On July 4 in Rangers history: Mike Richter, Edmonton Oiler

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

With the window for free agency opening on July 1 in most NHL seasons, the New York Rangers have often celebrated Independence Day by doling out big free agent contracts.  On this date in 2002, they signed a free agent whose number hangs from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. He was a member of the Edmonton Oilers and his name was Mike Richter.

What?  Mike Richter was an Edmonton Oiler?  No way.  It’s true and it was a classic circumvention of the NHL rules that made him an Oiler for all of one day in 2002.  Here’s how it happened.

In those days, teams were awarded compensatory draft picks if they lost players to free agency.  The only problem was if you went out and signed your own free agents.  That year, the Rangers under Glen Sather were planning to do their usual during free agent frenzy and go after some of the big names.  He had targeted Devils center Bobby Holik and ended up signing him for five years and $45 million.   He also gave Colorado defenseman Darius Kasparitis a five-year, $25.5 million deal.

So, how did that affect Mike Richter?  Sather knew he would be forfeiting his compensatory pick so he picked up the phone and called Kevin Lowe, Edmonton’s general manager and Sather’s former employee.  They made a deal, trading Richter to Edmonton on June 30 in exchange for a 2003 fourth round draft pick.

On July 4, the Rangers signed Richter to  new contract and the Oilers were awarded a third round pick (72nd overall) in the 2003 draft.  The end result?  Richter stayed a Ranger, the Oilers got a third round pick in exchange for a fourth round pick and the the Rangers got a fourth rounder when they would have had nothing if they hadn’t traded their goalie.

Of course, the Oilers pick ended up never playing in the NHL and the Rangers pick was Michigan State defenseman Corey Potter who played all of eight games in New York.  Ironically, he eventually became an Edmonton Oiler in 2011 when he signed with them as a free agent.

It gets even stranger. In the 1998 expansion draft, the Nashville Predators selected pending free agent Mike Richter with their third pick.  They knew that they wouldn’t sign him and got a 1999 second  round pick as compensation.

The NHL did away with the compensation loophole in the 2005-06 Collective Bargaining Agreement, but not before teams had traded for players like Richter, Brian Leetch, Mark Messier,  Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Tie Domi and Uwe Krupp with no intention of signing them.

If you think compensatory picks didn’t pay off, consider the 2003 draft.  The Boston Bruins received the 45th pick (second round) as compensation for losing Bill Guerin who signed with Dallas.  Who did they pick?  Patrice Bergeron.

Today’s birthdays

21 NHL players have been born on July 4 including one current Ranger and five former Blueshirts.

Keith Kinkaid was born on this date in 1989 in Farmingville, New York.  The Long Island native played goal for Union College and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New Jersey Devils. He played for the Devils for six seasons, mostly as the back up to Martin Brodeur and then Cory Schneider.  In 2019 he signed as a free agent with Montreal and did the same this season with the  Rangers. He saw action in nine games this season, spending much of the year on the taxi squad.

Mike Knuble was born in Toronto, Ontario on July 4, 1972.  The right winger had a long career in the NHL, playing 16 seasons. After being drafted by the Red Wings, they traded him to the Rangers for a draft pick in 1998. He played in New York for almost two full seasons before they swapped him to Boston for Rob Dimaio. He went on to play 12 more seasons for four teams.

Juha Widing as born on this date in 1947 in Oulu, Finland.  He was only the third player born in Finland to play in the NHL, but he listed himself as Swedish as he moved there when he was a child.  When he was signed by the Rangers and played with them in 1969-70 he was considered the first European trained player with a full-time NHL contract.  After less than a full season the center was traded to Los Angeles for Ted Irvine. While Irvine was a productive player in New York for five seasons, once scoring as many as 26 goals, Widing was a top forward for the Kings scoring over 25 goals four times.

Steve Rucchin was born on this date in 1971 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The center played most of his career in Anaheim, traded to the Rangers after ten years with the Ducks. He played one full season in New York in 2005-06 as a bottom six  defensive forward. He signed with Atlanta after that season as a free agent.

John Bednarski was a tough defenseman born on July 4, 1952 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Signed by the Rangers as a free agent, he played two seasons in New York in the mid 1970s.   He  played several seasons with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL before signing with Edmonton in 1979 where he played on game, eventually retiring in 1982.

Vic Desjardins was a center born on this date in 1900 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. He made his debut with the Black Hawks and then played one season for the Rangers in 1931-32, playing in the Stanley Cup Final loss to Toronto. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974 as one of the first U.S. born players in the NHL and a key force behind hockey in the United States when he played in Eveleth, Minnesota.