HFNYR Top 10 Wingers in Rangers History Preliminary Discussion Thread

[Crease]

1. Player Eligibility
   • Players who played minimum of one game in at least three seasons for the Rangers AND whose primary position was left wing or right wing during their tenure as a Ranger
   • Players will be judged only on their accomplishments as a New York Ranger
   • A player's accomplishments at his secondary position may be taken into account; it is up to the list maker to determine how to evaluate such players
2. Preliminary Discussion Thread
   • Anyone may participate in this thread (yes you!), even if he does not plan on taking part in the voting phase
   • Any eligible winger may be discussed
   • Posters are encouraged to share information about wingers in this thread and to take information shared into account when constructing their own lists
   • Brief comparisons between players are permitted, but detailed cases and debates should be saved for the voting rounds.
   • Please do NOT rank players outright in this thread.
3. Voting
   • Round 1 (no thread for this)
     • All participants submit a list of 20 wingers ranked in order
     • All eras MUST be considered
     • To make it easier to aggregate the submitted lists, please list players using their most commonly used name; e.g. Mark Messier, not Moose
     • Lists should be submitted via PM to me.
     • Deadline for list submission is January 3 January 7; this thread will remain open until the deadline
     • Players will be assigned a point value on the list based on ranking
     • Players will be awarded 20 points for a 1st place vote down to 1 point for a 20th place vote
     • An aggregate list of the top 20 wingers will be compiled ranking them in order of the most total points
     • Participants MUST submit a list in Round 1 to be eligible for Round 2
   • Round 2 (thread for this)
     • The top 10 ranked players from the aggregate list will be posted in a thread
     • Players will be listed in alphabetical order to avoid creating bias
     • Player merits and rankings will be open for discussion and debate for a period of five (5) days. Administrators may extend the discussion period if it remains active.
     • Final voting will occur for two (2) days, by PM.
     • Top 5 players will be added to the NYR Top 10 Wingers of All-Time list
     • Results will be posted and the process repeated for the next 5 places with remaining players until a list of 10 wingers is obtained
4. Quality Assurance
   • Lists may be subject to an evaluation process
   • The submitter of a questionable list will be given an opportunity to defend or justify any selection under question or to correct errors and resubmit.

Click to read more...

 

[Crease]

Eligible players per Hockey Reference:

Adam Graves
Aldo Guidolin
Alex Kaleta
Alex Kovalev
Alex Shibicky
Alf Pike
Anders Hedberg
Andy Bathgate*
Andy Hebenton
Bill Boyd
Bill Cook*
Bill Fairbairn
Bill Hicke
Bob Brooke
Bob Nevin
Bobby Rousseau
Brandon Prust
Brian Mullen
Brian Noonan
Bruce MacGregor
Bryan Hextall*
Bun Cook*
Cam Connor
Camille Henry
Carl Hagelin
Cecil Dillon
Chris Nilan
Church Russell
Colton Orr
Daniel Goneau
Danny Lewicki
Darren Langdon
Dave Balon
Dave Silk
Dean Prentice
Dean Talafous
Don Maloney
Don Marshall
Don Murdoch
Doug Robinson
Dunc Fisher
Dutch Hiller
Ed Slowinski
Eddie Johnstone
Eddie Kullman
Eddie Shack
Eric Lacroix
Esa Tikkanen
George McPhee
Glen Sather*
Grant Warwick
Greg Polis
Hank Goldup
Jack Egers
Jackie McLeod
Jan Erixon
Jan Hlavac
Jaromir Jagr
Jean-Guy Gendron
Jean-Paul Lamirande
Jed Ortmeyer
Jerry Butler
Jim Bartlett
Joe Kocur
Johan Witehall
John MacLean
John Ogrodnick
Kelly Miller
Ken Schinkel
Kevin Stevens
Kilby MacDonald
Kris King
Larry Mickey
Lucien DeBlois
Lynn Patrick*
Mac Colville
Marcel Hossa
Marian Gaborik
Mark Osborne
Martin Rucinsky
Mats Zuccarello
Matthew Barnaby
Mike Allison
Mike Backman
Mike Gartner*
Mike Hartman
Nick Fotiu
Nick Kypreos
Nick Mickoski
Nigel Dawes
Niklas Sundstrom
Pat Hickey
Paul Thompson
Pentti Lund
Peter Sundstrom
Petr Prucha
Radek Dvorak
Reggie Fleming
Rene Trudell
Rick Bennett
Rod Gilbert*
Ron Duguay
Ron Murphy
Ron Stewart
Ryan Callahan
Sandy McCarthy
Sean Avery
Stephane Matteau
Steve Vickers
Ted Irvine
Theoren Fleury
Tie Domi
Tom Williams
Tomas Sandstrom
Tony Amonte
Tony Leswick
Ulf Dahlen
Vic Hadfield
Vic Howe
Wally Hergesheimer

