The New York Rangers' history is rich with intrigue. Key decisions that changed the franchise's fate appear everywhere; every decision altered the franchise's history, from when a captain was named to when a coach was fired. When an entity has such a tapestry of change, great players join or leave, iconic coaches leave or come, and all in the most iconic building in the world, one thing that often gets overlooked is the supernatural, like the curse of 1940.
Dutton's Curse, or the Curse of 1940, is unknown among many younger fans. Still, the psychological impact it has on the older generation of Rangers fans helps explain why the 54 years between championships impacted the franchise. Its origins are often disputed, but seeing that there are two different names for two different origin stories, perhaps referring to these as the same is incorrect, so let's do this individually. Let's start with the curse of 1940.
The Curse of 1940
As is well-documented, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1940. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs and celebrated. As the ownership had paid off the mortgage on the third iteration of Madison Square Garden, they decided to burn the paperwork in the iconic bowl of the Stanley Cup, leading to the superstitious hockey fans suggesting that the incompetence over the following half-century was the vengeance of the hockey goods for desecrating the sanctity of the iconic trophy.
This led to the MSG ownership valuing money over the Rangers' success. During the 1950 season, the Rangers' ownership would force the Blueshirts to play elsewhere (using the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto) so that Madison Square Garden could be used for a circus. That money valuation over success damaged the Rangers, and the thought of the curse continued to build steam from there.
Dutton's Curse
This backstory is one I find far more interesting, and it dates back to long before the 1940 Championship. In 1923-24, the NHL gave the United States its first NHL team, the Boston Bruins. In 1924-25, the US got its second team, the New York Americans, owned by famous bootlegger Bill Dwyer. Dwyer used funds procured with the illegal sale of alcohol to fund the team, and they found success in their first season at Madison Square Garden. This brought the interest of MSG to get their own team, which brought us the New York Rangers.
These two franchises coexisted for decades with no issues. That was until 1942 when the Americans had to fold due to losing most of their playing force to the Second World War. They had every intention of resuming operations at the conclusion of the war and had the promise of the NHL being allowed. The Americans General Manager, Red Dutton, took over the role of NHL President after the death of Frank Calder in 1943.
He resigned in 1946 to resume activity with the Americans, but the new President, Clarance Campbell, reneged on this promise to allow the Americans to resume operations after pressure from MSG's ownership. Dutton was furious and swore the Rangers would not win another championship for as long as he lived. That proved true, as he died in 1987 at the age of 88. His curse seemingly lived with the Rangers for his lifetime.
The Ending
In 1994, Mark Messier's promise would provide the spark to drag the Rangers back from a 3-2 series deficit against the New Jersey Devils to win the series 4-3 and bring them to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they bested the Canucks to capture the first championship in 54 years. This curse remains one of the unknowns in the sport, but its impact can still be felt with the modern New York Rangers.