The New York City Sports Commission
1926-27 The National Hockey League granted Madison Square Garden a franchise to operate its own team for the 1926-27 season. This came following the success of the New York Americans who began play just one year earlier and would become the Rangers archrival. In that same year, Garden President G.L "Tex" Rickard chose Conn Smythe to build his new team. Smythe did an exceptional job assembling a roster that included Hall of Famers Frank Boucher and Bill Cook. As a result of the team's talent and immediate success, sportswriters dubbed the team "Tex's Rangers" and thus the origin of the team's name. The team finished the regular season third in the league with a 25-13-6 record.
1927-28 Prior to the start of their first season, disagreements with the Garden's management caused Smythe to leave the team. As a result, on the eve of the club's first season, the task was handed to one of professional hockey's pioneers, Lester Patrick. Behind their new coach and their top players' heroics (including Bill Cook's capturing of the scoring title), and after finishing the regular season with a 19-16-9 record, the Rangers defeated the Montreal Maroons to win their first Stanley Cup.
1928-29 The Rangers finished the season with a 21-13-10 record, good enough for third place in a league of ten teams. After making it to the Stanley Cup Finals, they were defeated by the Boston Bruins
1929-30 A .500 season of 17-17-10 placed the Rangers in the fifth spot out of ten teams.
1930-31 After finishing with a 19-16-9 record, the Rangers ended their season in fifth place out of ten teams.
1931-32 Despite the fact that the league was trimmed from ten teams to eight, the Rangers ended their season in second place (23-17-8) and found their way to the Finals again. However, they were unable to grab the Cup, as it went to Toronto.
1932-33 During the first six years of the young club's history, the Rangers visited the Stanley Cup Finals four times. During this year in their history, the New York Rangers went 23-17-8 again leaving them in fifth place. Regardless of their regular season finish, Bill Cook won his second scoring title while the Rangers went on to capture their second Stanley Cup.
1933-34 The Rangers finished in fifth place with a record of 21-19-8.
1934 The Rangers acquired goalie Davey Kerr from the Montreal Maroons, the very team they defeated to win their first Stanley Cup.
1934-35 The Rangers were unable to improve on their fifth place finish, as their record was 21-19-8.
1935-36 The club ended the season in fifth place with a 19-17-12 record.
1936 The Rangers acquired defensemen Art Coulter from Chicago as both he and Kerr became the backbone of the next great Rangers Team.
1936-37 The Rangers finished sixth in the league with a losing record of 19-20-9. However, they advanced through the playoffs and reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Detroit defeated the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup in a five game series.
1937-38 After they finished the season second in the league with a 27-15-6 record, the Rangers were unable to advance past the Quarterfinals.
1938-39 Despite another excellent regular season of 26-16-6, the Rangers stumbled in the playoffs again, defeated by the Bruins in the Semi-Finals.
1939-40 Hall of Famer Frank Boucher succeeded Lester Patrick as Head Coach of the Rangers, and led the Rangers to a second place finish (27-11-10) in the regular season and their third Stanley Cup Championship. Patrick continued to be an integral part of the offense.
1940-41 The New York Rangers finished the season in fourth place with a 21-19-8 record.
1941-42 The team had a successful regular season behind the dominating scoring line of Phil Watson, Bryan Hextall, and Lester Patrick. They finished 29-17-2 and in first place. Unfortunately, the team exited the playoffs at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Semi-Finals.
1942-1943 Many of the Rangers' All-Stars left the team to join the Armed Forces due to World War II. As a result, the Rangers finished in last place with an 11-31-8 record.
1943-44 The Rangers had their least productive season in the club's history--winning only 6 games, losing 39, and tying 5.
1944-45 The club finished in last place among six teams in the league with an 11-29-10 record.
1945-46 The Rangers found themselves in last place again with a 13-28-9 record.
1946-47 As the season expanded to a 60-game schedule, the Rangers finished with a record of 22-32-6 and in fifth place.
1947-48 Center Buddy O'Connor became the first Ranger to win the Hart Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the National Hockey League. Despite the individual honors, the Rangers still finished under .500 with a 21-26-13 record and in fourth place.
1948-49 After a disappointing season, the Rangers finished with an 18-31-11 record.