*HHOF

 

[Crease]

Some of you may already know, but a quick and easy way to get some background information on a player is to "google" his name with the word "legends" after it. For example, "Adam Graves Legends". For some players, you will get links to two different profiles of the player: his profile on LegendsOfHockey.com, the which is officially affiliated with the Hockey Hall of fame; and his profile on GreatestHockeyLegends.com, a great blog by Joe Pelletier.

Also, you can use Hockey-Reference.com to search statistics within the franchise. Click on "Play Index", then "Player Season Finder". Have fun!

 

[Crease]

This is just a junk stat I find useful for sorting purposes. 1 point for Top-5 point finishes and 1 point for Top-10 point finishes.

Name | Top 5 | Top 10 | Total
Andy Bathgate | 9 | 0 | 9
Bill Cook | 5 | 2 | 7
Rod Gilbert | 2 | 3 | 5
Bryan Hextall | 2 | 2 | 4
Lynn Patrick | 3 | 0 | 3
Bun Cook | 0 | 3 | 3
Cecil Dillon | 2 | 0 | 2
Jaromir Jagr | 1 | 1 | 2
Vic Hadfield | 1 | 0 | 1
Andy Hebenton | 0 | 1 | 1
Bob Nevin | 0 | 1 | 1
Marion Gaborik | 0 | 1 | 1
Dave Balon | 0 | 1 | 1
Wally Hergesheimer | 1 | 0 | 1

 

[Crease]

Another sorting stat. Top-10 Hart finishes. One point for each.

Name | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Total
Andy Bathgate | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7
Bill Cook | | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | | 3
Rod Gilbert | | | | | | | 1 | | | 1 | 2
Bryan Hextall | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | 2
Lynn Patrick | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 1
Jaromir Jagr | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1
Vic Hadfield | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 1
Bob Nevin | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1

 

[Crease]

Art Ross Winners

Name | Times
Bill Cook | 2
Bryan Hextall | 1

 

[Crease]

Team MVPs, starting in 1941

Name | Times
Andy Bathgate | 4
Rod Gilbert | 3
Lynn Patrick | 2
Adam Graves | 2
Bryan Hextall | 1
Wally Hergesheimer | 1
Dean Prentice | 1
Danny Lewicki | 1
Don Marshall | 1
Bob Nevin | 1
Anders Hedberg | 1
Eddie Johnstone | 1
Tomas Sandstrom | 1
John Ogrodnick | 1
Jaromir Jagr | 1

 

[mike14]

Crease, looks like you've done all the hard work already

Just having a quick look over the list, I'll be really interested to see the 15-20 names, as there seems to be a fair drop off in talent, in that it's either so-so players who hung around for a while or good players who only had 3-4 seasons in blue.

