Best sustained run as a fan

[Black Tank]

We know the off season is the time for pointless arguments, unrealistic expectations, deep and sustained pessimism and general misery accompanied by boundless excitement. But as fans we shouldn't miss what we're living through right now.

In all my years of following the Rangers, this is the best sustained period in the franchise's history. Starting with the 2005 season post-lockout, the team has been in the PO fight every year but one and had some deep runs including a (bitter) SC loss. As a fan, I would take that and be mostly satisfied with the state of the franchise but then to miss only 2 POs but emerge COMPLETELY retooled for another decade long contention period is amazing.

This has been a fantastic 15 year long run and even by conservative estimates, the best is still in front of us for another long contention period. I've got to remind myself to enjoy the "now" and I hope you're doing so too.

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[Governor]

I know there are people that measure success in terms of how many Stanley Cups a team wins over a period of time: but I consider the Rangers to be one of the more successful teams in the NHL since 2005. And things look like they'll slip right back into place and we will be in for another decade of competitive hockey from this club.

 

[Crease]

In before "the goal is to win the Cup." Save that for the players. I had so much fun during 2011-2015 and so did you. Yes the last night each season hurt but the journey was amazing.

 

[SML2]

"The letter" was a unique moment in the history of the Rangers and may define how franchises approach long term wellness. Following 94, this team tried to keep the party going by trading youth and adding whatever hired gun was available each year. Monumental failure. The years between Gretzky's retirement and Henrik's arrival may have been the lowest point in franchise history. Just terrible. The Henrik Lundqvist era is the longest sustained period of success in franchise history, yet will go unsaid because they failed to bring back a cup. It took stones to put the brakes on and go in a different direction. It looks like it was the right call, but at the expense of the greatest player this team has ever had's last chances to win it all.

 

[Tawnos]

We know the off season is the time for pointless arguments, unrealistic expectations, deep and sustained pessimism and general misery accompanied by boundless excitement. But as fans we shouldn't miss what we're living through right now.

In all my years of following the Rangers, this is the best sustained period in the franchise's history. Starting with the 2005 season post-lockout, the team has been in the PO fight every year but one and had some deep runs including a (bitter) SC loss. As a fan, I would take that and be mostly satisfied with the state of the franchise but then to miss only 2 POs but emerge COMPLETELY retooled for another decade long contention period is amazing.

This has been a fantastic 15 year long run and even by conservative estimates, the best is still in front of us for another long contention period. I've got to remind myself to enjoy the "now" and I hope you're doing so too.

Eh, for me that run came to an end in 2017. Not to take away from it, or anything, it was really great. But to me, we’ve now missed qualifying for the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. Yes, it was 3. We lost in the qualifying round. When we get back to it, hopefully next year, that’s not a continuation of the previous run, but the start of a new one.

The truth is, outside of the Dark Ages and this rebuild, the Rangers have only missed the playoffs 5 times since expansion in 1967. That’s 5 times in 42 seasons. 75-76, 76-77, 87-88, 92-93, and 09-10. It’s really the relative recency of the Dark Ages and the overall perception of an incompetent organization that’s driven by the lack of Cups that makes it seem like this is different. What they accomplished from 05-06 to 16-17 isn’t really something all that special for this organization. They made the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons, and went to the final four in 3 of them, including an SCF appearance. You could pick just about any 12 year stretch in the expansion era that doesn’t include any Dark Ages years and come up with a similar result. Lets do it. From 1967-68 to 1978-79, the Rangers made the playoffs in 10 of 12 seasons and made the final four in 5 of them, including 2 SCF appearances. Or how about this: after missing the playoffs for 2 years, from 1977-78 to 1988-89, the Rangers made the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons, made the final four in 3 of them, including an SCF appearance. Or this one: from 1985-86 to 1996-97, the Rangers made the playoffs in 10 of 12 seasons and made the final four in 3 of them, including one Cup win. The point is... by and large, the Rangers have been a successful organization at this level for decades.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to say I didn’t fully enjoy these years, which might as well be called the Lundqvist Era. I just see it more as a part of the whole picture of rooting for a largely successful organization, rather than something I need to put the emphasis of “living in the now” on.

 

[cwede]

As @Tawnos wrote, and i have been following NYR since mid'60s, really only the post'97 lull was the only extended dark ages.
From early 70's run, that makeover, '79 to the Final, '82, '86, 1st place in '90,'92,'94, and this stretch from Jagr to Torts to AV(my least confidence in a good team) to now's Bread/Zib/Czar/KK/Laf era, NYR fans have been pretty fortunate

As also a NYY fan, they were big losers until my early '20s and again for 15 years 80s>'90s, NYR were way more relably competitive

And i will leave Jets details out of this

 

[Thirty One]

Yes, it was a great era to be a Ranger fan. You wouldn't know it by the insufferable whining here.

