Looking at the Seven Former Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals
As we approach round three, the Rangers and their fans have been enjoying the postseason from home for the last few weeks due to their inability to beat the New Jersey Devils in round one. Selfishly enjoying the New Jersey Devils’ defeat in five games at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes felt like revenge as a ton of former Rangers were able to exact revenge on the foe that vanquished their old team.
If we look across to the other team that remains in the Eastern Conference the Florida Panthers, the fingerprints of a ton of former Rangers can be seen in their success too. Between these two franchises, there are seven former Blueshirts. Carolina has four, Florida has three, and all of them were players that Rangers fans should recognize for one reason or another. There are a lot of former players of this team still playing.
Looking down memory lane is all we have at this time of year. The draft is more than a month away and then we get to dive into free agency after that and we get the long summer. We won’t get to see the Rangers return to the ice until September. We’ve got the better part of four months to cope without the sight of the Blueshirts. May as well see what is happening elsewhere in the hockey world.
To get to the Eastern Conference Finals, these seven players have seen their teams beat some excellent competition. Carolina defeated the Islanders in six in the first round and then sat the Devils on the sidelines after five games. Florida knocked Toronto out in five and sat the historic Boston Bruins roster on the bench after 7. Two southern markets in the Eastern Conference Finals is something some won’t enjoy, but the hockey should be fun regardless.
Anthony Duclair
It’s been a long time since Anthony Duclair was part of this organization, but the former Ranger seems to have stopped bouncing around the league after finding a home in Southern Florida. When the Rangers took him in the third round back in 2013, no one could have anticipated the success he would have at the NHL level. He’s not going to trouble the Hall of Fame committee but he’s had a great career.
During his 18-game career with the New York Rangers, Duclair recorded just one goal and seven assists for eight points. It was quite a neat clip to produce, but it turned out that he was not enough and the Rangers opted to move him out in a deal to strengthen the backend. It did not dissuade Duclair from his NHL dreams and he has become an important piece for the Panthers.
He’s coming off of an Achilles injury he sustained in the offseason and he had to have it surgically repaired. It’s why he’s got the diminished point totals of just two goals and nine helpers in the 20 NHL regular season games he played this season. It’s not to say that he has been bad but it explains the reduced production from the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native.
Duclair has found himself playing in 490 NHL games with 122 goals and 139 assists for 261 points in his career. That’s a very impressive career as it is and this is a player that is just 27 years old. He’s still got a long time left in this league if he keeps producing like that. There will be teams that want the speed of the winger no matter what anyway, but to be contributing is important.
Marc Staal
When it comes to iconic members of the New York Rangers, you will not think of Marc Staal. He’s not a flashy player. He was a stable force on the back end and a reliable defender. Marc played for the Blueshirts for 13 years and still to this day is 6th in all-time appearances for the Rangers. He was an incredibly useful serviceman to this team and a lot of people still love him for what he did in New York.
In 892 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Marc Staal scored 43 goals and 145 assists for 188 points. That was not what he was paid to do in New York. He was paid to be a defensive rock and he did that for the Rangers. He was paid to be a leader and he did that too. He was always willing to do whatever it took for the success of this New York Rangers team and he’s still doing that in Florida.
At 35, Marc isn’t what he used to be. But he’s still playing in the Panthers’ top four on the blueline and they’ve gotten this far so perhaps I know nothing about hockey. He’s shown that he can play major minutes at his age and not be a liability. If that’s all the Panthers need him to do, then he’s going to do whatever it takes to win as he always has done. He is the ultimate competitor and will do anything to win.
Marc is the only one of his brothers to play more than 100 NHL games and not have a Stanley Cup Ring as 2014 just did not end the way everyone wanted it to. He’ll be gunning for his first ring, and if he gets it, who knows? Maybe he’ll consider hanging up the skates and walking away as a champion. Maybe he’ll want to go for a second ring. Either way, you know he’s going to be trying to do everything it takes.
Eric Staal
A lot of people prefer to not remember Eric Staal‘s tenure in Manhattan. However, he is a former Ranger technically. He did play for the Rangers as much as some people would like to wipe that memory from the face of the earth, it happened. At 38, Eric Staal is one of the oldest players left in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This could very much be the last time we see Eric Staal in the National Hockey League.
There are some that believe this man’s future involves a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame. While I think there is a debate to be had about that, it was not for his time as a Ranger. In fact, it was for his time as the face of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise so he and Marc will be going up against a Carolina team that made Eric and is currently captained by brother Jordan. It’s a whole family reunion.
Anyway, during his time as a Ranger, Eric Staal was underwhelming at best. Twenty regular season games saw him put up just three goals and three assists for six points. But that isn’t what he was brought in for. So what did he do in the postseason? Five playoff games, no contributions. Not one of the better additions to the New York Rangers for a playoff push it must be said and it saw Eric leave in free agency to go to Minnesota.
While Eric is not remembered here as fondly as brother Marc, he was still one of the players to put on the iconic sweater of the New York Rangers. If he wins the Stanley Cup, it will be another former Rangers’ turn to take a spin with Lord Stanley as we await the next Stanley Cup Championship for the team on Broadway. We know there will be former Rangers in the final regardless.
