Ranking the Top 5 New York Rangers Players of All Time

As a member of the Original Six, the New York Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the league and were the first American NHL franchise to lift the Stanley Cup. This storied organization has seen many greats take to the ice, including the Great One, but there are legends among those men who deserve to be hailed as the greatest players to don the Rangers garb.

The list of greats for the Rangers is very long, and without having been alive to see many of these heroes play, it’s difficult for me to come up with a list that’s anything other than subjective, but then again these lists always are.

Ranking these men required an in-depth look at their statistics, time with the team and impact on the organization.

So which storied Ranger will make the top spot? Could it be Mark Messier? Maybe it’s Brian Leetch or even Rod Gilbert. Without further ado, let’s begin our list of the top five greatest New York Rangers of all time.

Honorable Mentions

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Before we get underway with No. 5, it’s important that we pay tribute to a few honorable mentions.

Andy Bathgate found his home with the Rangers after bouncing back and forth between Vancouver and New York between 1952 and 1954. His next 10 years as a Blueshirt saw him become one of the league’s top-tier players, as he failed to register less than 60 points in only two of those seasons.

He was a prolific goal scorer for his time and was the lone bright spot in a Rangers era that produced limited success. Nagging injuries and a depleted Rangers side led to Bathgate being traded to Toronto, a move the Rangers faithful wasn't too pleased with, especially since the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup following that trade. In 2009 the former right wing’s No. 9 sweater was retired. He stands as only one of four Rangers to have been voted league MVP.

Another great to wear the No. 9 sweater before its retirement was left wing Adam Graves. The Stanley Cup-winning Oiler became a Ranger in 1991 and was a driving force behind the Rangers' 1993-94 Stanley Cup victory, which broke a 54-year drought.

It was his first-period goal and second-period assist to Mark Messier that would help seal a Game 7 victory for New York. That season he would set a then-Rangers record for single-season goals with 52 and make his only All-Star appearance.

Graves’ grit and grinding style of play made him a fan favorite, but it was his off-the-ice work with New York City children’s charities that really endeared him to the crowd and continue to do so to this very day.

Defenseman Ron Greschner is one of those rare one-team players who spent his 16 years in the league with none other than the Rangers. In 982 career games he recorded an impressive 610 points and only dipped below 40 points in six of those seasons—three of which were his last in the league.

Even more impressive might be his contributions in the playoffs, where he recorded 49 points in 84 games—truly staggering numbers for a defenseman. In fact, he’s seventh all-time in points scored for the Rangers. One has to wonder if his status would have been elevated had the Rangers bested then defending champs Montreal in the 1979 Stanley Cup Final.

For a player whose career nearly ended before it began Jean Ratelle proved to be one of the best offensive players in Rangers history. In his 16 years with the team, he accounted for 817 points in 862 games. He’s the team’s second all-time leading scorer with 336, third all-time in assists with 481, third all-time in points and sixth all-time in games played.

His 109 points in the 1971-72 season was a record that stood for 34 years until it was eclipsed by Jaromir Jagr. Like Bathwater, he was traded to another Original Six team, but Ratelle ended up with New York’s fierce rival, the Boston Bruins.

5. Mike Richter

KATHY WILLENS/Associated Press

The real list begins with Stanley Cup-winning goalie Mike Richter. One of the best American keepers of all time began his tenure as the Rangers’ starting keeper with a bang. When John Vanbiesbrouck was traded to the Canucks before the 1993-4 season, Richter stepped in, and over the course of that first season as a starter, he won 42 games, had a save percentage of .910 and posted a career-low 2.57 goals-against average.

That season he was named MVP of the All-Star Game in addition to setting a Rangers record for wins and shutouts in a playoff season with 16 and four, respectively. And to put the cherry on top, he went on to help the Blueshirts defeat Vancouver in seven games to win their fourth Stanley Cup.

That's not too shabby for his first year as the starter.

Most of diehard Rangers fans will remember a special moment in Game 4 where Brian Leetch tripped up Pavel Bure on a breakaway, which resulted in a penalty shot for the sharpshooter. Bure, the leading scorer in the league that season, seemed destined to find the back of the net, as Richter left the crease the moment Bure touched the puck, but the goalie brilliantly baited the Russian rocket into shooting near post and did ever so well to stretch out with a pad save to deny Vancouver.

New York would go on to win that game 4-2, and the rest is history. When Richter retired in 2003, he held the Rangers' goalkeeping records for wins (301) and games played (666). His 24 shutouts rank as fifth all-time among Rangers goalies, and in 2004 he became the third player in Rangers history to have his number retired.

4. Rod Gilbert

Ray Stubblebine/Associated Press

No. 4 on our list was an absolute offensive juggernaut. Rod Gilbert was a key member of the GAG (goal a game) line that featured one of our honorable mentions, Jean Ratelle.

Like Ratelle, Gilbert’s career almost ended before it began when he broke a vertebra in his back and suffered blood clots in his legs. But he made a full recovery and quickly shot to stardom by scoring 156 points in his first 210 games as a Ranger before his second spinal fusion operation sidelined him for half of the 1965-66 season.

After that little hiccup Gilbert returned to the league as a man possessed. Over the next 12 years he would set Rangers records for points, assists and goals scored. His records of 406 goals and 1,021 points still stand.

In his 16 seasons with the Blueshirts, Gilbert scored 20-plus goals 12 times, 30-plus goals five times—including three straight years with 36 goals—and registered 97 points on two occasions. His prolific and consistent scoring is what earns him this spot on the list.