 

[Thirty One]

Also, I don't think the Rangers are given enough credit for their conscious uncoupling from being a playoff contender in 2018. It was the right move, but also a largely unprecedented move, that pissed off a lot of players and likely executives.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

As someone that started following during the 00-01 season and for a while knew nothing other than failure this has been a great run.

 

[Tawnos]

Also, I don't think the Rangers are given enough credit for their conscious uncoupling from being a playoff contender in 2018. It was the right move, but also a largely unprecedented move, that pissed off a lot of players and likely executives.

They get a lot from me!

 

[Tawnos]

As @Tawnos wrote, and i have been following NYR since mid'60s, really only the post'97 lull was the only extended dark ages.
From early 70's run, that makeover, '79 to the Final, '82, '86, 1st place in '90,'92,'94, and this stretch from Jagr to Torts to AV(my least confidence in a good team) to now's Bread/Zib/Czar/KK/Laf era, NYR fans have been pretty fortunate

As also a NYY fan, they were big losers until my early '20s and again for 15 years 80s>'90s, NYR were way more relably competitive

And i will leave Jets details out of this

I think Hank lends some cohesion to things that maybe a lot of fans don’t think of other eras as having. The Francis era didn’t span both 70s finals teams. I guess maybe you could say that the late 70s and 80s teams were the Greschner era and the late 80s and 90s teams were the Leetch era? It still doesn’t feel as cohesive as the Lundqvist era. To be clear, I was only a fan for the Leetch era.

 

[Machinehead]

94, the Jagr Era, and 12-15 all stand out.

The Rangers thing about it is that all three should have been better.

 

[cwede]

I think Hank lends some cohesion to things that maybe a lot of fans don’t think of other eras as having. The Francis era didn’t span both 70s finals teams. I guess maybe you could say that the late 70s and 80s teams were the Greschner era and the late 80s and 90s teams were the Leetch era? It still doesn’t feel as cohesive as the Lundqvist era. To be clear, I was only a fan for the Leetch era.

I was 11 in '67, as they began to get better.
I never knew the postwar decades, when they were consistent bottom dwellers (except from my dad, but he was never negative, always optimistic)

 

[leetch99]

I was 11 in '67, as they began to get better.
I never knew the postwar decades, when they were consistent bottom dwellers (except from my dad, but he was never negative, always optimistic)

The first 24 years ...1970 onward... following this club from a Leaf and Hab hockey hotbed was tough and got really worse when my younger brother switched and became an Islander fan and had the last laugh for a long time . 94 changed things...it settled the craving finally . I still hated losing after that but not near as much and mostly because the Habs and the Isles still sucked along with the Leafs who have sucked forever or at least since 67 . Our future looks bright for sure...I just hope we have the right management in place to mold this crew into what we all want . Stuff has gone wrong before in NYC .....there are a couple of things I would like to see undone....but whether that can happen without paying too high a cost...time will tell. Hope for the best ....

 

[bobbop]

I became a Ranger fan in 1959 and the first seven years were not much fun.. That all changed with the Rebirth if the Blues in 1967. For you kids out there, the Rangers were commonly referred to as the Blues until St. Louis entered the league. 1967-74 was a magical era. I’ve watched a lot of great Ranger hockey since then but as they say, you always remember your first.

 

[Edge]

As a kid, the mid 80s to the mid 90s was really enjoyable.

Frankly, from 2005-2017 was a really enjoyable era as well. If we win that cup in 2014, it might be even be my favorite.

 

[JimmyG89]

This franchise has been the one of the most stable franchises and I do not believe gets enough praise for being that way. Outside of the Yankees, what other NY team has the long term stability that the Rangers have had? Football is out of the question, same for basketball. The Mets don't sustain anything other than heartbreak. Islanders were awful for years on end until recently and the Devils have been atrocious for nearly 10 years.

If you look at moments in NY sports for the past 10 years, the Rangers are the one team with sustained playoff success. They've also had the best player in NY the last 10 years as well. Nobody is better than Lundqvist over this timeframe. They also knew when they needed to transition. Not many management groups know to do this.

Without their run from 2011 through 2015, there would be no other team on that kind of run in this city. The Yankees after '09 were good, but not great. The Mets went on their spurt for about 15 months. Giants/Jets/Knicks/Nets, not much there. Nets had a 2nd round team one year, as did the Knicks. Nothing else really there. So if you follow the Rangers, that was the team you leaned on. You knew they would be good. It was a lot of fun too.

Islander fans I'm friends with about talking about how this run is stressful when watching games. Tried explaining that this is the feeling you want to have. Hated the pit in my stomach watching some of the games of year's past, but now I'll take that back with open arms.

 

[Maximus]

Been a Ranger fan since 1970 and as @Tawnos quite adeptly layed it out, Rangers have pretty much have had as much sustained "success" if success is quantified by playoff appearances and not titles as any franchise in any sport!.

