On August 21 in Rangers history: Hextall into the Hall of Fame

What happened on August 21 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1969, New York Rangers legend Bryan Hextall was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  He spent his entire career with the Rangers and he joined an exclusive club of Hall of Famers. Of the 49 former Rangers inducted since 1969, he is only the third to play his entire career with the Blueshirts, joining Rod Gilbert (1982)  and Edgar Laprade (1993).

Hextall was a member of the 1940 Stanley Cup championship team and played nine full seasons in New York.  The highlight of his career came on April 13, 1940 when he scored at 2:07 of overtime in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final, to give the Rangers their third Stanley Cup.

He was a  First Team All-Star three times and a Second Team All-Star once. He ed the NHL in goals scored in 1939-40 and 1940-41 and and was in the top five in goals scored for five straight years. He topped the 20 goal mark seven times as a Ranger and he is eighth on the franchise all-time list with 160 career even strength goals.

He was an iron man for the Rangers, appearing in 340 straight games over seven seasons.  That streak was broken during World War II when he was not allowed to cross the border from Canada into the United States. That cost him a season in the NHL and he played only three games in the season he returned due to a liver ailment that almost ended his career.

Hextall was the first of three generations of Hextalls to play in the NHL.  His sons Bryan and Dennis both played for the Rangers and had long careers in the league.  His grandson, Ron Hextall, was a Vezina trophy winner and All-Star for the Flyers and is now the GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Today’s birthdays

19 NHL players have been born on August 21 with only two who have played for the Rangers.

Steve McKenna was born on this date in 1973 in Toronto, Ontario.  He was a left winger who played 373 games over eight years, including 54 games in New York in 2001-02 after he was signed as a free agent. He consistently totaled over 100 penalty minutes a season and in his one year in New York he was third on the team with 144 PIM despite averaging under four minutes of ice time per game.

Jean-Paul Lamirande was born on this date in 1924 in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec.  He played wing and defense for four years in the NHL, three with the Rangers.  He spent most of his career in the minor leagues and was called up to play in New York over four seasons from 1946 to 1950. He also played one game for Montreal in 1954-55.