 

[Crease]

Bill Cook

Tenure:
11 seasons (1927-1937)
228 Wins 185 Losses 95 Ties

Awards and Achievements:
2 x Stanley Cup Champion (1927, 1933)
5 x Stanley Cup Finalist (1927, 1929, 1932 1933, 1937)

New York Times First Team All-Star (1927)
GM’s First Team All-Star (1928)
3 x First Team All-Star (1931, 1932 1933)
Second Team All-Star (1934)

Hart Voting – 2nd(1927), 2nd(1933), 6th (1931)

Scoring:
NHL Points – 1st(1927), 1st(1933), 4th(1930), 4th(1931), 4th(1932), 7th(1929), 10th(1928)
NHL Goals – 1st(1927), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 2nd(1931), 5th(1935), 6th(1929), 6th(1930), 10th(1928)
NHL Assists – 3rd(1930), 6th(1933), 8th(1929)

Play-off Points – 2nd(1928), 3rd(1933), 5th(1932), 8th(1934)
Play-off Goals – 2nd(1928), 3rd(1933), 4th(1932), 6th(1931), 8th(1927)
Play-off Assists – 1st(1928), 3rd(1932), 4th(1934), 6th(1933)

Cook's NHL prime was from 1927 to 1935. Here is where he ranks within those years:
3rd in Points (beats everyone but Morenz and Boucher)
1st in Goals (beats everyone!)
8th in assists

2nd in Play-off Points
3rd in Play-off Goals
3rd in Play-off Assists

Further insight gathered by Dreakmur and Hawkey Town 18:

Joe Pelletier

A burly right winger with the desire of Rocket Richard and the physical prowess of Gordie Howe…played a very similar style to that of Gordie Howe - a hard and physically dominating style, overpowering his opponents, going through them instead of around them. But like Gordie he had some great skills as well, especially his nose for the net.

Keith Lenn

He had it all - he was an intelligent hockeyist, charismatic, and a physical force. If he were around for us to see play today we would be in awe of his uncanny stickhandling skills, his "hard and fast" skating, and his fantastic shooting ability. And if you were an opponent of him you surely wouldn't want to get on his bad side for his temper and mean streak were among the most volatile of his era.

Ultimate Hockey

“He was a remarkable blend of brains, beauty and brawn. He was an outstanding stick-handler, a hard and fast skater, and had an incredible shot. He was a huge physical presence with a mean streak.”

Canadian Sports Hall of Fame

Considered by many to be the greatest right winger ever to play the game, he was an undeniably focused and gifted competitor...

Legends of Hockey

“He was a remarkably gifted and rugged competitor who served as the catalyst on the New York Rangers' famous Bread Line”

Frank Boucher

“He's my choice for the best right winger hockey ever knew. He was better than The Rocket and, in my estimation, better than Gordie Howe as well……he had a very hard wrist shot from close in and could score equally well backhand or forehand"

Undrafted Player

Nobody fooled around with him because he was tough - real tough...he was the best (right winger) we ever played against.

Montreal Gazette, 1954

He (Joliat) picked an all star team (at the request of W.A. Howard, a writer for Canadian National Magazine) confined to players who played against him during his 16 years as a professional. He puts Benedict or Gardiner in goal; Shore and Noble on defense; Nighbor at centre; with Cook and Jackson on the wings. It's a well balanced unit.

The Morning Leader – Jan. 26, 1929 (Talking about an All Star team for half-way through the 1928-29 season)

Right wing on the team would be filled by the far-famed Bill Cook, who knows all that’s needed about the game, can adapt himself to a clean or rough game as occasion may call for and is an exponent of combination play at all times.

New York Times – Apr. 4, 1927 (Naming an All-Star Team for the 1926-27 season)

There will be no lack of argument over the leading forwards of the season, but Bill Cook of the Rangers, high scorer of the league, seems to be entitled to first honors.

Charlie Gardiner - Montreal Gazette – Jan. 28, 1942

Bill had a great backhand shot and he scored a lot of goals with it, Gardiner told us. "One of his pet tricks was to fake a shot on one side of the net, but hold the puck and go right across the mouth of the goal and then let fly with that backhand into the other corner. I used to pretend that I had fallen for that fake and then crowd the near side of the net. But before the puck had left Bill's stick on his favorite backhand shot, I'd have swung over to the other side and was ready for it.

