Its amazing that they won a Stanley Cup, yet Tony Amonte never did.
Same goes for Gartner.
What was the hype around the Rangers before the 93-94 season?
- Thread starter SnowblindNYR
- Start date
Its amazing that they won a Stanley Cup, yet Tony Amonte never did.
Same goes for Gartner.
Petey Pucks
Registered User
I believe the Pens beat the Rangers in the conference semi finals(2 round) not Conference finals(3rd round)....it all went downhill that series after Richter let in a Ron Francis slapshot from behind the blue line
Petey Pucks
Registered User
Gartner got close that same playoff year with the maple leafs getting to the conference finals against the canucks...at least the rangers traded him to a team that had a shot....but vancouver caught fire in the playoffs and who would have knew?
Blueshirt Special
Shady Brey
Oh the irony...
I remembered Messier getting booed at the end of the previous season after an incredible debut season. Also, there was a lot of questioning of Leetch and the young rookie's commitment. NY papers had rumors of him out partying, and that was how the ankle got hurt: "he was drunk"
So,here is the irony for my part: Sept of '93, a longtime buddy and hockey-guy (played in college, coached high school, etc), and Ranger fan, calls me to tell me he went in with 3 other guys for Devils season ticket (4 seats) and one of the guys dropped out at the last minute, would I like to get in?
Now keep in mind, after Messiers first year, Ranger tickets were almost impossible to get, even after they missed the playoffs. They were a LOT cheaper back then as well. So I go ahead with the devils tickets, rationalizing that It's for my company, taking out clients, yada yada yada.
I took a lot of abuse from my fellow Rangers fan....until the playoffs rolled around. Yes, I saw "The Guarantee" game...
I remembered Messier getting booed at the end of the previous season after an incredible debut season. Also, there was a lot of questioning of Leetch and the young rookie's commitment. NY papers had rumors of him out partying, and that was how the ankle got hurt: "he was drunk"
So,here is the irony for my part: Sept of '93, a longtime buddy and hockey-guy (played in college, coached high school, etc), and Ranger fan, calls me to tell me he went in with 3 other guys for Devils season ticket (4 seats) and one of the guys dropped out at the last minute, would I like to get in?
Now keep in mind, after Messiers first year, Ranger tickets were almost impossible to get, even after they missed the playoffs. They were a LOT cheaper back then as well. So I go ahead with the devils tickets, rationalizing that It's for my company, taking out clients, yada yada yada.
I took a lot of abuse from my fellow Rangers fan....until the playoffs rolled around. Yes, I saw "The Guarantee" game...
RangerBoy
Dolan sucks!!!
Petey Pucks
Registered User
My point is its difficult to win a Stanley Cup and it takes a complete team to do it.
The goal scoring was already there. The early 90's Ranger teams were missing grit and big game experience.
I refuse to romanticize what could have been with Tony Amonte, especially when I dont think it would've let to much future success.
Petey Pucks
Registered User
I agree with you...I was just saying it's funny how close Gartner got the Finals that same year with another team....imagine a maple leafs rangers finals? original 6 matchup? of course that would never be possible now after the maple leafs were realigned into the eastern conference after that...maple leafs used to be in the campbell while the rangers were in the wales....now with 4 of the 6 original teams in the eastern conference i would imagine seeing an original 6 final would be very rare
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Roo Returns
Skjeikspeare No More
Someone asked how important was the Mustard Cup? It solidified that Keenan has the Rangers playing hard and were a cohesive tough team. It increased confidence in that group.
We bring it up time and time again here of if the Rangers would have won with Amonte, Weight, etc. The answer my friends and I came up with is that everything that led to 1994 had to be done, anything after was unnecessary.
The Rangers don't trade Amonte, Weight, Turcotte, Patrick, Marchant, Gartner, etc...they probably go on to be similar to what the Ottawa Senators of the late 90s/early 2000s were.
But there was no need to trade guys like Zubov, Nostrom, Lafayete, Laperrire, 1st round pick in 1996 (would have been Jay McKee per Neil Smith but was JS Gigure by the Whalers), Kovalev, Knuble, Zidlicky, and Savard.
Also, the Keenan breaking the stick thing was after they lost to the first year Ducks and that's when he pretty much kicked Turcotte and Patrick off the team. They were scratched and traded a few weeks later.
We bring it up time and time again here of if the Rangers would have won with Amonte, Weight, etc. The answer my friends and I came up with is that everything that led to 1994 had to be done, anything after was unnecessary.