If you need any reassurance as to just how influential Gilbert was, then here’s a little fun fact for you: The eight-time All-Star was the first New York Ranger to have his number retired, and this happened only a year after his retirement. He was then inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982. He did all of this without leading his Blueshirts to a championship, but never will his mettle or impact be questioned.

3. Henrik Lundqvist

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Some might think it is too early to consider King Henrik among the Rangers greats, but the man is truly a phenomenon.

Don’t believe me? Well, the Swedish prodigy is the only goaltender in NHL history to have 30-plus wins in each of his first seven seasons. In fact, he would have recorded 30-plus wins every year if it weren’t for a shortened season in 2012. Even then, he still managed to win 24 games.

His exceptional reflexes, concentration and positioning make him, arguably, the best active goalie in the game. If you’re in need of some convincing, then I suggest you open up YouTube and watch how many goals Lundqvist has robbed from the league’s best goal scorers.

While Richter endeared himself to the fans by helping New York win a Stanley Cup in his first full year (and this is with all due respect), I cannot honestly say that he was as good a keeper as Lundqvist is. In his nine years with the Rangers, King Henrik has broken Richter’s all-time win record by eight games. His GAA is 0.63 better than Richter, and he holds New York’s all-time shutout record with 50 games.

He and Richter are tied with nine playoff shutouts, but Lundqvist overtook him in playoff victories last season, bringing his tally up to 43. The most winning goaltender in Rangers history also holds the NHL record for five consecutive Game 7 wins. His extraordinary statistics and consistent output see him above Richter on our top-five list.

2. Brian Leetch

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Coming up with a top five for this storied franchise is difficult enough, but separating the top two is a whole different ballgame. For me the No. 2 spot belongs to Brian Leetch.

In the honorable mentions I made note of Ron Greschner’s wild offensive ability; well, Leetch took it to a new level. His first 17 games with the team were a massive indication of how his career would shape up. Fresh out of Boston College and coming off the back of playing for the United States in the 1988 Olympics, Leetch made his NHL debut for the Rangers and marked it with a point. He would go on to tally 14 points over those 17 games—something that either had Rangers fans licking their chops or writing it off as a fluke.

But it was no fluke. The very next year he’d play in his first full season and did what no one has managed to do since. He scored 23 goals, an NHL record for rookie defensemen, and recorded 71 points, winning the Calder Trophy and earning NHL All-Rookie Team honors.

Leetch would go on to play 16 full seasons with the Blueshirts, setting multiple team records in the process. Throughout the 1992-93 season he amassed a staggering 102 points, becoming the fifth defenseman in NHL history to break the century mark and earning the first of his two Norris Trophies.

The very next year he inspired the Rangers to the Stanley Cup by putting on an absolute clinic in the playoffs. In 23 games he scored 11 goals and assisted on 23, earning a well-deserved Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP and becoming the first American-born player to do so.

Leetch is the Rangers second all-time leading points-getter, second all-time in games played, ninth in goals scored and first in assists. He also holds Rangers records in playoff points and assists while sitting in third for goals scored.

He was infamously traded to Toronto in 2004 and then played one year for the Bruins before retiring. Only two years later, the six-time Rangers MVP had his number retired and within the next year was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He’s widely regarded as one of the best defenders to ever see the ice, and the Rangers will likely never come across another defender as prolific.

1. Mark Messier

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Associated Press

New York Rangers' Mark Messier acknowledges the fans after their game against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday March 31, 2004. (AP Photo/Karen Vibert-Kennedy)

Drum roll please! The moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived, and you probably figured out our No. 1 while you were reading about Leetch. With that being said, let’s get on with it.

Mark Messier needs no real introduction, so consider this a formality. The Messiah, as Rangers fans affectionately dubbed him, is widely regarded to be one of the best players to ever play the game. He’s second all-time in regular-season points with 1,887—behind only the Great One, of course.

During his first six years with the Rangers, he proved to be the impactful and clutch player that everyone knew him to be, as well as showing that he could succeed without playing alongside Wayne Gretzky. He scored 198 points in his first two seasons with New York, but it was his third season with the Blueshirts that would cement his status as a Rangers legend.

The Rangers were in the Eastern Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils. They were facing elimination, behind 3-2 going into Game 6. Then Messier made “The Guarantee,” and what followed was nothing short of a fairy tale. Going into the third period, the Devils held a 2-1 lead, and just when things began to look bleak for New York, the captain made good on his proclamation.

A third-period hat trick from Messier gave New York a 4-2 victory and made him an instant hero, but his heroics weren’t over yet. A double-overtime win in Game 7 sent New York to the Stanley Cup Final.

In what was an electric affair, the final between New York and Vancouver went the full seven games, and it was Messier who put the Rangers 3-1 up to effectively clinch the title, although Vancouver would grab one back and make the Rangers sweat it out.

He doesn’t hold any major records for the team but did put up 80 points in the playoffs, which is good for second all-time in Rangers history, and it was his playoff production that really lifted the team.

His tenure with the Rangers wasn’t about setting records—it was about grit, determination and leadership. He helped shape the team that would end New York’s 54-year drought, becoming the only player to captain two different teams to Stanley Cup glory.

Mr. June’s legendary No. 11 jersey now hangs in the rafters of MSG—a reminder to all of the night “The Curse” was laid to rest.