That said , the most memorable for me years for Ranger success was:

1971-72 Rangers were an absolute powerhouse. Now I'm just 9 years old and tho I'm playing ice hockey at Abe Stark rink as a kid in Brooklyn and learning the nuances of the game, I don't really truly get the significance of that team as I did as I got a bit older. Don't forget there is no cable back than and the only games you could watch were road games in black and white TV or if you were lucky, the national game would be a Ranger home game.

That team should have won a Cup tho. No question in my mind and many other Ranger fans who were around at the time but had Jean Ratelle who was on his way too a 60 goal-85 assist year and that's not a missprint, not broken his ankle, Rangers would have beaten the Big Bad Bruins even with Bobby Orr at his magical peak. But it was not meant too be as hockey gods conspired against us and we came up short in the finals. But that was a fun fun year too be a Ranger fan.

1978-79 Rangers with Cup run from out of nowhere. Honestly tho there are alot of us Ranger fans who believe we won our Cup by beating the heavily favored Islanders in the ECF. The Habs were still on their dynasty run and even with a healthy Davidson, we still likely dont win the Cup that year. But man oh man....that was about as fun too be a Ranger fan as any season was.

1983-84 Rangers which was the best of all those early 80's Herbie Brooks coached teams where we camethisclose to beating another heavily favored Islander team when we lost on the Morrow goal....that was a really fun team too watch. It was basically the smurfs and Barry Beck but that teams was really good and had they beaten the Islanders I really believe that team could have and would have at worst made the Cup finals if not have won the Cup that year...lol

1985-86 Rangers which IMO is the most underrated team we ever had as no one ever talks about it. But that Ted Sator led team finished year under .500 sneaks into playoffs and than out of friggen nowhere again, beats heavily and I do mean heavily favored Flyers and Caps teams to get too ECF where eventually the Habs beat us. That playoff run was one of the most fun times I ever had as a Ranger fan.

1991-92 Ranger team should have won the Cup that year...I firmly believe it. I still think that team was better than the '94 Cup winning team. Hockey gods conspired against us as goals from center ice somehow go in. Graves gets suspended which hurt hugely. That all said, that was a fun fun year too be a Ranger fan.

1993-94 Cup winning Ranger team was ridiculously fun for obvious reasons...enough said...lol

1996-97 Ranger team was also alot of fun too watch. Gretzky, Messier and Leetch with one last hurrah too get another Cup but getting beat by the Flyers in the ECF was tough too take. But not just beating but smoking some really good Panther and Devil teams before that was so friggen enjoyable tho that it was a memorable year.

2011-12 thru 2014-15 were just about as fun a 4 year consecutive run as any Ranger fan could have possibly wanted or hoped for other than the fact we didn't win a Cup. Every spring as weather got nicer and days longer which I personally love and is my favorite time of year, we all had 2 months of amazing, stressfull and memorable playoff games too watch. We can only hope that whatever new form of Ranger teams emerge as this rebuild/retool comes to it's conclusion soon, can give us the excitement that those 4 years gave us.

I'm pretty confident it will but until it actually happens, these are the seasons that IMO are the most memorable ones in my Ranger fandom.

 

[Crease]

As a kid, the mid 80s to the mid 90s was really enjoyable.

Frankly, from 2005-2017 was a really enjoyable era as well. If we win that cup in 2014, it might be even be my favorite.

There was such clear progression from 2005 to about 2015. With the roster evolving and the organization moving from Renney to Torts to Vigneault. Everyone knew the Rangers were getting better and better. The fans, the pundits, and the players themselves. It was fun being a part of that.

 

[Black Tank]

There was such clear progression from 2005 to about 2015. With the roster evolving and the organization moving from Renney to Torts to Vigneault. Everyone knew the Rangers were getting better and better. The fans, the pundits, and the players themselves. It was fun being a part of that.

Great points about previous runs in this thread, but this post captures the feeling I'm talking about that I didn't have with the other historical runs: namely, the linear sense of progression, that every year the team was/is getting better and better. Of course the structure of the salary cap helps with this and avoids the random chaos of big name trades and signings that IMO marred the pre-cap era for the Rangers.

 

[pld459666]

Also, I don't think the Rangers are given enough credit for their conscious uncoupling from being a playoff contender in 2018. It was the right move, but also a largely unprecedented move, that pissed off a lot of players and likely executives.

A lot of agents as well

 

[motopanekeku]

My best run as a fan probably started when we signed Gaborik. I really began to appreciate the sport more totally and I was enjoying games at the Garden for the first time. It was fun, I'd bring whoever was willing to join me and often just went solo. Single at the time. Also probably why I started posting here about then..

So from 2009 to I guess March of 2020 was my best run. As a fan.

 

[IronBloodedLion]

Since Jagr it always feels like there’s a “plan,” even if it doesn’t always workout (Gomez and Redden).

Even with this current rebuild, I can see what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. Not every move I’ve agreed with (the return for JT Miller, resigning Brendan Smith, etc), but I feel like there’s logic behind what they’re doing and I trust our management to do the right things at the end of the day.