1949-50 The league expanded its schedule to 70 games, and the Rangers went on to win all ten of those extra games finishing at 28-31-11. This left them in fourth place, and yet they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers were ultimately defeated in a seven game Stanley Cup Final by the Detroit Red Wings. To add to the season's theatrics, goaltender Chuck Rayner won the Hart Trophy.
1950-51 The Rangers end their season with a 20-29-21 record, placing them fifth among six teams.
1951-52 With a 23-34-13 record for the regular season, the Rangers finished in fifth place for the second year in a row.
1952-53 The team continued to struggle posting a 17-37-16 record and finished last among six teams.
1953-54 The Rangers finished the season in fifth place with a record of 29-31-10. As a result, they failed to make the playoffs.
1954-55 The Rangers were unable to make the playoffs due to their fifth place record of 17-35-18.
1955-56 The club turned itself around by finishing above .500 for the first time in 14 years with a 32-28-10 record, but they were defeated in the Semi-Finals of the playoffs by Montreal.
1956-57 Even though a 26-30-14 record was enough to make the playoffs, the Rangers were again defeated by Montreal.
1957-58 Finishing second in the league with a 32-25-13 record, the Rangers were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the Semi-Finals of the playoffs.
1958-59 Despite missing the playoffs with a fifth place record of 26-32-12, the Hart Trophy was awarded to Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate, who was the team's captain and all-time leading scorer.
1959-60 The Rangers finished the season in last place with a 17-38-15 record.
1960-61 Another fifth place finish kept the Rangers out of the playoffs as they finished 22-38-10.
1961-62 This season saw the Rangers finish in fourth place with a 26-32-12 record, but they were defeated in the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1962-63 The club finished in fifth place winning 22 out of 70 games (22-36-12).
1963-64 Accomplishing the same as the previous season, the Rangers won only 22 out of 70 games. This placed the team in fifth again.
1964-65 The Rangers continued their futility by finishing in fifth place for a third year in a row with a record of 20-38-12.
1965-66 For the eighth consecutive year, the Rangers finished below .500 with an 18-41-14 record.
1966-67 Emile Francis became both coach and general manager. Led by Rod Gilbert, the Rangers finished above .500 with a 30-28-12 record. During the postseason, the Rangers were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in the Semi-Finals. Harry Howell was awarded the Norris Trophy for most outstanding defensemen.
1967-68 As the league increased both the number of teams (12) and the length of the season (72 games), the Rangers climbed their way to the second spot in the league with a 39-23-12 record. However, the Rangers were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs.
1968-69 The Rangers rose above the 40-win plateau for the first time in club history with a 41-26-9 record. This benchmark placed them third of 12 teams for the playoffs. However, they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in the Quarterfinals.
1969-70 The team finished the season in fourth place with a 38-22-16 record but failed to advance past the Quarterfinals.
1970-71 The Rangers eclipsed their former record for most regular season wins by winning 49 games as the league expanded to 14 teams and 78 games. They finished in second place with a 49-18-11 record.
1971-72 The club reached the Stanley Cup Finals after a 48-17-13 regular season, but were defeated by the Boston Bruins four games to two.
1972-73 Finishing with a 47-23-8 record, the Rangers ended up in third place among sixteen teams. After defeating the Boston Bruins in the Quarterfinals, the Rangers were forced to exit the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Semi-Finals.
1973-74 Another 40-win season (40-24-14) meant the Rangers visited the playoffs with the fifth best record in the league. After moving on past the Canadiens in the Quarterfinals, the Rangers were unable to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in the Semi-Finals.
1974-75 During another season of expansion (18 teams and 80 games), the Rangers went 37-29-14 for the eighth best record in the league. They lost to the New York Islanders in the Preliminaries, or the First Round, of the playoffs.
1975-76 The Rangers missed the playoffs this season by finishing 29-42-9 and thirteenth in the league.
1976-77 After a 29-37-14 record, the club missed the playoffs.
1977-78 As they finished eleventh in the league (30-37-13), the Rangers lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the Preliminaries.
1978-79 After a fifth place finish (among 17 teams) and a regular season record of 40-29-11, the Rangers dramatically reached the Stanley Cup Finals by defeating the New York Islanders, only to be eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in a five game Final.
