A PGP Guide to: The New York Rangers

A PGP Guide to: The New York Rangers

The New York Rangers aesthetic is Madison Square Garden, royal blue sweaters, Manhattan glamour, Original Six prestige, celebrity crowds, impossible expectations, elite goaltenders, dramatic playoff runs, Mark Messier’s Guarantee, Henrik Lundqvist looking devastatingly handsome while carrying an entire franchise, and a fanbase that treats 1994 like both a religious holiday and a personality trait. The Rangers are one of the NHL’s most recognizable franchises. They have played in New York City since 1926, call “The World’s Most Famous Arena” home, have worn essentially the same iconic diagonal RANGERS sweater for generations and have spent a century attracting stars because, well, it’s New York.

The franchise’s actual championship history is much more complicated than the glamour suggests. The Rangers won three Stanley Cups during their first 14 seasons, then waited 54 years for another, and they haven't won one since.

The Basics

Team: New York Rangers

Conference: Eastern Conference

Division: Metropolitan Division

Home Arena: Madison Square Garden

Location: Manhattan, New York City

Franchise Founded: 1926

Team Colors: Blue, red and white

Stanley Cups: 4 – 1928, 1933, 1940, 1994

Stanley Cup Final Appearances: 11

Biggest Rivals: New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Rangers play at Madison Square Garden, and unlike most hockey teams, the arena itself is almost part of the franchise mythology. The Rangers have called different versions of Madison Square Garden home since their first season, while the current Garden opened in 1968 above Pennsylvania Station. They share it with the NBA’s New York Knicks, and Rangers games have historically attracted everyone from politicians and Broadway stars to celebrities sitting glass side. Even during the franchise’s earliest years, the Rangers were known for drawing New York’s society crowd.

The Rangers are an Original Six franchise alongside Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit and Chicago. As always, “Original Six” doesn't mean they were literally the NHL’s first six teams; it refers to the six clubs that comprised the entire league from 1942 through 1967.

The Origin Story

The Rangers exist because Madison Square Garden already had one hockey team and decided it wanted another. In 1925, the NHL’s New York Americans began playing at Madison Square Garden and quickly proved that professional hockey could draw crowds in Manhattan. Garden president George Lewis “Tex” Rickard saw the opportunity and pushed for MSG to receive its own franchise, the NHL approved it for the 1926-27 season.Rickard then brought in hockey executive Conn Smythe, the guy the trophy is named after, to help assemble the roster, although Smythe left before the team's inaugural season and Lester Patrick ultimately became the major architect of the early franchise.

Sportswriters began referring to Rickard's new players as “Tex’s Rangers,” a joke based on the famous Texas Rangers lawmen, and it stuck. The Rangers immediately became good, weirdly fast.  They reached the playoffs in their first season and won the Stanley Cup in only their second year of existence, in 1928. No NHL franchise since has won the Cup that quickly after entering the league, and that first championship produced one of the strangest stories in Stanley Cup history. During Game 2 of the Final against the Montreal Maroons, Rangers goalie Lorne Chabot was injured. Teams didn't routinely carry backup goalies at the time, and Montreal refused to allow New York to use an available emergency replacement. So Rangers coach Lester Patrick, who was 44 years old, put on the goalie equipment himself. He allowed one goal, helped New York win in overtime and the Rangers eventually won the series. Imagine an NHL head coach doing that now...

The Vibe Check

The Rangers are basically the NHL version of an old money New York institution. The uniforms barely change, the logo barely changes, the arena is iconic, history is everywhere, alumni are treated like royalty, and playing for the Rangers means playing under one of the largest media microscopes in hockey. There is also a glamour factor that other teams simply do not have. Madison Square Garden is in Manhattan, celebrities are constantly at games, and major free agents historically want to play there. The team has had everyone from Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier to Jaromir Jagr and Artemi Panarin wearing the sweater.

But the funny part is that beneath all the glamour is an incredibly anxious hockey fanbase because Rangers fans have repeatedly been given teams that look good enough to win the Stanley Cup, and then don't.

The History You Need to Know

The Rangers were actually extremely successful at the beginning. They won their first Stanley Cup in 1928, another in 1933, and their third in 1940. They also reached the Final in 1929, 1932 and 1937, meaning the early Rangers were one of the NHL’s premier organizations. Then came the drought. The Rangers did not win another Stanley Cup for 54 years. There were good teams during that stretch full of Hall of Famers and the teams had great regular seasons with deep playoff runs, but no Cup.

The 1971-72 Rangers were especially talented behind the famous G-A-G Line of Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert. They reached the Stanley Cup Final but lost to Bobby Orr’s Boston Bruins. They reached the Final again in 1979, after upsetting the heavily favored New York Islanders in the semifinals, but lost to Montreal.

