On May 24 in NYR history: Enough is enough, Trader Phil fired

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

On this date in 1989, the Phil Esposito era came to an abrupt halt as the Rangers fired him after three years as the team’s general manager.  The firing was a surprise to many as it left the team without a GM or coach just a month from the NHL Entry Draft.   The deed was done by Jack Diller, head of Madison Square Garden and came after the Rangers were swept by the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.

Esposito’s final season was the last straw as he fired coach Michel Bergeron whose personality never meshed with Esposito’s and who infuriated the GM by going to Garden management seeking a contract extension.   During the four game sweep, Esposito was booed mercilessly as he had taken over behind the bench.

In his three years as Rangers GM he wore the moniker “Trader Phil” because he made 43 trades involving 99 players and 30 draft picks. He actually traded a first round pick to the Nordiques so he could sign Bergeron as coach.

He left New York in a cloud, despite the fact that he was well liked as the player and captain who led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979 and as the outspoken color commentator on Ranger telecasts.

Esposito had told his new bosses “Enough waiting” when he was hired in 1986, but they weren’t patient enough to wait for him to turn the team around.  After a two month search the Rangers did hire Neil Smith who did the turn the team around and win the Cup in 1994.

Today’s birthdays

29 NHL players were born on this date, with five Rangers sharing the same birthdate.

Pat Verbeek was born on this date in 1964 in Sarnia, Ontario.  Nicknamed “the little ball of hate,” Verbeek was a Ranger for only one full season when he scored 41 goals and 82 points in 69 games.  The right winger was best known for his years with the Devils and Whalers where he topped the 30 goal mark six times.  In March 1995 he was traded to the Rangers at the deadline for two draft picks and two player.  He signed with Dallas as a free agent after the next season.

Artem Anisimov was born on May 24, 1988 in Yaroslavl, USSR.  Drafted by the Rangers in 2006, he made it to the NHL in 2008 and played four productive years in New York.   In July 2012, he was part of the package of players traded to  Columbus in exchange for Rick Nash.  He has subsequently played in Chicago, Detroit and the Ottawa Senators. He was waived by the Senators and spent the last season in the KHL.

Kent-Erik Andersson was a Swedish right winger, born on this date in 1951 in Orebro, Sweden. He played five year for the Minnesota North Stars before finishing his NHL career in New York for two seasons.  The Stars traded him to Hartford who then swapped him to the Rangers for Ed Hospodar.  Andersson was not a big scorer, but was known as a defensive player and penalty killer.

Johan Holmquist was a goalie born on this date in 1978 in Tolfta, Sweden.   He was a  seventh round draft pick by the Rangers in 1997 and he was in the Rangers’ system or three seasons before he was traded to Minnesota.  He made it to the Rangers for three games with an 0-2 record. He later became a regular for the Tampa Bay Lightning for two seasons.

Bruce Gamble was goalie born on this date in 1938 in Port Arthur, Ontario, Signed by the Rangers, he made his NHL debut with them in 1958-59, playing three games. After the season he was claimed by Boston in the intra-league draft and he played 10 years for Boston, Toronto and Philadelphia.

The numbers

Another bad playoff day with the Rangers looking for their first win on this date.

Playoff games: 2
Wins: 0
Losses: 2
Winning percentage: 00%