On January 4 in NYR history: The day Mark Messier got the coach fired

What happened on January 4 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1993 the New York Rangers fired coach Roger Neilson and appointed Binghamton coach Ron Smith to replace him on an interim basis. At the time, the Rangers were mired in third place in the Patrick Division, 15 points out of first place.  But the backstory was  that Neilson had run afoul of Mark Messier and got the axe as the New York Rangers head coach

What led to the firing was a classic case of star player versus coach.  Although Neilson had been the Rangers coach for three full seasons and had led them to first place finishes two of the three years, his relationship with Mark Messier had been deteriorating throughout the season. Neilson was already in place when the Rangers traded for Messier in October 1991 and he endorsed making Messier the team captain.  In their first year together, the team won the President’s Trophy and Messier was the league MVP.

The issue was Messier’s desire to play a more wide open, offensive game as opposed to the dump and chase defensive philosophy endorsed by Neilson.   Their relationship grew so fractured that in December, Neilson had a meeting with Kevin Lowe, Mike Gartner and Adam Graves while purposely leaving out Messier and and asked them to get the team going, telling the three veterans that Messier was not fulfilling his role as team leader.

Messier’s displeasure with Neilson was apparent at the NHL Awards ceremony in June when he accepted the Hart Trophy and thanked the entire Rangers organization and left out Neilson.

How did it work out?  The Rangers play was even worse under Smith as they went 15-22-7 and missed the playoffs.  It did lead to the Rangers hiring Mike Keenan (on Messier’s recommendation) and we all know how that worked out the following season.

Neilson went on to coach the Flyers, Panthers and Senators, taking the Flyer to the Conference Finals in 2000.  He did get some small measure of revenge when he was picked to coach Team Canada at the World Championships five months later.  With the Rangers out of the playoffs, he had his pick of Blueshirts to invite.  Mike Gartner and Adam Graves got invitations.  Mark Messier did not.

A big night for Gartner

On this date in 1992, Mike Gartner had a goal and an assist to become the 33rd player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points.  The big night came in a 6-4 loss to the Devils at the Brendan Byrne Arena.

Gartner was scoreless in the first two periods before getting getting a power play goal four minutes into the third period for this 1,000th point.   He added an assist on Sergei Nemchinov’s goal late in the period.

It was a momentous campaign for Gartner as he was the first NHL player to get his 500th goal, 500th assist and 1,000 point and also play in his 1,000th game, all in the same season.

Gartner sits in 33rd place in the all-time points list. He is eighth all-time in goals with 708.

A big third period comeback

On his date in 1956, the Rangers came back from a third period three goal deficit to win for the first time in their history. The 5-4 win was at Madison Square Garden and the Red Wings carried a 3-0 lead into the third period.  The Blueshirts then exploded for five straight goals including two by Andy Hebenton with all goals at even strength.

With a 5-3 lead, the Red Wings pulled their goalie and Red Kelly scored with 26 seconds left, but it was too little too late.

The Rangers equaled this feat against the Minnesota Wild in October 2014 when they overcame a 3-0 deficit with five third period goals to win at the Garden, 5-4.

A blueliner hat trick

On January 4,  1976 Carol Vadnais became the second New York Rangers defenseman to score three goals in a game in the post expansion era. It came in an 8-6 loss to Toronto at Madison Square Garden.  Vadnais scored in the second and third periods and got the hat trick goal when he scored with just 51 seconds left in the game.

While the first Rangers’ blueliner hat trick came from Leo Bourgeault in December 1929, Vadnais tied the Rangers record that had been equaled by the player he was traded for, Brad Park.

Today’s birthdays

24 NHL players have been born on January 4 with four of them former Rangers.  Three of those Blueshirts share a not-so-great distinction.

Greg de Vries was born on this date in 1973 in Sundridge, Ontario.  He was signed as a free agent by the Blueshirts in 2003 as one of the top available defensemen. With the Rangers on the verge of missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season, he was part of the infamous purge at the deadline in 2004, traded to Ottawa. He did play 13 years for six teams.

Trevor Fahey was born on January 4, 1944 in New Waterford, Nova Scotia and is one of several New York Rangers who played only one game in the NHL.   Fahey was a center and he ended his NHL career with one game played and one shot on goal.

James Latos, a right winger, was born on this date in 1966 in Wakaw, Saskatchewan.   He played in one NHL game for the Rangers in 1988-89 and played at years in the minor leagues including a stint in England.

Robert McDonald was born in Toronto, Ontario on January 4, 1923 and he also only played one game in the NHL and it was for the Rangers. It was during the 1943-44 war years and he was scoreless.

The numbers

Games: 38
Regulation wins: 15
Regulation losses: 14
Ties: 8
Overtime wins1
Points percentage:  .526