Then came 1994 with a roster built around Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Adam Graves and Sergei Zubov. They finished with the best record in the NHL then tore through the early rounds of the playoffs, and then they met the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Final. New Jersey took a 3-2 series lead, and Mark Messier did one of the most Mark Messier things imaginable: he publicly guaranteed that New York would win Game 6. Then he scored a natural hat trick in the third period and the Rangers won 4-2. But what about game 7? Well, that went to double OT and Stéphane Matteau scored to send New York to the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers then faced the Vancouver Canucks also going to seven games. New York won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden and for the first time since 1940 the Rangers were Stanley Cup champions! Brian Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy, becoming the first American born player to win playoff MVP. Messier became the first player in NHL history to captain two different franchises to Stanley Cup championships. This win also brought us one of the most famous calls in hockey “The waiting is over!” That one championship carries a truly ridiculous amount of emotional weight.

After 1994, New York went through another long stretch without reaching the Final. Then came the Henrik Lundqvist era. The Rangers drafted Lundqvist in the seventh round in 2000, and he eventually became one of the greatest goalies of his generation. With Lundqvist in net, the Rangers became a regular playoff team during the 2010s and reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2012. Then in 2014, they finally returned to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years where they faced the Los Angeles Kings. Los Angeles won in five. Three of those Kings victories came in overtime, including Alec Martinez’s double overtime Cup winner in Game 5. Now, don’t tell other Kings fans, but as a Kings fan, I was obviously the happiest I’ve ever been, but the view of Henrik face down on the ice broke my heart in 2014 and still does in 2026.

New York then won the Presidents' Trophy in 2014-15 and reached another Eastern Conference Final before Tampa Bay eliminated them in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Eventually, that core aged out and the Rangers formally announced a rebuild in 2018, and because they're the Rangers, the rebuild lasted approximately five minutes. They won the draft lottery and selected Alexis Lafrenière first overall in 2020. Eventually, Adam Fox became a Norris Trophy winning defenseman, Igor Shesterkin replaced Lundqvist and won the Vezina, Artemi Panarin became a superstar, and by 2022, New York was already back in the Eastern Conference Final. The Rangers actually went up 2-0 on Tampa Bay before losing four consecutive games. 

In 2023-24, New York went 55-23-4 with 114 points, setting franchise records for wins and points and winning the Presidents' Trophy. They reached the Eastern Conference Final again before losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida in six games. At the time, it felt like the Stanley Cup window was wide open, but everything unraveled.

The Icons

Mark Messier

The Captain.

When Rangers fans say “The Captain,” they mean Mark Messier. New York acquired him from Edmonton in 1991 after he had already won five Stanley Cups with the Oilers. Then he came to Manhattan and became the emotional center of the Rangers. The Guarantee, the Game 6 hat trick, the 1994 Cup, the image of him accepting the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden is basically the defining photograph of modern Rangers history.

Brian Leetch

Probably the greatest defenseman in Rangers history. Leetch spent 17 seasons in New York and became one of the best American born players ever. He won the Calder Trophy, two Norris Trophies and the 1994 Conn Smythe Trophy. He remains the only NHL player other than Bobby Orr to win the Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe during his career.

Henrik Lundqvist

The King! This man carried Rangers teams while looking like that. Henrik Lundqvist arrived from Sweden in 2005 and became the face of the franchise for the next 15 years. He won the 2012 Vezina Trophy, recorded more than 450 NHL wins and led New York to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. He never won the Cup, which remains one of the great heartbreaks of modern hockey history.

Mike Richter

The goalie of 1994 who spent his entire NHL career with the Rangers and gave New York some of the biggest saves in franchise history. The most famous was his penalty shot save on Pavel Bure during the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. Richter was the goalie when the 54 year drought finally ended.

Rod Gilbert

Rod Gilbert spent his entire NHL career with New York and remains the franchise's all time leader with 406 goals and 1,021 points. He played on the legendary G-A-G Line alongside Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield and became the first player in franchise history to have his number retired.

Jean Ratelle

One of the greatest centers in Rangers history and another member of the G-A-G Line. Ratelle recorded 109 points in only 63 games during the 1971-72 season, an absurd total for the era, and helped New York reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Adam Graves

Adam Graves is one of those players Rangers fans love beyond what the stat sheet alone can explain. He scored a then franchise record 52 goals in 1993-94, won the Stanley Cup and became enormously respected for his community work and connection to New York.

