On August 22 in Rangers history: Say hello to the track suit

What happened on August 22 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1977, the New York Rangers announced the hiring of Jean Guy Talbot as their new head coach.  He was hired by General Manager John Ferguson who relinquished the coaching duties he had undertaken when the team fired GM Emile Francis and coach Ron Stewart in January 1976.

It was another step in the takeover of the Blueshirts by former Montreal Canadiens who had no connection the Rangers considering that neither Ferguson or Talbot had every played for New York.  They had been teammates on two Stanley Cup championship teams in the late 1960s.

Talbot was a winner, playing on seven championships teams in a 17 year NHL career. He had also served as coach of the St. Louis Blues for parts of two seasons and also had coached in the minor leagues.

Talbot last one year with a record of 30-37-13, dropping a first round series to the Buffalo Sabres. He departed when the team fired Ferguson and Talbot and hired Fred Shero.

The biggest impact that Talbot had on the Rangers was sartorial.  He was famous for wearing a track suit as he guided the team behind the bench.  Despite coaching players like Phil Esposito, Ron Duguay and Anders Hedberg who had starred in a commercial for Sassoon jeans, Talbot felt that the track suit was appropriate, despite his coaching peers usually wore dapper and fashionable suits.

In the Hockey News Book “Biggest of Everything in Hockey,” Talbot explained that he wore the traffic suit because sweated profusely and didn’t want to ruin his suits.   So there.

Doug Harvey says no more coaching

On this date in 1962, coach Doug Harvey gave up his job as coach, preferring to return strictly as a player.  Harvey had come to the Rangers from Montreal to serve as player-coach.  Montreal had let him go to further his career, getting Lou Fontinato as compensation.

In his one year in the dual role, Harvey took the team to the playoffs for the first time in four years.  The 37-year-old defenseman also won the Norris Trophy for the seventh time.  The Rangers paid him a record salary of $27,500 making him the highest paid coach in NHL history.

Harvey didn’t enjoy the dual role and was very unhappy moving his family from Montreal to New York and he announced that he would be retiring after the 1961-62 season.   On this date, he accepted the Rangers offer of a one-year contract for $30,000 to just play defense. GM Muzz Patrick took over behind the bench.

Art Coulter to the Hall of Fame

On this date in 1974, former Ranger Art Coulter was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Coulter was a defenseman who played 11 years in the NHL for the Chicago Black Hawks and the Rangers. He won a Stanley Cup in 1934 with the Hawks and with the Rangers in 1940.

Coulter was the second captain in the history of the franchise after Bill Cook and served in that role from 1937 to 1942.  He was named a Second Team All-Star three times while with the Rangers.

Today’s birthdays

15 NHL players have been born on August 22 with only one Ranger in that group.

Ken Hammond was born on this date in 1963 in Port Credit, Ontario.  He was a defenseman who played for seven teams in an eight year career.  The Rangers selected him on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers in November, 1988 and after spending most of the year with the Denver Rangers he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He did get called up to play three scoreless games in New York.