On July 11 in Rangers history: The Summit Series roster

What happened on July 11 in the history of the New York Rangers

It was on July 11 in 1972 that the final roster for Team Canada was determined for the Summit Series, the grudge match that pitted the best hockey players in Canada against the upstarts from behind the Iron Curtain, the national team from the Soviet Union. Five New York Rangers were selected for the team, formally announced on July 12.

The two teams would play an epic eight game series in September with the entire nation of Canada on the edge as the Soviets jumped out to a 3-1-1 lead only to see Canada win the last three games in Moscow.

The five Rangers selected for the team included the GAG line of Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert along with defensemen Brad Park and Rod Seiling.   They were all members of the Rangers team that went to the Stanley Cup Final only to lose to the Boston Bruins in six games.

The Montreal Canadiens had six players chosen for the team while the Rangers and Black Hawks each had five.

Boston coach Harry Sinden was responsible for picking the players and of course there was controversy. This was at the height of the bidding war between the NHL and the new WHA and as a result, several important players were unable to play in the tournament when they subsequently signed with WHA teams.  They included Bobby Hull, Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers and J.C. Tremblay. The terms of participation were negotiated between the NHL and Canadian hockey so these players were unable to play.

Around this time the Rangers were heavily criticized for doling out huge salaries to keep their players from defecting to the WHA.   Their payroll was twice the NHL average and they were known as the “fat cats” of the NHL. Much of the animosity against the team from the rest of the NHL goes back to the summer of 1972.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL players have been born on July 11.  That includes one current Blueshirt, a former Ranger who also became coach and someone who never played for the team, but coached in a track suit.

Ryan Strome was born on this date in1993 in  Mississauga, Ontario.  He has been a Ranger for three seasons since coming to New York in a trade with Edmonton.  Drafted by the Islanders as the fifth overall pick in the 2011 Entry Draft, the center was traded to the Oilers before coming to the Rangers.  He has had the three best seasons of his eight year NHL career as a Ranger.

Ron Stewart was born on July 11, 1932 in Calgary Alberta.  The defenseman played 13 years for the Maple Leafs before a trade to Boston.  After being selected by the Blues in the expansion draft, he was traded to the Rangers in 1971.  He had two stints with the Rangers and was sold to the Islanders in 1972, the first and only transaction involving an NHL player between the two teams.  Stewart also coached part of the 1975-76 season, but was fired by Emile Francis.

Jean Guy Talbot was a Ranger coach for one season, hired by in 1977 by John Ferguson.   He didn’t have a very successful run, fired after the season along with Ferguson and replaced by Fred Shero. He is best remembered for wearing a track suit while coaching, a horrible fashion decision he embraced for about half of the games that season.  Talbot had a long, successful career with five different teams, the majority with the Montreal Canadiens.