Frank Boucher – Meriden Record – Feb. 9, 1962

Boucher tapped for his all-time, all-star team goalie Chuck Gardiner of the Chicago Black Hawks, defensemen Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins and Ching Johnson of the Rangers, center Frank Nighbor of Ottawa, left winger Aurel Joliat of the Montreal Canadiens and right winger Bill Cook.

 

[eco's bones]

Bill Cook was a WWI veteran with the Canadian forces of the British Army. He fought in amongst other battles two of the biggest at the Somme (60,000 British casualties on the first day) and at Ypres.

He played on a line with his brother Bun and Frank Boucher. All three of them are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

 

[Crease]

Fred "Bun" Cook

Tenure:
10 seasons (1927-1936)
209 Wins 165 Losses 86 Ties

Awards and Achievements:
2 x Stanley Cup Champion (1927, 1933)
4 x Stanley Cup Finalist (1927, 1929, 1932, 1933)

2 x Second Team All-Star (1927, 1931)

Scoring:
NHL Points – 7th(1928), 7th(1933), 10th(1931)
NHL Goals – 4th(1933), 10th(1929), 10th(1930), 10th(1934)
NHL Assists – 2nd(1928), 6th(1927), 7th(1931), 9th(1932)

Play-off Points – 2nd(1932), 4th(1928)
Play-off Goals – 1st(1932), 2nd(1928), 4th(1935), 5th(1930), 6th(1929), 6th(1931), 6th(1932), 7th(1933)
Play-off Assists – 5th(1928)

Cook's NHL prime was from 1930-1935. Here is where he ranks during that time:
11th in Points
9th in Goals
7th in Assists

9th in Play-off Points
1st in Play-off Goals

Further insight gathered by VanIslander:

Joe Pelletier

While Bill was known as the goal scorer and Boucher the playmaker, Bun was known as a bit of both. Many claim it was Bun who innovated the drop pass in the offensive zone. Some even suggest it was Cook who invented the slap shot.

A solid offensive contributor, Bun was a fan favorite in the old Madison Square Garden because of his hustling speed and reckless physical play. He was a bit of a celebrity, drawing praise from the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ed Sullivan.

"When Bun Cook is hot, he is one of the most amazing players in hockey," wrote Sullivan. "At such moments, he attempts plays that stagger the imagination. At his peak, there is no player so enjoyable to watch."

Legends Of Hockey

Bun was less dangerous around the net than Bill, but he was no less determined, and his work ethic and ability to carve out a niche of his own despite being the brother of a hockey legend earned him respect throughout the league. He was a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden because of his dedication...

 

[Crease]

Not sure if we're going to have enough interest to proceed with Round 2, but I'll deal with that as we get closer to the Round 1 deadline (Jan 3). Until then, I'm going to keep putting out bios. Fun for me nonetheless.

 

[Crease]

Andy Bathgate

Tenure:
12 seasons (1953-1964)
288 Wins 400 Losses 152 Ties

Awards and Achievements:
No Stanley Cup Finals Appearances

2 x First Team All-Star (1959, 1962)
2 x Second Team All-Star (1958, 1963)

Hart Voting - 1st(1959), 5th(1962), 8th(1956), 10th(1960)

Scoring:
NHL Points – 1st(1962), 2nd(1963), 3rd(1958), 3rd(1959), 3rd(1960), 4th(1957), 4th(1961), 4th(1964), 5th(1956)
NHL Goals – 3rd(1959), 4th(1963), 5th(1958), 6th(1961), 6th(1962), 8th(1957), 9th(1960)
NHL Assists – 1st(1962), 1st(1964), 2nd(1956), 2nd(1958), 2nd(1960), 3rd(1957), 4th(1961), 4th(1963)

Play-off Goals – 5th(1958), 9th(1957)

Bathgate's Ranger prime was from 1956-1964. Here is where he ranks in the NHL during that time:
2nd in Points (beats everyone but Howe)
3rd in Goals (beats everyone but Howe and Beliveau)
1st in Assists

Further insight gathered by Dreakmur and Rob Scuderi:

Legends of Hockey

Andy Bathgate was a hockey stylist--an athletic, graceful skater who handled the puck with skill and flash. Known for his blazing, accurate shot, he was one of the first men to use the slapshot to overpower goaltenders. Bathgate was a creative playmaker on the ice and often did the unexpected, throwing off opposing defenders with imaginative feints and passes.