Wayne Gretzky

Is Wayne Gretzky a Rangers specific icon? Not exactly, but The Great One finished his NHL career here. Gretzky joined the Rangers in 1996, reunited briefly with Messier and played his final game at Madison Square Garden on April 18, 1999. So Rangers history gets to claim the ending of the greatest hockey career ever.

The Current Era

The current Rangers era is what happens when a championship window starts closing faster than expected. The modern core looked legitimate as New York reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2022, won the Presidents' Trophy and reached another Eastern Conference Final in 2024. Igor Shesterkin was elite, Adam Fox was elite, Artemi Panarin was producing at a superstar level, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck formed a veteran core around them. Then the Rangers missed the playoffs in 2024-25 so Peter Laviolette was fired. New York hired Mike Sullivan, who had won back to back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.

J.T. Miller, who had returned to the Rangers in a 2025 trade with Vancouver, was named the 29th captain in franchise history before the 2025-26 season. The idea was that a new coach and new leadership would help the team bounce back, but instead the Rangers for worse. New York finished last in the Metropolitan Division and last in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Their home record was especially bizarre, too, as they went 14-20-7 at Madison Square Garden, lost their first seven home games and were shut out five times during that opening home skid. By February, management had already decided major changes were coming.

On February 4, 2026, New York traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings, receiving prospect Liam Greentree and conditional draft picks. Panarin left after spending nearly seven seasons as one of the best offensive players in Rangers history. The summer overhaul continued when New York traded Vincent Trocheck to Utah for defenseman Sean Durzi, prospect Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third round pick. They acquired Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver and added Oliver Bjorkstrand and Joe Veleno. Additionally, they signed Eeli Tolvanen. Their biggest move was acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for the draft picks in the 2026 Draft plus a conditional 2028 first round pick, then signed him to a 7 year contract.

The Rangers are trying to retool around Shesterkin, Fox, Miller, Zibanejad and a younger group without wasting several prime years completely tearing things down.

The Players You Need to Know

Igor Shesterkin

The reason the Rangers always think they have a chance.

Rangers goaltending history is ridiculous. Eddie Giacomin, Mike Richter, Henrik Lundqvist, and now Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy in 2022 and has already established himself as one of the NHL's elite goalies. Even during New York's disastrous 2025-26 season, he posted a .912 save percentage in 51 games, tied for the best among NHL goalies who played at least 50 games. He won 25 games despite playing behind a team that finished last in the East. The Rangers signed him to the largest goalie contract in NHL history before the 2025-26 season.

Adam Fox

The elite defenseman who grew up wanting to be here.

Adam Fox is a Long Island-born Rangers fan who basically engineered his way to New York. Fox won the Norris Trophy in 2021 and has remained one of the league's best offensive defensemen. Injuries limited him to 55 games in 2025-26, but he still produced 44 assists and 53 points, averaging nearly a point per game. He runs the power play, moves the puck, creates offense, and is one of the actual foundational pieces of the current Rangers.

Mika Zibanejad

The longtime Ranger who somehow survived the roster purge.

Mika Zibanejad has been in New York since 2016 and has experienced basically every phase of this modern Rangers era. He’s lived through the rebuild, playoff return, conference final runs, and the collapse. He bounced back significantly in 2025-26, finishing with 78 points after spending the final stretch of the season back at center. He was one of only two NHL players that season with at least 75 points, 200 shots and 100 hits. He also won the Rangers' Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for the 2025-26 season. With Panarin gone and Trocheck traded, Zibanejad matters even more offensively.

J.T. Miller

The captain & chaos element.

J.T. Miller was drafted by NY in 2011, traded away to Tampa and became a 100 point player in Vancouver, then came back and became captain last year. His first full season back wasn't spectacular offensively, 17 goals and 53 points in 68 games, but he remained physical, strong on faceoffs and capable of driving play. The Rangers kind of forced him to be the emotional centerpiece of the next version of the team.

Pavel Dorofeyev

The expensive new goal scorer.

The Rangers traded a LOT for Pavel Dorofeyev, then paid him a LOT. Dorofeyev scored 37 goals and 64 points for Vegas in 2025-26, including 20 power play goals. He then scored 12 more goals in 22 playoff games as Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final. New York signed him for seven years at an $11 million annual cap hit. With Panarin gone, the Rangers needed another legitimate high end scorer and Dorofeyev is supposed to become one.

Alexis Lafrenière

The former 1st pick who still feels like a question.

The Rangers won the 2020 Draft Lottery and selected Alexis Lafrenière first overall.  Lafrenière has become a useful NHL player and has shown flashes of legitimate high end offense, but the Rangers are still waiting for him to fully become the star expected from a first pick. He finished 2025-26 strongly alongside Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, which gives New York some hope that the next step is still coming. 

