On October 12 in Rangers history: Don Murdoch’s record setting night

What happened on October 12 in the history of the New York Rangers

History was made on this date in 1976 when Ranger rookie right winger Don Murdoch scored five goals against the Minnesota North Stars. He did it on the road, at the Met Sports Center as the Rangers won 10-4,  the eighth time in their history that they had hit double figures.

Here are the records.  Murdoch became the first New York Ranger player to score five goals in a game. He tied the NHL record for goals by a rookie and was the first to do it in the post-expansion era. He became the youngest player in franchise history to get five points in a game at 19 years, 353 days.  He tied Grant Warwick and Rick Middleton as rookies with five-point games.

Murdoch had been the Rangers first round pick in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft and made the team immediately. He had scored twice in his NHL debut and had three goals in his first three games.  He should have been a shoo-in for the Calder Trophy, only to suffer a season ending torn Achilles tendon in February.

Murdoch was busted at the Toronto Airport with cocaine in the summer of 1977 and after his conviction he was  suspended for the entire 1978-79 season. That suspension was reduced to 40 games and he came back in time to help the Rangers get to the Stanley Cup Final that season. The next season he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and finished his career in Detroit retiring at age 25 when he was unable to regain the form he had shown early in his career.

Murdoch, known as “Murder,” may have had a brief career on Broadway, but this night his star shone brighter than any other rookie in franchise history.

Lafrenière signs & picks #13

It didn’t take long for Alexis Lafrenière to sign his Entry Level Contract, just six days after the Rangers made him the top pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.  He signed on this date for the maximum $950,000 in salary and signing bonus.  His cap hit would be $950k, but he could make an additional $2.85 million in performance bonuses each year of the three-year contract.

There was never any doubt that he would sign, it was just a matter of when and the expectation was that he would make the NHL roster immediately.  Along with a new contract, he got a new number, picking uniform number 13.  The last Ranger to wear the number had been Kevin Hayes and of the eight players who wore the number before Lafrenière, the best was Sergei Nemchinov.

The Oilers set a record against the Rangers

On his date in 2019, the Rangers helped the Edmonton Oilers set a record in a 4-1 Edmonton win at Madison Square Garden. The Oilers scored four straight goals after rookie Kaapo Kakko had scored the first goal of his NHL career to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead.   With that, the Oilers became the first team in NHL history to win the first five games of their season after they trailed in all five games.

The game was a letdown for Ranger fans as they had won their first two matches and then were thrilled to get the lead on the Finn’s first goal.

Today’s birthdays

20 NHL players have been born on October 12 with one future Ranger and four former Rangers among them.

Adam Edström was born on this date in 2000 in Karlstad, Sweden.  He’s a left winger who is currently playing for Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League.  He was picked by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 161st overall.  His main attribute is his size as he is 6’8″, 225 pounds.

Adam McQuaid was born on this date in 1986 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  McQuaid  played nine years for the Bruins before they traded him to the Rangers in 2018.  The defenseman spent most of the 2018-19 season in New York before going to Columbus in a trade deadline deal.

Larry Jeffrey was a left winger born on this date in 1940 in Goderich, Ontario.  Jeffrey played eight years in the NHL, the last two seasons with the Rangers. He was traded to the Rangers in June 1967  from the Penguins. In June, 1969, he was part of the package the Rangers traded to Detroit to acquire Terry Sawchuk. Jeffrey scored three goals and 13 points in 122 games as a Blueshirt.

Danny Cox was born on October 12, 1903 in Little Current, Ontario. A left winger, her played eight seasons in the NHL for four different teams including the defunct Ottawa Senators and Detroit Falcons.  He ended his career as a Ranger, playing 13 games in 1933-34.

Marcel Hossa was born on this date in 1981 in Ilava, Czechoslovakia.  A first round pick by the Canadiens, they traded him to the Rangers in 2005 for Garth Murray.  Unfortunately, he was never anywhere near the player that his brother Marian was and he scored 21 goals in 164 games as a Blueshirt.   The Rangers eventually traded him to Phoenix in 2007 where he finished his NHL career though he went on to play many years in the KHL.  The left winger will always be known to Ranger fans as the “wrong Hossa.”