On July 15 in Rangers history: Insanity reigns in Rangersland as Keenan quits

What happened on July 15 in the history of the New York Rangers

July 15, 1994 should have been a very good day in New York Rangers franchise history.  It was a month since they had won the Stanley Cup and the trophy was still being passed from player to player in celebration. Instead, it was a day of turmoil as coach Mike Keenan quit the team, claiming breach of contract.

Keenan called a news conference in Toronto on this date and said the following:

“I’m here to announce that I am no longer coach of the New York Rangers.  The New York Rangers did not fulfill their contractual obligations and as a result of that breach I’m no longer employed by the New York Rangers.”

The Rangers’ parent company, Madison Square Garden, issued a statement describing the “breach” as a one day delay in the delivery of a bonus payment to Keennan.  In fact, they said that they had a check ready and waiting to be delivered when they were notified that Keenan was holding a news conference.

In reality, this was  along time coming.  Keenan had been feuding for months with Neil Smith, the Rangers’ general manager, to the point that they stopped talking to each other during the Stanley Cup playoffs. There had been many rumors that Keenan was about to take the GM job in Detroit, rumors Keenan had to quash during the playoffs.

It was a shocking turn of events with both sides pointing fingers.  The truth was that Keenan wanted out and Neil Smith was pleased as punch that it happened.  The only person who was actually upset was Mark Messier, the Rangers’ captain who had lobbied for his hiring.

Keenan didn’t remain unemployed for long as he was hired as the St. Louis Blues general manager and coach. He went on to coach the Blues, Canucks, Bruins, Panthers and the Flames but was never able to replicate the succeed he had with the Rangers.

Richter stays a Ranger

Believe it or not, Mike Richter came very close to leaving the New York Rangers as a free agent in 1998.  On this date in 1998, they signed Richter to a contract extension, but only after trying to go in a different direction and sign netminder Curtis Joseph.  They had even considered signing former Blueshirt John Vanbiesbrouck who was also a free agent.  JVB eventually signed a deal with the Florida Panthers, reducing Richter’s leverage.

The Ranger great was coming off a losing season, posting a record of 21-31-15 and would have been an ex-Ranger if Joseph had not rejected the Rangers’ final offer to sign with Toronto.

Richter would play five more injury ridden seasons in New York before retiring in 2003 at age 36.

Today’s birthdays

22 NHL players have been born on July 15 including one current Blueshirt and four former Rangers.

Anthony Bitetto was born on this date in 1990 in Island Park, New York.  The Long Island naetive is a defenseman who signed as a free agent with the Rangers after playing for Nashville, Minnesota and Winnipeg.  He appeared in 14 games this season, spending most of the season on the taxi squad. He scored one goal this season, and it was a spectacular one against the Capitals.  Take a look.

Mikko Leinonen was born on this date in1955 in Tampere, Finland. The center was signed and came to New York to provide some Finnish companionship for highly touted rookie Reijo Ruotslainen.  He played three seasons in New York, once scoring 17 goals.  He does hold one NHL record that was tied by Wayne Gretzky. In 1982 against the Flyers, he had six assists in one game, topping by one, a longstanding NHL record. Gretzky is the only other NHL player to reach that mark, tying Leinonen’s record in 1987.

Adam Cracknell was born on this date in 1985 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.  Cracknell was a right winger who played four games in New York in the 2017-18 season after being claimed on waivers from the Dallas Stars. Barely two months later, the Rangers traded him to Montreal for Peter Holland.  Cracknell played 210 games over nine year for seven different teams.

Eric Lacroix was a left winger born on July 15, 1971 in Montreal, Quebec.  He played parts of three seasons for the Rangers after a trade from the Los Angeles Kings.  He is the son of former NHL defenseman Pierre Lacroix who was the GM of the Colorado Avalanche when they won two Stanley Cups.

Bill Wylie was a center, born on this date in 1928 in Galt, Ontario. He played one NHL game in the 1950-51 season, for the Rangers.  He had a long career in the minor leagues with Vancouver of the WHL.