The Athletic just released a listicle looking at the greatest NHL villains of all time featuring takes from different contributors from the perspective of the team they cover. The twist is looking at which player is the biggest villain from the perspective of each team, and how the individual in question brought havoc. The Rangers have a rich history in the league, and as such, you could make up an entire rogues' gallery that have brought turmoil to Gotham. As for the name selected for the Rangers as part of The Athletic's latest release.. it was a choice that isn't all that surprising, but one that still reeks of recency bias.
Tom Wilson is not the biggest villain in the history of the Rangers
In the recent history of the Rangers, it would be accurate to say that Tom Wilson is someone that the fans don't like all that much. He's a very physical player that has been penalized by the league for dirty hits, and is a well known repeat offender. That he has such a reputation is why fans were apoplectic when he wasn't held accountable for tossing Artemi Panarin around like a rag doll back in 2021.
That incident spawned a letter from James Dolan, one that John Davidson and Jeff Gorton distanced themselves from, and the result was both of them getting fired and Chris Drury taking over. While the Wilson incident is one that many fans remember, you don't have fans starting chanting Wilson sucks on a random Wednesday game in January against the Ottawa Senators.
Denis Potvin is someone all Ranger fans are familiar with, even if they don't understand why
Anyone that's been to a game at Madison Square Garden is certainly familiar with a certain whistle breaking out during a lull in the action, and the chant that erupts from the crowd once it is over. It is even more impressive when it happens on the way out of the arena.
The chant, for those who don't know, is "Potvin sucks", and it is a reference to New York Islanders captain and Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin. The chant goes back to something that took place during a meeting between the two teams back in 1979.
Ulf Nilsson took a seemingly questionable hit from Potvin that sent Nilsson into the boards, and he ended up missing the rest of the game. He was sidelined due to a broken ankle that was a result of a skate getting stuck in a divot on the ice since it was toward the end of the period and the ice wasn't in the greatest condition. Rangers fans still take offense to the incident all of these years later, even though it was a pretty innocuous.
Don't just take my word for it... here's what Ulf himself had to say. "He was a great hockey player. He was always fair. But the ice was never great in the Garden because they had basketball and other events. My foot got caught. It was a freak thing. The Ranger fans were so frustrated."
None of this matters, as evidenced by the fact the Blueshirts fans still chant about Potvin to this day, which certainly speaks to how they feel about him as a villain in the context of the franchise. Given the actual context around the play that has caused fans to cheer, I'd personally be hard pressed to call him the biggest villain in Rangers history, but there's certainly more juice for Potvin than there is for Wilson. It should be said that I am only 33 years old, and therefore I have a different perspective. That said, here's a couple of other names in addition to Povtin that likely eclipse Wilson.
Claude Lemieux is another name of infamy for Rangers fans
Lemieux is one of the biggest playoff risers in the history of the league, and he had a knack of playing his best hockey when the lights were brightest. He averaged 0.65 points per game in the regular season and was slightly better at 0.68 points per game in the post season. His best performance in the regular season saw him tally 81 points in 77 games, and twice in his career he led the playoffs in goals scored.
Lemieux went up against the Rangers three times in his history, the first of which was the 1986 playoffs. The four-time Cup winner had a goal and an assist in three separate games, including a game-winning goal in overtime of Game 3 which put the Blueshirts in an 0-3 hole. Lemieux also had a tilt against youngster James Patrick that was pretty one-sided. The Canadiens won the series and would go on to win a championship.
The second time Lemieux faced off against the Rangers was during the 1992 playoffs, and it was a very productive series for him even though the Devils lost. Lemieux scored twice in a Game 2 win, picked up an assist in a Game 3, he had a goal and two assists in a Game 6 victory, and also scored in Game 7's loss. Game 6 of that series is remember for the bench clearing brawl at the end, and then Rangers enforcer Tie Domi wanted to go after Lemieux, but he was unsuccessful in his efforts. That bad blood spilled over to the next game, and Domi never shook Lemieux's hand following the game.
The Blueshirts got the best of Lemieux the next time they faced in 1993-94, but his impact was felt. He scored the overtime winner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he picked up two assists in Game 5, scored in Game 6, and he assisted on the game-tying goal with seconds left in regulation during Game 7. Stephane Matteau's double OT winner made sure that Lemieux's efforts were for naught, as New York ultimately went on to win the Stanley Cup vs. Vancouver.
All of that said, can you say Lemieux is the biggest villain in Rangers history? I personally wouldn't choose him, but he had more history with the team, including the playoffs, than Wilson ever did.
Mike Milbury takes matters into his own hands
The last example of villainy worth mentioning, because I don't think star players like Sidney Crosby and Martin Brodeur besting the Blueshirts is something that should count in the greater context of things, is Mike Milbury.
Milbury is hated by New York for many reasons, and that extends to Long Island too because of the poor work he did with the Islanders. Blueshirts fans dislike Milbury for many reasons, some of which speaks to his time as a broadcaster with NBC, but the true reason he's a true heel goes back to December 23, 1979 when went into the crowd at MSG after a game and beat a fan with his own shoe.
That moment has stayed with Milbury no matter where he's been, and it is something he still pokes fun at.
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