The Rangers don't trade Amonte, Weight, Turcotte, Patrick, Marchant, Gartner, etc...they probably go on to be similar to what the Ottawa Senators of the late 90s/early 2000s were.
But there was no need to trade guys like Zubov, Nostrom, Lafayete, Laperrire, 1st round pick in 1996 (would have been Jay McKee per Neil Smith but was JS Gigure by the Whalers), Kovalev, Knuble, Zidlicky, and Savard.
Also, the Keenan breaking the stick thing was after they lost to the first year Ducks and that's when he pretty much kicked Turcotte and Patrick off the team. They were scratched and traded a few weeks later.
NYR27
Registered User
I do remember that THN picked NYR as preseason cup favorites in their yearbooks that year...I think I still have a copy of it at my parents house.
Roo Returns
Skjeikspeare No More
I think I remember that issue. Is that the one with the article about a really young acne-faced Byran Berrard?
Blueshirt Special
Shady Brey
NYR27
Registered User
eco's bones
Registered User
The 91-92 team seemed to be going places. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong in 92-93 and Keenan got hired in the off season. Keenan had the rep of getting his teams in the playoffs but also stabbing his gm--wherever he'd been before in the back--that's why he never could last anywhere. Expectations seemed to be all over the map for the 93-94 team at the beginning--what got expectations going is the Rangers got off to a really hot start and were stringing together long winning streaks throughout the year.
Lion Hound
@JoeTucc26
Two years before they won the cup, the expectations were super high. Mark Messier and Adam Graves came to town. The results were almost instantaneous. They literally brought the whole team together. The change was dramatic. I had season tix at the time. You could feel the difference in the Garden. Fans were working themselves up into a frenzy. The offense was firing on all cylinders. The Power play was intense. Brian Leetch emerged as one of the best offensive defenseman in the game. I think he had over 100 points that season. Mess, Amonte, Turcotte, Nemchinov all hit the 30 goal mark. Gartner had 40. Rangers were a powerhouse. Even James Patrick had 71pts from the Blueline! Come playoffs, expectations were literally through the roof! WFAN was all over them. They were all over the NY Post. Full back page ad’s. Hockey was thriving! Then, playoffs…. Lemieux and Pens, the Curse. Seasons over, and general thinking was we are never going to see this Rangers team win a cup again!
Next season everything was in shambles. Messier and Neilson were at it. The team sensed the animosity between them. Players no longer bought into the system. Like most here mentioned Rangers missed the playoffs, and for the team they had should have never been in that position. Everyone was questioned, except for Messier who had another great season. Leetch going down hurt the team. The curse was back, the Rangers were in a complete downward spiral.
That offseason, was not a great time for Rangers fans. I think deflated was the best word to describe it. After a flat game Keenan who I didn’t like at all during this time, was very outspoken and somewhat unpredictable. He gave it to Leetch. Walked into the locker room and in front of the whole team told him "Chris Chelios is ten times the player than you are." Immediately the press was all over it. Brian Leetch is getting traded to Chicago for Chelios. After that, the Rangers looked like a different club. By the 20 game Mark Messier had them back. The team grew together. They had it all together early and it was like that for the remainder of the season. Offense was front loaded on the top line, however the top line was physically imposing and they always got the job done. The defense was like having two extra forwards with Leetch and Zubov. Teams couldn’t figure them out. Graves was vicious! If you so much as looked at Mess the wrong way you were eating knuckles. Beukeboom was the same way with Leetch. Take a run and him, and Sasquatch was gonna rip your arms off and beat you with them. Kocur struck fear into all the heavies of the time. They were big, physical, and they had each other’s backs. At the midway point the season before was forgotten. Everyone knew something special was happening. Everyone knew the team was legit. Expectations once again were high. So high, that my brother an I traved into Vancouver for game 6. We figured, if…IF they were going to win it there, we waited long enough and we needed to witness it first-hand. We even stayed in the same hotel the players did. If they would have won that night we would have 100% been in that room celebrating with them. In fact the Westin Bayshore where we stayed, had a whole banquet or wedding hall reserved. We walked into it before going to the arena. It was top notch. There was a place for a press conference. Two bars set up. A huge buffet table set up,. Like a Posh NY wedding. After seeing that we walked into that arena knowing the Rangers were going to win it. Then, things got a little crazy. I don’t think I even saw another Rangers fan in the building there. Literally, it was crazy. They allowed signs there. One big one rolld out from the rafters. It read…â€Messier, who beat you with the ugly stickâ€. The game was terrible, and the place took on a different feeling after the loss. Zero security, and some super rabid fans. Started turning into pack mentality. Someone swiped the hat off my head and took off. We got surrounded by a crowd that berated us pretty good. Started to feel like we should get out of there, and soon. We went home to the hotel. That night, up and down Robson street they paraded. Nucks fans literally painted Go Canucks Go on their cars! All night long they went up and down that street honking their hors, cheering and chanting. Being we stayed in the same place the players did you know those guys heard it. The flight home was long. Silence. Nothing was certain anymore. The curse was back. Back in NY on the day of the game I never felt more nervous in my life. Butterflies all day long. Counted the minutes until the game. The outcome of that game 7 I think changed the lives of Rangers fans everywhere. That guy with the sign said it best…â€Now I can Die In Peace!â€
For the record, I am starting to get butterflies again!