Gabe Perreault

The young forward Rangers fans are extremely excited about.

Gabe Perreault was drafted 23rd overall in 2023 after setting a record with 132 points in one season for the U.S. National Team Development Program, he then starred at Boston College before joining New York. Late last season, Perreault recorded 19 points in his final 23 games, including his first NHL hat trick. He's expected to get a real top six opportunity this season.

Will Cuylle

The extremely useful chaos guy.

Will Cuylle is rapidly becoming the kind of player Rangers fans love. He hits everything, forechecks, scores enough to matter, can move throughout the lineup, and generally makes life unpleasant for opposing players. He's already produced consecutive 20 goal seasons and gives the Rangers a physical element that complements the more skilled forwards.

Sean Durzi

The new puck moving defenseman.

Sean Durzi arrived from Utah in the Vincent Trocheck trade. Durzi had 27 points in 60 games in 2025-26 and is expected to play on New York's second defense pairing while helping the Rangers move the puck out of their zone faster, which is what Mike Sullivan specifically identified as areas the Rangers needed to improve.

Matt Rempe

The giant, doesn't want to be but is, enforcer.

At 6'9", Rempe is basically impossible to miss. He brings size, physicality and a ridiculous amount of energy to the Rangers’ bottom six, with his game built around forechecking, throwing hits and making life miserable for the other team. Injuries limited him to 26 games in 2025-26, but when he’s in the lineup, his job is to create chaos, change the energy of a game and make opponents very aware that he is on the ice. 

The Rivalries

New York Islanders

Rangers-Islanders is the Battle of New York, Manhattan versus Long Island, Madison Square Garden versus Nassau Coliseum and now UBS Arena. The older, glamorous Original Six franchise versus the expansion team that showed up in 1972 and immediately started competing for the same market, and then the Islanders had the nerve to become a dynasty. The rivalry exploded almost immediately because the Islanders eliminated the Rangers in their first ever playoff appearance in 1975, winning the deciding game at Madison Square Garden only 11 seconds into overtime. The Rangers got revenge in 1979, eliminating the heavily favored Islanders to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Then the Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups and repeatedly eliminated New York during the early 1980s. Rangers fans still chant “Potvin sucks!” decades after Denis Potvin retired which originated after Potvin's 1979 hit on Ulf Nilsson. Potvin retired in 1988, but the chant lives on because sports are beautiful!!

New Jersey Devils

This is the Hudson River Rivalry, and 1994 basically guarantees that it will always matter. The Rangers represent Manhattan, the Devils represent New Jersey, and they're separated by the Hudson River and have spent decades sharing a division. The 1994 Eastern Conference Final with Messier's guarantee, Matteau in double overtime, and Rangers advancing only to win the Cup, gave New Jersey fans mixed feelings. Then in 2012, the Devils got a massive piece of revenge when Adam Henrique scored in overtime of Game 6 to eliminate New York and send New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Final. And in 2023, the Devils came back from a 2-0 series deficit and eliminated the Rangers in Game 7. It's geography + playoff trauma.

Philadelphia Flyers

This rivalry is basically Northeast Corridor hostility + decades of division games. The Flyers entered the NHL in 1967, and the Rangers have played them more often in the regular season than almost any other franchise from the expansion era. There have been fights, too many playoff series’, extremely loud buildings, and two fanbases that weren't exactly famous for being delicate with each other. Philadelphia eliminated the Rangers in several major postseason series, while New York knocked the Flyers out on the way to the 1994 Stanley Cup. Also, c’mon, it’s NY vs Philly… it’s a bloodbath no matter the sport.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Rangers-Penguins rivalry became especially strong during the Sidney Crosby era because the teams repeatedly met in the playoffs. Pittsburgh eliminated New York in 2008 and 2016 and the Rangers eliminated Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015. In 2022, New York fell behind Pittsburgh 3-1 in the first round but came back and forced game 7, with Panarin scoring in OT to help his team advance. Now Mike Sullivan, the coach who won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh, is coaching the Rangers.

The Fanbase

Rangers fans call themselves the Blueshirt Faithful, and Madison Square Garden gives the fanbase a different atmosphere than most NHL markets. You're not driving out to a suburban arena, you're walking into Midtown Manhattan with Penn Station underneath you. The Knicks play in the same building, celebrities are sitting along the glass, and then 18,000 people start screaming at a goalie.

Rangers fandom also comes with a huge historical memory. Fans know 1940 and they definitely know 1994. They know Messier's Guarantee. They know about Matteau, Richter, Leetch, and Lundqvist. They know every time the Islanders or Devils ruined something. Despite the Rangers having only four championships, the expectation is always to win the cup. 