The Hockey News: Top 100

Despite the team’s record, Bathgate – who led the Rangers in scoring for eight straight seasons – proved to the archetypal all-around player. The Hall of Famer was a smooth skater, deft puckhandler, gifted playmaker, hard shooter and fierce competitor.

Baltimores on Broadway

Whether stationary at the point or on the fly, Bathgate had one of the hardest slap shots in the game, but he also possessed an effective, accurate wrist shot and passed the puck with precision. As a stickhandler, his skill level brought to mind the dexterous stars of earlier eras.

Hockey’s Golden Era

Bathgate was a clever playmaker who always seemed to find the right spot on the ice to work his magic. His hard shot was also compared to that of Bobby Hull and Bernie Geoffrion.

Hockey’s Glory Days

Andy Bathgate was a strong skater, slick stickhandler, powerful shooter, and skilled playmaker.

Jim Coleman

Superb stickhandler. Superb shot. Great game strategist. Played for years and always played well.

Kings of the Ice

Though truly an individualist on the ice and off, he always placed the team above his own accomplishments and was disappointed with the Rangers’ consistently poor performances.

Great Right Winger: Stars of Hockey’s Golden Age

The big right winger, who was as graceful as future star Wayne Gretzky and as physical as Rocket Richard was simply unstoppable…

Who’s Who in Hockey

Andy Bathgate at first appeared too much the pacifist for the NHL jungle. But he raised his dukes when necessary, licking such notorious hockey cops as Howie Young, then of the Red Wings, and Vic Stasiuk of the Bruins. By 1954-55, Andy was in the NHL to stay, and soon was being favorably compared with the greatest Ranger right winger, Bill Cook.

Kevin Shea

He was known as a smooth-skating playmaker who, through the ten years from 1955 to 1965, was among the most prolific forwards in the National Hockey League, despite playing with the struggling New York Rangers… Yet, surrounded with a lineup that often looked like it was held together with bandages and hockey tape, Bathgate was able to shine.

Tim Hunt

Bathgate was not a little guy – he was a big powerful man. They didn’t tangle with Andy Bathgate because he was big and strong, and if they tried to get smart with him, he’d answer them back. He wasn’t reluctant to, you know, hit back, but he didn’t feel that it was necessary. He’d rather score a goal than take a penalty.

Kings of the Ice

Like Howe, Bathgate could play the physical game and was known as a fierce fighter when the occasion warranted it.

Baltimores on Broadway

Bathgate didn’t go looking for trouble, but as the Rangers’ top gunner he was often the target of enemy bullies. He provided his own protection. The same lightning reflexes that served him as a goal-scorer ad play-maker made him equally quick with his fists. When Detroit’s bad boy, Howie Young, wouldn’t stop tormenting him with his stick, Andy ripped the lumber out of Howie’s hands, dropped his gloves, and cleaned Young’s clock. Hulking Vic Stasiuk of the Bruins challenged Bathgate with his fists in the first and third periods of a game and came off second best on both occasions.

 

[Greg02]

Not sure if we're going to have enough interest to proceed with Round 2, but I'll deal with that as we get closer to the Round 1 deadline (Jan 3). Until then, I'm going to keep putting out bios. Fun for me nonetheless.

Round 1 is always tougher than Round 2, because of the sheer amount of names. I'm currently doing the whole whittling down the list so the players who belong nowhere near a top 10/top 20 list disappear. I'm going to try to get very rough tiers for the players who might be considered for a top 20 list going; hopefully people who are on the fence would be more willing to submit a list if there's a narrower range of players to consider.