1979-80 The Rangers finished eighth among 21 teams with a 38-32-10 record. They lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Semi-Finals.
1980-81 The Rangers ended the season below .500 (30-36-14), but still made it to the Semi-Finals only to be defeated by the New York Islanders.
1981-82 After finishing with the seventh best record in the league (39-27-14), the Rangers fell again to the Cup Champion New York Islanders.
1982-83 A 35-35-10 season was enough for tenth place in the league, but the Islanders halted the Rangers in the Divisional Finals for the third straight time.
1983-84 After finishing with a record of 42-29-9, the Rangers were defeated for the fourth consecutive year by their Long Island rival in the Divisional Semi-Finals.
1984-85 Regardless of a sixteenth place finish, and losing record (26-44-10), the Rangers still made it to the Divisional Semi-Finals of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they could not get past the Philadelphia Flyers.
1985-86 Making it all the way to the Conference Finals with the fourteenth best record (36-38-6) was a major achievement for a team the critics thought would lose early in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Montreal Canadiens stopped their "Cinderella" run.
1986-87 The Rangers drafted defenseman Brian Leetch in the First Round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft as the ninth overall selection. Although there was no major change in record from the previous year (34-38-8), the Rangers did have the twelfth best record that season. However, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.
1987-88 Despite finishing the season with a 36-34-10 record and in eleventh place, the Rangers failed to make the playoffs.
1988-89 The club finished the season with a 37-35-8 record, ninth in the league, but were shutout in their first series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
1989-90 The Rangers hired Neil Smith as their new General Manager to assemble a team that could capture the Cup. They ended with a 36-31-13 record and again in ninth place. They were, however, able to advance to the second round of the playoffs, but were defeated by the Washington Capitals.
1990-91 Finishing 36-31-13, the Rangers completed the regular season in eighth place. They were defeated by the Capitals for the second straight year.
1991-1992 The Rangers acquired center Mark Messier from the Edmonton Oilers. He became the New York Rangers' 22nd captain and led the club to the top of the league (50-25-5). He was awarded with the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player. They were, however, defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins; the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.
1992-93 The Rangers stumbled and finished with a record of 34-39-11-missing the playoffs.
1993-1994 New Head Coach Mike Keenan led the Rangers to their second President's Trophy in three years, awarded to the league's best regular season team (52-24-8). During the playoffs, the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals in the opening two rounds. They then came from behind to defeat the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. To complete their storybook season, the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a seven-game thriller to win the team's fourth Stanley Cup.
1994-95 In the wake of Mike Keenan's departure to coach another team and the NHL's lockout shortened season, the club finished 22-23-3 in 48 games. Although they made the playoffs, they lost to the Flyers in the Conference Semi-Finals.
1995-96 After placing fifth among 26 teams with a record of 41-27-14 (82 games), the Rangers again exited the playoffs in the Conference Semi-Finals. Only this time, they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
1996-97 The Rangers finished the season eighth in the league with a 38-34-10 record. During the playoffs, the Rangers just missed making the Stanley Cup Finals, failing to get past the Philadelphia Flyers.
1997-98 After Mark Messier's departure to join the Vancouver Canucks, Brian Leetch was named team captain. Madison Square Garden became the home of "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky, as he signed with the club. The Rangers finished twentieth in the league with a 25-39-18 record.
1998-99 The Rangers were unable to make the playoffs in Gretzky's second season, ending the regular season with a 33-38-11 record (eighteenth in the league). In that same year, Gretzky received his fifth Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship throughout the year.
1999 On April 18th, Wayne Gretzky skated in the final game of his illustrious 20-year career, leaving his name atop nearly all of the major NHL record books.
1999-2000 Despite signing a group of talented free agents, the Rangers finished the season with a 29-41-12 record (twenty-third in the league) and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
2000 At the end of the 1999-2000 NHL season, both General Manager Neil Smith and Head Coach John Muckler were released by the New York Rangers. Former General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers, Glen Sather, was hired to put the club back in the right direction. He waisted no time in his new office as he hired Ron Lowe to return to the Rangers as Head Coach, and resigned former team captain, Mark Messier. These moves provide hope for the New York Rangers as they begin playing into the new millennium.
