By the time you read this The Stanley Cup will probably have been won by the Los Angeles Kings and everyone will be talking about what an offensive powerhouse the Kings were and how weak the Rangers were. Fans will also say the outcome was sealed a month ago because the West was so much better than the East and it wouldn’t have mattered if the Blackhawks had played the Bruins for the cup. Looking at the stats it would be hard to argue the point.
I think we can all agree that that the Rangers did their best with what they had and maybe even overachieved a bit. At least they made it to the Cup series. The Rangers have a storied history but they’ve only won the Cup four times since they started as an expansion club in 1926. I think we all forget that it’s been 20 years since they last won the Cup in 1994. 20 years!
The 93/94 Rangers were a great team with a crazy cast of characters and their fans were crazy about them. It was one of the best years to see the Rangers play at the Garden. Some interesting stats; The 93/94 Rangers had the best record in the NHL that year at 52–24–8 and were driven by the amazing Mark Messier and Adam Graves. Adam Graves had a career year and broke the team record for goals with 52. Brian Leetch became the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, and Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov became the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
So congratulations to the 2004 Rangers for their great effort and don't forget the team that took you to the promise land in 1994.
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| New York Rangers 1994 Team Autographed 16x20 Photograph |