Next season everything was in shambles. Messier and Neilson were at it. The team sensed the animosity between them. Players no longer bought into the system. Like most here mentioned Rangers missed the playoffs, and for the team they had should have never been in that position. Everyone was questioned, except for Messier who had another great season. Leetch going down hurt the team. The curse was back, the Rangers were in a complete downward spiral.
That offseason, was not a great time for Rangers fans. I think deflated was the best word to describe it. After a flat game Keenan who I didn’t like at all during this time, was very outspoken and somewhat unpredictable. He gave it to Leetch. Walked into the locker room and in front of the whole team told him "Chris Chelios is ten times the player than you are." Immediately the press was all over it. Brian Leetch is getting traded to Chicago for Chelios. After that, the Rangers looked like a different club. By the 20 game Mark Messier had them back. The team grew together. They had it all together early and it was like that for the remainder of the season. Offense was front loaded on the top line, however the top line was physically imposing and they always got the job done. The defense was like having two extra forwards with Leetch and Zubov. Teams couldn’t figure them out. Graves was vicious! If you so much as looked at Mess the wrong way you were eating knuckles. Beukeboom was the same way with Leetch. Take a run and him, and Sasquatch was gonna rip your arms off and beat you with them. Kocur struck fear into all the heavies of the time. They were big, physical, and they had each other’s backs. At the midway point the season before was forgotten. Everyone knew something special was happening. Everyone knew the team was legit. Expectations once again were high. So high, that my brother an I traved into Vancouver for game 6. We figured, if…IF they were going to win it there, we waited long enough and we needed to witness it first-hand. We even stayed in the same hotel the players did. If they would have won that night we would have 100% been in that room celebrating with them. In fact the Westin Bayshore where we stayed, had a whole banquet or wedding hall reserved. We walked into it before going to the arena. It was top notch. There was a place for a press conference. Two bars set up. A huge buffet table set up,. Like a Posh NY wedding. After seeing that we walked into that arena knowing the Rangers were going to win it. Then, things got a little crazy. I don’t think I even saw another Rangers fan in the building there. Literally, it was crazy. They allowed signs there. One big one rolld out from the rafters. It read…â€Messier, who beat you with the ugly stickâ€. The game was terrible, and the place took on a different feeling after the loss. Zero security, and some super rabid fans. Started turning into pack mentality. Someone swiped the hat off my head and took off. We got surrounded by a crowd that berated us pretty good. Started to feel like we should get out of there, and soon. We went home to the hotel. That night, up and down Robson street they paraded. Nucks fans literally painted Go Canucks Go on their cars! All night long they went up and down that street honking their hors, cheering and chanting. Being we stayed in the same place the players did you know those guys heard it. The flight home was long. Silence. Nothing was certain anymore. The curse was back. Back in NY on the day of the game I never felt more nervous in my life. Butterflies all day long. Counted the minutes until the game. The outcome of that game 7 I think changed the lives of Rangers fans everywhere. That guy with the sign said it best…â€Now I can Die In Peace!â€
For the record, I am starting to get butterflies again!
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
Rangers-Pittsburgh winner played Boston in the Conference finals.
How did they lose this game?
amazing to think of much that choke job effected this franchise for the next decade...win the cup in 92 and we probably don't trade weight and amonte, keep those 2 and probably don't miss the playoffs 8 years in a row...the ripple effect was huge
eco's bones
Registered User
true but in the scenario where we win the cup in 92 then the curse would have been broken
I have to say how happy I am that there are a bunch of people old enough to remember that team. Sometimes I think everyone on this board is a teenager and I feel old.
