What division do the NY Rangers play in and have played in?
The NY Rangers are among the most historical franchises in the NHL, and they’re getting new fans every year. If you decided to start following hockey and made the Rangers your team, there is a good chance that you have quite a few questions about them, beginning with the division they’re currently playing in.
The Rangers are part of the Metropolitan Division, which is part of the Eastern Conference alongside the Atlantic Division. New York has been in the Metropolitan since the NHL last realigned for the 2013-14 season, and they have quite a few geographic rivals playing in the same division.
The most notable of which are their cross-town rivals, the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils, who play in nearby Newark. Other division rivals include the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Columbus Blue Jackets, the latter of whom came over to the Metropolitan from the Western Conference during the realignment mentioned earlier.
A quick history of which divisions the NY Rangers played in
For a team with a long, storied history, it’s logical to think the NY Rangers have spent time in several divisions throughout their near-century-long existence. In the 2020-21 season, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to come up with a contingency plan, and part of that plan was to place the Rangers into the Eastern Division alongside the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils.
Before the 2013-14 realignment, the Blueshirts found themselves in the Atlantic Division, where they had played since the 1993-94 season when the NHL rolled with more geographic-friendly names. Prior to the name change, the Rangers played in the Patrick Division and in the Prince of Wales Conference, which lasted from 1974-75 to 1992-93.
For much of the Rangers existence, the NHL didn’t have separate conferences, but divisions, so from 1967-68 to 1973-74, they were part of the Eastern Division. Between 1938-39 and 1966-67, the Blueshirts, like the rest of the league, were not tied to a conference or a division, but that wasn’t the case from their earliest days.
In 1926-27, the Rangers began play, and between then and 1937-38, they were in the American Division. So, as you can see, your favorite team went through quite a few divisions before landing in the Metropolitan, and there’s a good chance they will remain in that division for quite some time.
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(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)