11 Best New York Rangers Players of All Time

Founded in 1926, the New York Rangers are one of the NHL’s “Original Six” franchises. 

And while the Rangers have only won four Stanley Cups in their long, winding history, they’ve had some of the biggest names in the sport don the famous “Broadway Blueshirt.” 

From Brian Leetch to Mr. Ranger to King Henrik, join me as I count down the best 11 Rangers players of all time.

11 Best New York Rangers Players of All Time

11 Greatest Rangers of All Time

1. Brian Leetch

Brian Leetch wasted no time in making an impact on the New York Rangers.

The smooth-skating defenceman captured the Calder Trophy in 1988-1989 by scoring 23 goals, still the most by a rookie defenceman in NHL history. 

Leetch would build on his rookie campaign in the early 1990s and went on to win the Norris Trophy in 1991-1992 thanks to a 102-point campaign.

Leetch’s defining moment would come two years later when he played an integral role in helping the Rangers end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994.

Leetch ranks second in franchise history in points and games played. 

2. Mark Messier

Mark Messier’s career numbers speak for themselves, but he became a Broadway legend when he guaranteed that the Rangers would defeat the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference final. Not only did the Blueshirts win that night, but Messier scored a hat trick. The rest, as they say, is history.

Messier’s 691 points are the fifth most in Rangers’ history.

3. Henrik Lundqvist

Henrik Lundqvist went from an unknown to a hero in the blink of an eye.

A seventh-round draft pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Lundqvist made his debut five years later and took the league by storm with 30 wins and a .922 save percentage in his rookie campaign.

By the time he took the ice in his sophomore campaign, Lundqvist had already earned the moniker “King Henrik.” He would spend the rest of his career living up to the nickname.

Although Lundqvist never won it all, his Rangers teams were regularly near the top of the Stanley Cup odds at the beginning of each season.

Lundqvist holds just about every Rangers’ goaltending record in the book, including games played, wins, shutouts, and playoff victories.

4. Rod Gilbert

Known for his perseverance and class, Rod Gilbert battled through injury issues his entire career to post some eye-popping numbers. He is the only player to record more than 1,000 points as a Ranger, and his 406 goals are also a franchise record.

Gilbert was such an icon on Broadway that he became known as “Mr. Ranger.” 

5. Mike Richter

Although he was overshadowed by other goalies like Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, and Dominik Hasek, Mike Richter was one of the great clutch goaltenders of his era. 

The University of Wisconsin alum posted four shutouts in the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs and backstopped the Blueshirts to their first championship since 1940.

Richter’s 666 games played, and 301 wins are the second most of any goaltender in franchise history. 

6. Jean Ratelle

Part of the famous GAG (Goal-a-Game) line with Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle was one of the most consistent players of his era. 

Ratelle regularly put up 30 goals and 70-plus points in the early seasons of his career, but he took things to a different level with 109 points in 1971-72.

Ratelle’s 336 goals are the second most in Rangers’ history, and his 817 points trail only Gilbert and Leetch.

7. Ed Giacomin

The Rangers have a tradition of elite goaltending, and you could say it all started with Ed Giacomin. 

After a shaky rookie campaign, Giacomin came into his own in 1966-1967 and led the Rangers to the playoffs for just the second time in nine seasons. That was one of three times that Giacomin led the NHL shutouts (1967-68 and 1970-1971). 

The defining moment of Giacomin’s career came in the 1972 playoffs when Chicago Blackhawks’ star Bobby Hull skated over his hand in a game. Giacomin would stay in the contest and led the Rangers to a win. 

The Blueshirts went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final that year but fell to the Boston Bruins in six games.

8. Adam Graves

It is easy to overlook Adam Graves for the likes of Leetch, Messier or Richter, but he played a massive role in leading the Rangers to glory in 1994.

Graves scored 52 goals that season and endeared himself to the fans with his physical style.

Graves racked up 507 points and 810 penalty minutes in his decade with the Blueshirts.

9. Harry Howell

The Rangers have been around for 100 years, and nobody has played more games for the club than Harry Howell.

Not known for his offence, Howell built an NHL Hall-of-Fame career on dependability and tenacity and racked up 1,147 penalty minutes.

Howell won the Norris Trophy in 1967, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Game in 1979, and had his No. 3 jersey retired by the Rangers in 2009. 

10. Jaromir Jagr

He may not have played all that long on Broadway, but Jaromir Jagr’s impact was undeniable.

The Czech legend was traded from Washington to New York in 2003-2004, but he really didn’t make his mark until his next season with the Rangers – which was delayed because of the 2004-2005 lockout.

The 2005-2006 season was not expected to be a promising one for the Blueshirts. Their hockey odds to win the Stanley Cup were long, and nobody expected much from an aging core of players led by Jagr, who was thought to be past his prime.

Jagr would turn back the clock by scoring 54 goals and 123 points, leading the Rangers to a surprising playoff berth.

He would go on to score 167 more points in his next two seasons and help establish the Rangers as a perennial threat in the Eastern Conference.

11. Andy Bathgate

A prolific offensive producer in the 1950s, Andy Bathgate is one of just four players in franchise history to average a point per game with at least 200 games played for the Rangers.

His No. 9 jersey was retired in 2009 on the same night as Howell’s.