What happened on June 18 in the history of the New York Rangers
On this date in 1975, the New York Rangers made a trade that has resonated for years in the franchise. They acquired goalie John Davidson from the St. Louis Blues along with winger Bill Collins for three Ranger forwards, Ted Irvine, Jerry Butler and Bert Wilson.
In acquiring the 22-year-old Davidson, General Manager Emile Francis was clearly planning for the future and it paved the way for the departure of Rangers legend Ed Giacomin.
Davidson remained a Ranger for eight years, until he was forced to retire at 29 due to back injuries and a left knee that had undergone five operations. He did lead the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979 though by the time the Final rolled around he was playing on a bad knee that needed surgery after the season.
Davidson was one of two NHL players (Martin Biron was the other) to wear the uniform number 00, a number that is no longer allowed by the league.
From the ice he made the the move to the broadcast booth where the served as color commentator for 20 years.
After stints as President of the St. Louis Blues and the Columbus Blue Jackets he finally made a return to New York as the Rangers’ President in 2019. He lasted less than two years in the role.
Trading for a coach
Today was the day the Rangers traded for a coach, hiring Michel Bergeron away from the Quebec Nordiques. It was June 18, 1987 and General Manager Phil Esposito concluded a whirlwind week that had started when he asked the Quebec GM about Bergeron as a joke at the NHL draft and was surprised to find them open to a deal.
The Rangers ended up hiring the fiery Bergeron, sending the Nordiques a first round draft pick and $75,000 cash. Bergeron had guided Quebec to the playoffs all seven season he coached them, but his in-your-face style was wearing thin with upper management.
Bergeron lasted less than two years on the job, at odds with Esposito and the whole episode ended up eventually. costing Esposito his job as well.
Today’s birthdays
22 NHL players have been born on June 18 with two of them Rangers who played a crucial role in their last drive to the Stanley Cup Final.
Martin St. Louis was born on this date in 1975 in Laval, Quebec. Undrafted by any team after a career at the University of Vermont, he earned a contract with the Calgary Flames, but after scoring only three goals in 56 games he wasn’t offered a contract and he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning where he became a Hall of Famer. He won the Cup with Tampa in 2004 and was a two time Art Ross Trophy winner along with the MVP in 2004. He came to the Rangers in 2014 in a blockbuster trade of two team captains. St. Louis was the inspiration for the Rangers’ run to the Final and played one full season in New York before retiring. His decline was incredibly rapid, dropping from leading the league in scoring in 2012-13 to only 52 points in 2014-15.
Derek Stepan was born on this date in 1990 in Hastings, Minnesota. A second round draft pick in 2008, he made it to the NHL in 2010, scoring a hat trick in his debut against the Buffalo Sabres. He played seven years for the Blueshirts as a top center. He scored over 20 goals only twice, but was defensively responsible and his franchise career plus/minus rating of +109 is sixth most in team history. His greatest moment as a Ranger was his series winning overtime goal against the Washington Capitals in 2015. He was dealt to Arizona with Antti Raanta in 2017 in a cap space clearing move that netted the Rangers a first round draft pick and defenseman Tony DeAngelo.