One of the Rangers' nicest modern traditions is the Stick Salute. After home victories, the players gather at center ice and raise their sticks toward the crowd. The tradition began during the 2005-06 season, after Marek Malik scored his ridiculous 15th round, between the legs shootout winner against Washington. The Rangers gathered at center ice afterward to salute the fans and kept doing it. 

There's also the famous Rangers goal song, with the crowd screaming along to the “HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!”after goals.

And of course, “Potvin sucks” at games not involving the Islanders, decades later, because Rangers fans are nothing if not committed to a bit.

The Retired Numbers

The Rangers have retired 9 jersey numbers honoring 11 players.

No. 1 — Eddie Giacomin

One of the great Rangers goalies of the 1960s and '70s. His emotional return to Madison Square Garden after being claimed by Detroit in 1975 remains one of the most famous nights in Rangers history because New York fans spent the game cheering for him instead of their own team. 

No. 2 — Brian Leetch

The greatest Rangers defenseman, Norris winner, Conn Smythe winner, and 1994 champion.

No. 3 — Harry Howell

A Rangers defenseman for 17 consecutive seasons and the franchise leader with 1,160 regular season games played. He won the Norris Trophy in 1967. 

No. 7 — Rod Gilbert

Mr. Ranger. The franchise's all time leader in goals and points and the first Ranger ever to have his jersey retired. 

No. 9 — Andy Bathgate & Adam Graves

One number for two completely different Rangers eras. Andy Bathgate was one of the franchise's premier stars of the 1950s and early '60s and won the Hart Trophy in 1959. Adam Graves scored 52 goals during the 1993-94 championship season and became one of the most beloved Rangers of that generation.

No. 11 — Mark Messier & Vic Hadfield

Again, shared. Hadfield became the first Ranger to score 50 goals in a season and starred alongside Ratelle and Gilbert on the G-A-G Line. Messier? The Captain, like The Captain.

No. 19 — Jean Ratelle

The elite center from the G-A-G Line and one of the greatest offensive players in franchise history.

No. 30 — Henrik Lundqvist

The King. A generation of Rangers fans basically spent fifteen years emotionally depending on this man.

No. 35 — Mike Richter

The 1994 goalie, the Bure save, the championship.

The Rangers are also unusual because three goaltenders, Giacomin, Richter and Lundqvist, have retired numbers, making New York one of only two NHL franchises to have honored three goalies that way!

The Team Identity

The Rangers' historical identity has never really been one specific hockey system, it's just simply New York. Big stage with big expectations and big stars. They’ve always had elite goalies and an organization that rarely wants to spend very long being irrelevant. The Rangers could have looked at what happened after the 2024 Eastern Conference Final and torn everything down, but they didn't, they've just tried to change the roster around the stars they believe can still win.

Panarin and Trocheck are gone, Chris Kreider was traded away in 2025, a lot of the older version of the team has disappeared, but Shesterkin, Fox, and Zibanejad remain. Miller is captain, Lafrenière is still here, Perreault and Cuylle are emerging, and instead of hoarding draft picks, New York traded premium picks to acquire Pavel Dorofeyev and immediately signed him for seven years. On defense, the Rangers added Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson specifically because Mike Sullivan wanted a team that could move the puck more efficiently and play faster. The Rangers are trying to perform surgery while the patient remains awake, but they don’t do low expectations, so it must be fixed.

Why You Should Watch Them

You should watch the New York Rangers because even when they're a mess, they're rarely boring. You get Madison Square Garden, Original Six history, the iconic diagonal RANGERS sweaters, Tex's Rangers, a coach literally playing goalie during the 1928 Stanley Cup Final. They have 3 early championships with a 54 year drought. As said, this is a team who’s had Messier's Guarantee. They’ve had the 2014 Cup final with Henrik Lundqvist, not there’s Igor Shesterkin. They also have SO much hatred… Islanders hatred, Devils hatred, Flyers hatred. I mean, Rangers fans still chant about Denis Potvin almost 40 years after he retired.

Two seasons ago, New York had the best regular season record in hockey and was two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final. Last season, they finished last in the East. Now Artemi Panarin is gone, Vincent Trocheck is gone, Pavel Dorofeyev is here, J.T. Miller is the captain, Gabe Perreault might be becoming a star, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin are still elite, and Mike Sullivan is trying to prove the Rangers' championship window hasn't actually closed yet. After missing the playoffs two years in a row, the team is trying to get back to the stage where they know they need to be. This is the Big Apple, after all!