The Rangers' Greatest Captains in Franchise History

With nearly 100 seasons and 100 years as an NHL franchise, the New York Rangers have had several notable team leaders, those who have worn that distinct block letter "C" on the left side of their jersey. But which captain outranks them all, that is, who may be the Rangers' greatest leader ever?

Mark Messier, 1991-1997

This man needs no introduction. After being scored off a blockbuster trade with the Edmonton Oilers on October 4, 1991, Messier gave the Rangers its first Cup championship in 54 years in 1994, his 3rd year of captaincy. Messier wore the Rangers sweater from 1991-97 and then again from 2000-2004, his retirement year after a dominant 25 years in the NHL. Messier's Cup with New York was his 6th after winning 5 with his hometown Edmonton Oilers alongside Wayne Gretzky. In his first year of captaincy, Messier also made his 5th All Star Game appearance, his only with New York, and also took home the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA MVP, which was his 2nd time winning what was at the time called the Lester B. Pearson Award. The Hart Trophy win was also Messier's 2nd, his first with Edmonton in 1990. Messier's 10 years with the Rangers saw him amass a total of 250 goals, 441 assists and 691 points in almost 700 games.

Brian Leetch, 1997-2000

Despite a much shorter captaincy, the legendary defenseman still managed over 1100 games with New York, scoring a total of 240 goals and 741 assists for 981 points during 17 seasons with the Rangers. A 5 time All-Star, Calder Trophy winner in 1989 and 2 time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's best defenseman, Leetch was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the Rangers' championship season. Leetch played all but 2 of his 19 total NHL seasons with New York, playing in Toronto for 2003/04 and Boston in 2005/06 for his final year in the league. He is still currently 10th all time in franchise history in goals, 2nd behind Rod Gilbert in points, and 1st in assists.

Jaromir Jagr, 2006-2008

The NHL's ultimate journeyman, the legendary Czech winger was the captain of New York for only a couple seasons, but they were memorable, seeing as how he played in what ended up being 277 games, with 124 goals and 195 assists for 319 points for the better half of 4 seasons in Manhattan. It was Jagr's 3rd team he'd play with, after spending his first 11 seasons winning 2 Stanley Cups back to back in Pittsburgh followed by a 3 year stay in the nation's capital. After moving on from the Rangers, Jagr took his longevity to the likes of Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston and cross river rivals New Jersey, before another 3 year stint in Florida, then capping a 24-year career in Calgary. Jagr was succeeded in the captaincy by now Rangers GM and president Chris Drury from 2008-2011.

Chris Drury, 2008-2011

Speaking of Drury, let's talk about the Rangers' leader for the last couple years in the 2000s. A 12 year NHL career that started with Colorado, then icon status in Buffalo followed by a 1 season stop in Calgary, Drury played in 264 games for the Rangers, with 62 goals and 89 assists for 151 points in what would be the last 4 seasons of his career. Drury may not have the captaincy status of his predecessors like Jagr or Messier or his successors like Ryan Callaghan and Ryan McDonagh, but he is definitely an underrated player, especially as a rather unique draft pick, having been selected originally by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 just a couple of years before moving to Colorado to become the Avalanche.

Other great Rangers captains throughout the team's 98 year history include their first, Bill Cook, a 1952 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who played 11 years with the Rangers from 1926-1937 and captained them for all 11 of those years, also playing his entire NHL career in Manhattan. One notable exemption from the captain's list is the franchise's all time leading goal and point scorer, Rod Gilbert, who played in New York from 1960-1978, never leaving Manhattan in 18 career seasons, totaling 1065 games, 406 goals, 615 assists and 1021 points. Clearly, the New York Rangers have it made when they're picking whoever wears that famous block letter "C".