Jesper Fast
A favorite among the fans and the players, Swedish winger Jesper Fast was the Ranger players Player of the Season every year for like 6 years. He was beloved by the fans for playing the right way. He was loved by his teammates for being willing to do anything the team needed to win games. He just seemed to price himself out of New York. Reports suggested he wanted a 3-year deal the Rangers weren’t comfortable with, or a six-year deal, it just didn’t work out.
Quickie was a 6th round pick in 2010 so he’s been around for 13 years. During his seven years in Manhatten, Fast tallied 55 goals and 92 assists in 422 games. He was a great servant for this hockey club and on more than one occasion, he would come through when it seemed like no one in the iconic Blueshirt would. He was a big part of the PK, and a great depth piece for many years.
In 40 playoff games with the Rangers, Fast was a contributor with six goals and eight assists. Despite suddenly scoring every playoff overtime goal Carolina could ever want this season, he’s never been the biggest of scorers in this league. He’s better at forechecking and defending, which always seemed to make him an ideal fit in Carolina. While the Rangers eliminated him last year, he’s four wins away from the Cup Finals.
Fast is a free agent this summer and I’m aware that many people would like to see the Swedish winger brought back to the organization by Chris Drury because he is exactly the kind of player this team needs. Someone with a defensive structure who is smart and willing to forecheck hard. New York doesn’t have a lot of players that fit those needs and he would remedy that for sure. It’s more a question of if they can afford it.
Derek Stepan
If you go to a Rangers game, you will see someone with a Derek Stepan jersey. It’s just who he is. The ultimate professional who earned his rewards by playing the right way. That will be a theme for these Canes players I talk about here you see. But if we talk about Stepan’s time as a Ranger, he was able to do stuff in New York that he has just failed to do anywhere else in the league.
During his time as a New York Ranger, Stepan recorded 5 different 50-point seasons. That doesn’t include the 48-game 2013 season where he had 44. He was an absolute menace as a member of the New York Rangers, placing 9th in Selke voting once upon a time and continually getting votes for the Lady Byng award. This is the kind of player that you want to have around a hockey club because of these attributes.
Seven years on Broadway saw the Hastings, Minnesota native record 515 games for the Rangers in which he tallied 128 goals and 232 assists for 360 points. That’s no small total and it makes you wonder what he could have done if the Rangers didn’t trade him and a goaltender that we will get to later because he is also on this Carolina roster to Arizona for Tony DeAngelo.
Since getting to Carolina, he’s not been able to put up the offensive totals he did as a member of the New York Rangers but that defensive stability and sportsmanship has not left him and it has made him a great fit for Carolina. Stepan was one of the core pieces for the run to the finals in 2014 by this Blueshirts squad and a lot of fans would be quite happy to see him raise the cup after all this time.
Brady Skjei
If you want to talk about former Rangers having career years away from the organization this year that could drive their team to the Stanley Cup, Brady Skjei has to be the poster boy. What a season he has had as a member of this Carolina Hurricanes roster. Shattering his career highs in goals, assists, and points to come joint 3rd in the league by goals among defensemen tied with his teammate. He’s been absolutely spectacular this season.
As a long-time member of this Rangers roster, a lot of the players on this roster played with Skjei. Even the kids like Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil spent time on the ice with Skjei. He was a good mentor for some of the young ones coming through that eventually took his job when he was shipped out to Raleigh at the 2020 NHL trade deadline for the 1st round pick that the Rangers would use to trade up and grab Braden Schneider.
In 5 years as a New York Ranger, Skjei tallied 25 goals and 87 assists for 112 points in 307 NHL games. He was a member of some incredibly strong Ranger teams and just was too expensive for the Rangers to keep so when the Canes offered a 1st for him, he was moved. A lot of Ranger fans didn’t like him for his defensive issues but those seem to have been completely ironed out in Raleigh.
Skjei set a career-high last season in his first full 82-game season in Raleigh with 9 goals. This season, he doubled it and recorded 18. He’s having a great season and there will be people that want to see the Rangers 1st round pick from 2012 win the Stanley Cup. A lot of people would have rather seen him do it in Blue, but there will be some that want him to get a chance to hoist the trophy.
Antti Raanta
Former Ranger number seven on this list might be the most likable. This isn’t to say the others on here are unlikeable players, but Antti Raanta is just a different kind of person. He’s the kind of guy to be driving over the Hell Gate Bridge, see a car broken down, and help them all without being recognized. He’s just a nice person. He’s also quite a helpful goaltender, but that’s the second thing you talk about with Raanta.
Despite only being a Ranger for two years, Raanta showed himself to be incredibly down-to-earth. When he arrived in the Big Apple, he knew he was not going to take the starters job away from Henrik Lundqvist so to come in, swallow his pride, and know that he is going to play second fiddle was a big statement and he was never without a smile on his face. He was everything you wanted from a player.
Raanta had some of the best years of his career in Manhatten, recording a .921 save percentage over two seasons with the New York Rangers. His 2.25 goals-against average was also incredibly strong and it made him desirable as a backup netminder that could be given a starting job. When he was dealt to Arizona, the Coyotes wanted to make him a starting goalie and he was good enough to do that in the desert.
Even in Raleigh, there have been times when he has been asked to guide the team. He was the netminder the Rangers saw last year because Frederik Andersen suffered a torn MCL a few weeks before the end of the season. He’s never had the chance to guide a team himself, but he will have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup with this Carolina Hurricanes roster.