minutes into the second period and the Blueshirts were thoroughly outplayed by the Kings once the Rangers took the lead.  The Kings had 20 shots in the third period of a tied game while the Rangers mustered only three.

Today’s birthdays

20 NHL players have been born on June 4 with three of them former Rangers.

Nick Kypreos was born on this date in 1966 in Toronto, Canada.  The left winger was better known for his fisticuffs than his scoring as he piled up 1,210 penalty minutes in eight NHL seasons. He played three seasons in New York and was a member of the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions.  He came to the Rangers from Hartford in the deal for Steve Larmer and was traded to Toronto for Bill Berg in 1996.  His career came to a premature end when he suffered a brain injury in a fight with Rangers enforcer Ryan VandenBussche.  Kypreos is the second most popular Ranger of Greek descent after Nick Fotiu.

Jeff Toms was born on June 4 in 1974 in  Swift Current, Saskatchewan.  A center, he played eight seasons in the NHL for six different teams. He played parts of two seasons in New York, acquired after he was waived by the Islanders. That makes Toms one of the few players who made the jump directly between the two New York teams. After 53 games with the Rangers he was waived and pick up by the Penguins.

Alan Kuntz was a left winger born on this date in 1919 in Toronto, Ontario.  He played two seasons with the Rangers during the WWII years for a total of 45 games, his only NHL games.  He had a promising debut in 1941-42, scoring 10 goals in 31 games, but play again in the NHL until 1944.