The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in Manhattan, New York. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six. The Rangers were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, [1] which they have done four times (most recently in 1994). [2] The team is commonly referred to by its famous nickname, "The Broadway Blueshirts", or more commonly in New York media, as simply the "Blueshirts". [3]
There have been thirty-seven head coaches for the Rangers, the first one being Lester Patrick, and the most recent and current coach being Peter Laviolette. Muzz Patrick, Alfred Pike, Ron Smith, and Colin Campbell are the only coaches who spent their entire careers with the Rangers and were not elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. [4] [5] [6] [7] Bernie Geoffrion, Lynn Patrick, Emile Francis, Glen Sather, Craig Patrick, Roger Neilson, Herb Brooks, and Fred Shero have all been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Lester Patrick, Frank Boucher, Neil Colville, Bill Cook, Phil Esposito, Doug Harvey, and Bryan Trottier have all coached the Rangers for their entire coaching careers and have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] Emile Francis has coached the most regular season games, 654, and the most playoff games, 75, in franchise history. Emile Francis also holds the franchise records in regular season wins, 342, and playoff wins, 34. Mike Keenan, the twenty-fifth head coach of the Rangers, amassed the best points percentage, .667, and regular season winning percentage, .619, having done so in a single, 84-game season. Keenan is also the only head coach to have coached the Rangers to a Presidents' Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season. [23] Lester Patrick is the only head coach to have coached the Rangers to multiple Stanley Cups. Under head coach Peter Laviolette the Rangers set franchise records in wins (55) and points (114) in a single season, having set both records in the 2023–24 season. [24] The Jack Adams Award has never been awarded to the head coach of the New York Rangers.
# | Number of coaches [A] |
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
T | Ties (applicable until the 2003–04 NHL season) |
OTL | Overtime/shootout losses (shootouts applicable since the 2005–06 NHL season) |
P% | Points percentage |
W% | Winning percentage |
* | Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. |
† | Spent entire professional head coaching career with the Rangers. |
*† | Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame and spent entire professional head coaching career with the Rangers. |
Note: Statistics are correct through the 2023–24 season.
# | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | Note | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GC | W | L | T | OTL | P% | GC | W | L | T | |||||
1 | Lester Patrick*† | 1926–1939 | 604 | 281 | 216 | 107 | — | .554 | 65 | 31 | 26 | 8 | Stanley Cup champions (1928, 1933) | [16] |
2 | Frank Boucher*† | 1939–1948 | 487 | 167 | 243 | 77 | — | .422 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | Stanley Cup champions (1940) | [17] |
3 | Lynn Patrick* | 1948–1950 | 107 | 40 | 51 | 16 | — | .449 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | [9] | |
4 | Neil Colville*† | 1950–1951 | 93 | 26 | 41 | 26 | — | .419 | — | — | — | — | [18] | |
5 | Bill Cook*† | 1951–1953 | 117 | 34 | 59 | 24 | — | .393 | — | — | — | — | [19] | |
— | Frank Boucher*† | 1953–1954 | 40 | 14 | 20 | 6 | — | .425 | — | — | — | — | [17] | |
6 | Muzz Patrick † | 1954–1955 | 100 | 32 | 46 | 22 | — | .430 | — | — | — | — | [4] | |
7 | Phil Watson | 1955–1959 | 295 | 119 | 124 | 52 | — | .492 | 16 | 4 | 12 | — | [25] | |
— | Muzz Patrick† | 1959 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | .250 | — | — | — | — | [4] | |
8 | Alfred Pike † | 1959–1961 | 123 | 36 | 66 | 21 | — | .378 | — | — | — | — | [5] | |
9 | Doug Harvey*† | 1961–1962 | 70 | 26 | 32 | 12 | — | .457 | 6 | 2 | 4 | — | [21] | |
— | Muzz Patrick† | 1962 | 34 | 11 | 19 | 4 | — | .382 | — | — | — | — | [4] | |
10 | Red Sullivan | 1962–1965 | 196 | 58 | 103 | 35 | — | .385 | — | — | — | — | [26] | |
11 | Emile Francis* | 1965–1968 | 194 | 82 | 82 | 30 | — | .500 | 10 | 2 | 8 | — | [10] | |
12 | Bernie Geoffrion* | 1968–1969 | 43 | 22 | 18 | 3 | — | .547 | — | — | — | — | [8] | |
— | Emile Francis* | 1969–1973 | 343 | 201 | 88 | 54 | — | .665 | 49 | 24 | 25 | — | [10] | |
13 | Larry Popein † | 1973–1974 | 41 | 18 | 14 | 9 | — | .549 | — | — | — | — | [27] | |
— | Emile Francis* | 1974–1975 | 117 | 59 | 39 | 19 | — | .585 | 16 | 8 | 8 | — | [10] | |
14 | Ron Stewart | 1975–1976 | 39 | 15 | 20 | 4 | — | .436 | — | — | — | — | [28] | |
15 | John Ferguson, Sr. | 1976–1977 | 121 | 43 | 59 | 19 | — | .434 | — | — | — | — | [29] | |
16 | Jean-Guy Talbot | 1977–1978 | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | — | .456 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | [30] | |
17 | Fred Shero* | 1978–1980 | 180 | 82 | 74 | 24 | — | .522 | 27 | 15 | 12 | — | [15] | |
18 | Craig Patrick* | 1980–1981 | 60 | 26 | 23 | 11 | — | .525 | 14 | 7 | 7 | — | [12] | |
19 | Herb Brooks* | 1981–1985 | 285 | 131 | 113 | 41 | — | .532 | 24 | 12 | 12 | — | [14] | |
— | Craig Patrick* | 1985 | 35 | 11 | 22 | 2 | — | .343 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | [12] | |
20 | Ted Sator | 1985–1986 | 99 | 41 | 48 | 10 | — | .465 | 16 | 8 | 8 | — | [31] | |
21 | Tom Webster | 1986–1987 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | — | .438 | — | — | — | — | [32] | |
22 | Phil Esposito*† | 1987 | 43 | 24 | 19 | 0 | — | .558 | 6 | 2 | 4 | — | [20] | |
23 | Michel Bergeron | 1987–1989 | 158 | 73 | 67 | 18 | — | .519 | — | — | — | — | [33] | |
— | Phil Esposito*† | 1989 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | .000 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | [20] | |
24 | Roger Neilson* | 1989–1993 | 280 | 141 | 104 | 35 | — | .566 | 29 | 13 | 16 | — | Presidents' Trophy (1992) | [13] |
