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John Ogrodnick LW (1987-1992) Today in NYR History June 20
1969: The Rangers acquire Terry Sawchuk and Sandy Snow from Detroit for Larry Jeffrey.
Sawchuk spent his final season with the New York Rangers, where he played sparingly, starting only six games. On February 1, 1970, in only his fourth start of the season, he recorded his 103rd and final shutout of his career by blanking the Pittsburgh Penguins 6–0. This was also his last NHL goaltender win. His last regular season start was on March 14, 1970 in a 7–4 loss to the Chicago Black Hawks. Sawchuk's last playoff start was in a 5–3 playoff quarterfinals loss to the Boston Bruins on April 9, 1970. Sawchuk appeared in his last NHL game on April 14 in the same playoff series. In game 5, after Phil Esposito had scored at 7:59 of the third period to put Boston in the lead, Rangers coach Emile Francis, in an effort to slow down the game, replaced goalie Ed Giacomin with Sawchuk. He was in the net for less than a minute before Giacomin returned and the Rangers lost the game 3–2. Boston went on to win the series 4 games to 2. Sawchuk struggled with untreated depression, a condition that often affected his conduct. After the 1969–1970 season ended, Sawchuk and Rangers teammate Ron Stewart, both of whom had been drinking, fought over expenses for the house they rented together on Long Island, New York. Sawchuk suffered severe internal injuries during the scuffle from falling on top of Stewart's bent knee. At Long Beach Memorial Hospital, Sawchuk's gallbladder was removed and he had a second operation on his damaged and bleeding liver. The press described the incident as "horseplay," and Sawchuk told the police that he accepted full responsibility for the events. At New York Hospital in Manhattan, another operation was performed on Sawchuk's bleeding liver. He never recovered and died shortly thereafter from a pulmonary embolism on May 31, 1970 at the age of 40.
2012: Henrik Lundqvist wins the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Lundqvist went 39-18-5 during the 2011-12 season with a 1.97 goals against average and a .930 save percentage with eight shutouts.
The Rangers have announced their preseason schedule:
9/17 at New Jersey 7:00 PM, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ 9/19 vs Philadelphia 7:00 PM, Madison Square Garden 9/22 at Islanders 7:00 PM, Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, CT 9/24 vs New Jersey 7:00 PM, Madison Square Garden, NYC 9/26 vs Islanders 7:00 PM, Madison Square Garden, NYC 9/27 at Philadelphia 7:00 PM, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Alex Frolov LW (2010-2011) Laurie Scott LW (1927-1928) Today in NYR History June 19
1956: Rangers acquire George "Red" Sullivan from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Wally Hergesheimer.
"Red" Sullivan would play five years for the Rangers tallying 59 goals and 150 assists for 209 points in 322 games played before retiring after the 1960-1961 season. Sullivan was nearly killed when Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens speared him in the stomach and ruptured his spleen. A Catholic priest was even called to deliver his last rites yet he survived and resumed his duties with the New York Rangers. Sullivan became coach of the Rangers during the 1962–63 season when fans began to demand that Muzz Patrick resign. He coached a rather bad team until December 1965 when Emile Francis decided that he would take over as coach.
Martin St. Louis RW (2013-2014), Derek Stepan C (2010-2017) Today in NYR History June 18
1975: The Rangers acquire goaltender John Davidson and Bill Collins from St. Louis for Ted Irvine, Bert Wilson and Jerry Butler.
Davidson who played 8 seasons for the Rangers from 1975 until retiring in 1983 backstopped New York to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979. During his career as a Blueshirt he put up a record of 93-90-25 in 222 games, playing in only 3 games during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons. Davidson was the first, and one of only two, NHL players to wear the number 00; after Martin Biron briefly wore the number in 1995, the league banned the use of the number. From 1986-2006 "JD" manned the color position in the MSG Broadcasting booth alongside Sam Rosen, In 2009 Davidson was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions to broadcasting.
1987: The New York Rangers trade their first-round pick in the 1988 NHL Draft to the Quebec Nordiques for coach Michel Bergeron. However, the trade doesn't help either team. Bergeron lasts less than two seasons in New York before being fired; he returns to Quebec as coach for the 1989-90 season. The pick the Nordiques receive from the Rangers ends up as the No. 5 selection in 1988. Quebec selects defenseman Daniel Dore, whose NHL career consists of 17 games.
Larry Kwong RW (1947-1948) Trent Whitfield C (2001-2002) Today in NYR History June 17
1994: The Rangers became the first -- and only -- hockey team ever honored with a parade through New York's Canyon of Heroes. The Rangers celebrate their Stanley Cup championship with a parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. Over 1 million people lined the streets in the Canyon of Heroes all the way to City Hall. It was a hot, hot Friday on June 17, 1994, as the temperature reached 89 degrees before the official start of summer the following week. Rangers fans, who had waited for generations to see their favorite sports team celebrated in this unique New York tradition, sweated through their jerseys rather than take them off amid chants of "We Own the Cup, We Own the Cup." The parade through lower Broadway and the Financial District featured a shower of shredded 1990s-style computer paper. It culminated with a visit to City Hall, where first-year Mayor Rudy Giuliani presented Leetch with the key to the city and congratulated all of the Rangers for breaking the 54-year "Curse".
The NHL will announce the 2018-19 regular-season home openers for all 31 clubs on Wed., June 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
The complete regular-season schedule will be revealed live on @NHLNetwork and streamed on (link: https://atnhl.com/2LRunF4) atnhl.com/2LRunF4 on Thur., June 21 at 5 p.m. ET.
Kelly Burnett C (1952-1953) Alexandre Giroux LW (2005-2006) Steve Larmer RW (1993-1995) Chris McAllister D (2003-2004), Rick Nash LW (2012-2018), Derek Sanderson C (1974-1975) Today in NYR History June 16
1990: The Rangers acquire a fifth-round pick in the 1990 NHL Draft from the Quebec Nordiques as compensation for Guy Lafleur signing with Quebec.
The Blueshirts use the pick to select defenseman Sergei Zubov. Zubov, considered one of the best offensive defensemen during his career posted 30 goals and 126 assists for 156 points in 165 games over a three year span for the Rangers before being traded on August 31, 1995 to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Petr Nedved for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. In 1994 Zubov became one of the first four Russian-trained players to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup alongside fellow countrymen Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev and Sergei Nemchinov.
