On August 24 in Rangers history: Geoffrion and Seibert into the Hall of Fame

What happened on August 24 in the history of the New York Rangers

It’s late August and that means Hall of Fame induction time.  On this date in 1972, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The honor came four years after he had retired after finishing his playing career with the New York Rangers.

While Bernie Geoffrion was honored mostly for his time with the Montreal Canadiens.  He had played 14 years in Montreal, winning the Hart Trophy in 1961 and two Art Ross scoring trophies along with the Calder Trophy as best rookie.  He was a six time Stanley Cup champion, but despite all of those honors, his dream was to coach the Canadiens.  He retired after the 1963-64 season to coach the Habs’ top farm team.   After two years when it looked like he would not be getting that dream job in Montreal, he joined the Rangers and played two seasons in New York.

Geoffrion had two solid seasons in New York, but at 36 years old he was past his prime and he retired for good in 1968.  He was immediately appointed head coach by GM Emile Francis.  He managed to stay behind the bench for only one season, hampered by ulcers.

At the time that he made the Hall of Fame he was about to try his hand at coaching again with the Atlanta Flames.

Defenseman Earl Seibert makes the Hall of Fame

On this date in 1963, former Ranger defenseman Earl Seibert was inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Seibert played for the Rangers from 1931 to 1936, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in1933.

He was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1936 in an unusual swap that saw two All-Star blueliners and future Hall of Famers trade teams. He was traded for defenseman Art Coulter.

The trade worked out pretty well for both teams.  Seibert was a First or Second Team All-Star for nine straight years after the trade and won a Stanley Cup with the Black Hawks in 1938.

Coulter had also won a cup before the trade, with the Hawks in 1934.  After the trade, he played seven years with the Rangers making the Second Team All-Star squad three times. He was captain of the Rangers for four years and was a member of the 1940 Stanley Cup Championship team.

Seibert is best known for his role in the death of hockey legend Howie Morenz. In 1937, Morenz broke his leg in four places after he got entangled with Seibert behind the Chicago net.  The Canadiens’ forward, remembered as the first hockey superstar, died of a pulmonary embolism weeks later, a complication from the injury. He was only 34.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL  players have been born on August 24 with two former Rangers in their mix.

Bill Goldsworthy was born on this date in 1944 in Waterloo, Ontario.  The right winger played 14 years in the NHL and he was an offensive star for the Minnesota North Stars.  He is best known for his celebration after scoring, known as the “Goldy Shuffle.”   Battling alcoholism, he was traded to the Rangers in 1976 for Bill Fairbairn and Nick Beverley and played one full season in New York, scoring 10 goals in 61 games.  He made history when the Rangers traded him to the Indianapolis Rangers of the WHA, the first player traded directly from an NHL team to a WHA team.

Derek Morris was born on this date in 1978 in Edmonton, Alberta.  He was a defenseman who spent his first seven years in Calgary and Colorado before he was traded to Phoenix where he had his best years.  He was acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline in 2009 in a trade for Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes and Dmitri Kalinin.   He played only 18 regular season and seven games in the playoffs for the Rangers before signing with Boston as a free agent.   After one season in Beantown, he returned to Phoenix for the last four years of his career.