25 | Ron Smith † | 1993 | 44 | 15 | 22 | 7 | — | .420 | — | — | — | — | [6] | |
26 | Mike Keenan | 1993–1994 | 84 | 52 | 24 | 8 | — | .667 | 23 | 16 | 7 | — | Presidents' Trophy (1994) Stanley Cup champions (1994) | [23] |
27 | Colin Campbell † | 1994–1998 | 269 | 118 | 108 | 43 | — | .519 | 36 | 18 | 18 | — | [7] | |
28 | John Muckler | 1998–2000 | 185 | 70 | 88 | 24 | 3 | .451 | — | — | — | — | [34] | |
29 | John Tortorella | 2000 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | .125 | — | — | — | — | [35] | |
30 | Ron Low | 2000–2002 | 164 | 69 | 81 | 9 | 5 | .463 | — | — | — | — | [36] | |
31 | Bryan Trottier*† | 2002–2003 | 54 | 21 | 26 | 6 | 1 | .454 | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
32 | Glen Sather* | 2003–2004 | 90 | 33 | 39 | 11 | 7 | .572 | — | — | — | — | [11] | |
33 | Tom Renney | 2004–2009 | 327 | 164 | 117 | — | 46 | .572 | 24 | 11 | 13 | — | [37] | |
— | John Tortorella | 2009–2013 | 315 | 171 | 115 | — | 29 | .589 | 44 | 19 | 25 | — | [35] | |
34 | Alain Vigneault | 2013–2018 | 410 | 226 | 147 | — | 37 | .596 | 61 | 31 | 30 | — | Presidents' Trophy (2015) | [38] |
35 | David Quinn | 2018–2021 | 208 | 96 | 87 | — | 25 | .522 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | [39] | |
36 | Gerard Gallant | 2021–2023 | 164 | 99 | 46 | — | 19 | .662 | 27 | 13 | 14 | — | [40] | |
37 | Peter Laviolette | 2023–present | 82 | 55 | 23 | — | 4 | .695 | 16 | 10 | 6 | — | Presidents' Trophy (2024) | [24] |
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They are one of three NHL franchises located in the New York metropolitan area; the others being the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
Peter Philip Laviolette Jr. is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, he played a total of 12 games with the Rangers in the 1988–89 season. Following retirement from active play, Laviolette also served as head coach of the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Washington Capitals. He led the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup win in 2006, and later coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, as well as the Predators in 2017. Laviolette is the fourth coach in NHL history to lead three teams to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Craig Patrick is an American former hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick. During the 1980 Winter Olympics, Patrick was the Assistant General Manager and Assistant Coach under Herb Brooks for the United States men's national ice hockey team, which won the gold medal and defeated the Soviet Union in the "Miracle on Ice". From 1989 to 2006, Patrick was the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins where he oversaw back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992, as well as the drafting and signing of some players that would later win a Stanley Cup title for the Penguins in 2009.
Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Laviolette played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and was their first captain, coach, and general manager.
Joseph Lynn Patrick was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. As a player, Patrick played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers. He was twice named to the NHL All-Star team and was a member of the Rangers' 1940 Stanley Cup championship team. Patrick turned to coaching following his playing career, serving first with the Rangers, then the Boston Bruins – where he was also general manager – and finally as the first head coach of the St. Louis Blues.
The 1962–63 NHL season was the 46th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their second Stanley Cup in a row as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to one.
Frederick Murray "Muzz" Patrick was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1938 to 1941, and then from 1945 to 1946. He was general manager of the Rangers from 1955 to 1964, serving as coach on three separate occasions during that time. As a player Patrick won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1940. He was part of the Patrick family, which had a long association with hockey: his father Lester had previously worked as the Rangers coach and manager, among other roles; his uncle Frank had founded the Pacific Coast Hockey Association with Lester; and Muzz's brother Lynn had played on the Rangers with him and later coached and managed the Boston Bruins.
Emile Percival Francis, nicknamed "The Cat", was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers from 1946 to 1952. After playing minor league hockey until 1960, he became the Rangers assistant general manager in 1962 and later general manager of the Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers from 1964 to 1989. Francis led the Rangers to nine consecutive playoff appearances (1967-75), but could not help deliver a Stanley Cup championship in five decades as a player, coach, and executive.
The 1980–81 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 55th season. In the regular season, the Rangers finished in fourth place in the Patrick Division with 74 points and earned a berth in the playoffs. New York won series with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues to reach the NHL semi-finals, where the team was defeated by the New York Islanders in a four-game sweep.
The Flyers–Rangers rivalry is one of the most storied and well known rivalries in the National Hockey League. The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers have met eleven times in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the Flyers winning six and the Rangers winning five of the series, and they have been division rivals since the 1974–75 season. The ferocity of the rivalry can also be attributed to the geographic New York–Philadelphia rivalry, which is mirrored in both the National Football League's Eagles–Giants rivalry and the Major League Baseball's Mets–Phillies rivalry.