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Confirmed with Link: Ratelle's #19 To Be Retired

Bob Richards

Bob Richards

Mr. Mojo Risin'
Feb 9, 2011
10,193
15,315
Jersey
I wonder how many more numbers I'll see retired in my lifetime. If quite a few of them go up then I want to see some strange jerseys. 57. 79 etc.

Didn't Callahan wear 43 or something like that for his first call up? We need a permanent one of those.

Ratelleitlikeitis said:
Just checked in...this is a happy day and we didn't even play!
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I was waiting to see your reaction. :D
 
Amazing Kreiderman

Amazing Kreiderman

Registered User
Apr 11, 2011
44,873
40,414
Oh my god. The internet is an ugly place. I have seen people on Facebook claim this is undeserved because Ratelle never won a Cup with us hahahaha.
 
Ratelleitlikeitis

Ratelleitlikeitis

Registered User
Apr 7, 2011
3,504
1,203
Guelph
Bob Richards said:
I wonder how many more numbers I'll see retired in my lifetime. If quite a few of them go up then I want to see some strange jerseys. 57. 79 etc.

Didn't Callahan wear 43 or something like that for his first call up? We need a permanent one of those.



I was waiting to see your reaction. :D
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Hmmm...maybe it's time to change my username to "Parkitoverthere" and see how long before #2 is raised? :sarcasm:
 

alkurtz

Registered User
Nov 26, 2006
1,440
1,014
Charlotte, NC
About time.

Here is one of the things about Jean that has gotten a bit lost except maybe to older fans and may serve as a lesson to be patient with younger players.

It took him many years to establish himself as an NHL player and he was repeatedly sent down to the Rangers AHL team, the Baltimore Clippers (in an age when little hockey was available anywhere, I sometimes was able to listen to Clippers games on my radio in the Bronx).

In fact, I vividly recall I conversation I had with a friend in my high school gym class (I'm 69 now so you can imagine how long ago that was), where I complained about Ratelle and said that if were standing on the beach, he could not put the puck in the ocean!

Imagine the carping around Ratelle if he were a young struggling player today who had to be sent to Hartford 3X?

But I was wrong: just a fantastic player. As I've said in previous posts, I can still see and hear the puck, shot from the point by Dale Rolfe in March 1972, hitting Ratelle's ankle......in retrospect, the injury that may have cost us the Cup that year.

But great news, took to long, but will be much enjoyed when it happens. A long "wrong" will be "righted."
 

bernmeister

Registered User
Jun 11, 2010
27,783
3,766
Da Big Apple
Kahuna Nanu said:
took long enough
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eco's bones said:
No I'm not going to say he doesn't deserve to be there. I do remember the time though and I can tell you this--Ratelle for the first 5 years after the trade was very arguably an even better player than he was with the Rangers. He fit onto the Bruins like a glove. He fit a lot better than Espo did for the Rangers and his best playoffs were with the Bruins not the Rangers. I know several Bruins fans and back then the Bruins were our biggest rival and between Ratelle, Park and Middleton they ended up a lot better off than we did and I was always hearing about it. Emile Francis made a mistake on all of them. As for Ratelle though--the trade was probably every bit as much of a shock as it was for Esposito....but we never really heard Ratelle's end of it...the thing is though that IMO it made Ratelle an even better player--made him a more clutch player.
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Maximus said:
I'm not sure Ratelle was "better" when he became a Bruin but he certainly played with better players from 1975 till end of his career than if he had stayed a Ranger and that's what clinched the fact he was going to the HOF. He no doubt put up better stats than he would have if the big trade had not gone down.

Funny, you make the same mistake most people do and please don't take this as a criticism at all. Yes Emile Francis did make the Park-Ratelle-Zanussi for Espo and Vadnais deal, he did not however make the ill fated Rick Middleton for Ken Hodge deal which IMO is THE worst deal in Ranger history. It was actually John Ferguson who stupidly made it. Ferguson btw might be the worst GM we ever had.

All I know is that a bigtime wrong finally is going to be made right. I'm going to do whatever needs to be done to be at MSG to see the #19 finally get raised to the rafters to join his buddies Giacoman and Gilbert.

I kind of wonder if they might do the same thing for Park tho he played 8 great years for us and 7-8 years for the Bruins. That's a close call tho....Ratelle never was.
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happy this is happening
one of my faves during this period
now, if they can just be big about retiring #2 also in the name of the great Douglas Bradford Park.

Still hurts that that SON OF A ***** KISS MY ASS Emile Franncis made that effin trade, which was totally unnecessary except that HE wanted a shakeup to show he was the boss.

Bite me, EF, you ....
I better drop it here before I get REALLY angry!


Ratelleitlikeitis said:
Hmmm...maybe it's time to change my username to "Parkitoverthere" and see how long before #2 is raised? :sarcasm:
Click to expand...

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Kanneda

Kanneda

Registered User
Aug 10, 2014
998
14
Madrid
Great news.
Bern, I'm not too familiar with the 70s Rangers, but didn't they reach the finals after that trade with Esposito on the team?
That trade was really weird, none of the parts wanted to go to the other team haha.
 
Edge

Edge

Kris King's Ghost
Mar 1, 2002
34,749
42,578
Amish Paradise
Before my time (or least for me to recall seeing him), but as a kid I always remember his name coming up when talking about all-time Rangers (along with Gilbert and Giacomin).
 
Edge

Edge

Kris King's Ghost
Mar 1, 2002
34,749
42,578
Amish Paradise
NYRFAN218 said:
By my count including preseason, he's worn 12, 19, 31, and 91 so far.
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Poor guy has already changed his number 4, going on 5 times, and changed his last name once.

I think he just needs to change his first name and he'll win the triple crown.
 
NickyFotiu

NickyFotiu

NYR 2024 Cup Champs!
Sep 29, 2011
14,653
6,289
Kanneda said:
Great news.
Bern, I'm not too familiar with the 70s Rangers, but didn't they reach the finals after that trade with Esposito on the team?
That trade was really weird, none of the parts wanted to go to the other team haha.
Click to expand...

We not only reached the cup in 79 we beat our very hated rival Flyers and Islanders on the way to the cup. We were a Cinderella team. We had no business playing against a team stacked with hall of famers in the Habs but we were on a roll. We won the first game in Montreal easily. After that our wheels came off. Some of our young guys may have celebrated too much after game one. JD (who was amazing) was injured. The Habs were going to bench the great Ken Dryden in game 2 but their backup goalie got hit in the head with a puck in warmups so they had to stay with Dryden. Those 1978-1984 teams were the funnest of my lifetime. Our 2014 run reminded me a little of that team.
 
NickyFotiu

NickyFotiu

NYR 2024 Cup Champs!
Sep 29, 2011
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I wonder which teammate will crack a joke about Fast having his number retired.
 
sbjnyc

sbjnyc

Registered User
Jun 28, 2011
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New York
Maybe Fast won't need to change his number. When Jackie Robinson's 42 was retired by all teams, several players got to keep wearing it (eg Mariano Rivera).
 

Leetch3

Registered User
Jul 14, 2009
12,952
10,733
when they retired #3 for harry howell in 2009, rozsival switched from 3 to 33

i'm sure fast will change before he comes off IR...he's only worn 19 for a couple of years since richards left so its probably not a big deal for him
 
NickyFotiu

NickyFotiu

NYR 2024 Cup Champs!
Sep 29, 2011
14,653
6,289
If Ray Bourque could give up #7 I don't think Fast giving up 19 will be a major issue.
 
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