What happened on July 6 in the history of the New York Rangers
On this date in 2004, the Rangers named Tom Renney head coach, promoting from his role as interim coach. He had been named interim coach with 20 games left in the 2003-04 season, succeeding Glen sather who wanted to concentrate on his duties as general manager.
Renney had been the Rangers’ Director of Player Personnel and VP of Player Development when he became the interim coach. Despite a 5-11-0-4 record, he was named the 33rd had coach in franchise history.
Renney lasted almost four years, getting the Rangers back into the playoffs the first three years he was coach. He was fired in February 2009 and replaced by John Tortorella when the team was in danger of missing the postseason.
Renney brought stability to the team after the 2004-05 lockout and had a winning percentage of .572 in his tenure. His 164 wins as coach ranks sixth all-time in franchise history.
Today’s birthdays
21 NHL players have been born on July 6 with four of them former Rangers including one Hall of Famer.
Brad Park was born on this date in 1948 in Toronto, Ontario. The second overall pick in the 1966 Amateur Draft, Park was one of the greatest blueliners in Rangers’ history and second only to Bobby Orr in the NHL. In seven full seasons as a Ranger, Park was a first or second team all-star five times and Norris Trophy candidate. He was traded to Boston with Jean Ratelle in 1975 in a blockbuster deal for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais. He went onto to play 10 years with Boston and Detroit. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.
Ron Duguay was born on this date in 1957 in Sudbury, Ontario. A first round draft pick by the Rangers in 1977, he made the team that year as a 20 year old and he played six years in New York, topping out with 40 goals in 1981-82. The center was traded to Detroit in 1983 and went on to play in Detroit and Los Angeles including a return to New York for parts of two seasons. Best know for his flowing hair, he was one of the “Ooh la la Sasson” Rangers of the later 1970s.
Rob O’Gara was a defenseman, born in on July 6, 1993 in Massapequa, New York. After breaking in with the Boston Bruins, he was traded to New York at the deadline line 2018 in a deal for Nick Holden. O’Gara played in 22 games for the Rangers at the end of the season but never made it back to New York and has been in the AHL ever since.
Harold Starr was a defenseman born on this date in 1906. He played 206 games in the NHL withe the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons and Canadiens. He joined the Rangers in 1934 and played 49 games over two seasons, not scoring a point.