 

[Crease]

Rod Gilbert

Tenure:
18 seasons (1961-1978)
587 Wins 549 Losses 212 Ties

Awards and Achievements:
Stanley Cup Finalist (1972)

First Team All-Star (1972)
Second Team All-Star (1968)

Hart Voting – 7th(1967), 10th (1968)

Scoring:
NHL Points – 5th(1968), 5th(1972), 7th(1965), 8th(1975), 9th(1964)
NHL Goals – 4th(1967), 7th(1972), 8th(1965), 9th(1964), 10th(1974)
NHL Assists – 2nd(1968), 6th(1969), 6th(1972), 6th(1973), 7th(1965), 9th(1964), 9th(1975)

Play-off Points – 9th(1972)
Play-off Goals – 4th(1972), 8th(1968)
Play-off Assists – 8th(1972)

Gilbert's prime was from 1968 to 1976. Here is where he ranks within those years:
6th in Points
7th in Goals
6th in assists

10th in Play-off Points
8th in Play-off Goals

Further insight gathered by tony d:

Joe Pelletier

Gilbert was a fan favorite in New York, and is often considered to be the greatest New York Ranger in the team's long history. Given the competition such as Frank Boucher in the early days and Mark Messier in the current era, that is a fascinating feat on its own.

Legends Of Hockey

Rod Gilbert was a consistent scorer during an excellent NHL career with the New York Rangers that lasted 18 seasons. He blossomed as the right winger on the famous G-A-G Line (Goal-A-Game) with Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield, and although he never played on a Cup champion, he was often at his best in the post-season.

 

[Crease]

Round 1 is always tougher than Round 2, because of the sheer amount of names. I'm currently doing the whole whittling down the list so the players who belong nowhere near a top 10/top 20 list disappear. I'm going to try to get very rough tiers for the players who might be considered for a top 20 list going; hopefully people who are on the fence would be more willing to submit a list if there's a narrower range of players to consider.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I have a feeling the size of the selection pool does scare some posters away. This is probably a decent entry point:

PLAYER | SEASONS > .75PPG
Rod Gilbert* | 12
Andy Bathgate* | 9
Don Maloney | 7
Steve Vickers | 7
Bill Cook* | 6
Anders Hedberg | 6
Bryan Hextall* | 5
Tomas Sandstrom | 5
Bun Cook* | 4
Bill Fairbairn | 4
Mike Gartner* | 4
Vic Hadfield | 4
Jaromir Jagr | 4
Don Murdoch | 4
Lynn Patrick* | 4
Dean Prentice | 4
Grant Warwick | 4
Cecil Dillon | 3
Theoren Fleury | 3
Marian Gaborik | 3
Camille Henry | 3
Brian Mullen | 3
Bob Nevin | 3

23 names. This approach is bias towards offensive players and players from high scoring eras (see Don Maloney). That said, I don't see any glaring omissions from my personal top-10 or top-15, which is really what will end up mattering.

 

[mike14]

Are there any 'tough guys' that had enough of an impact to be considered here? It's alot harder to measure their worth without having seen them play and i'd hate to think I overlooked anyone

 

[Crease]

Are there any 'tough guys' that had enough of an impact to be considered here? It's alot harder to measure their worth without having seen them play and i'd hate to think I overlooked anyone

Andy Hebenton and Camille Henry were commonly in contention for the Lady Byng Trophy, back when it actually stood for strong two-way play.

Hebenton: 1st(1957), 2nd(1959), 2nd(1960), 3rd(1961), 4th(1956), 5th(1963)
Henry: 1st(1958), 2nd(1963), 3rd(1959), 3rd(1964), 4th(1965), 5th(1962), 6th(1961)

Hebenton probably wouldn't come up on a lot of radars if you were looking at offensive stats alone. Henry on the other hand was a Second Team All-Star (1958) and 6 x Top 10 Goals.

Graves is probably going to get a bit of consideration, for obvious reasons. He didn't really light up the league, but had the franchise scoring record for many years, was a loyal soldier, and is a great ambassador for the franchise.

 

[bernmeister]

Thanks again for all the grunt work Crease.
Will try to have this pm'ed to you by 1/3

 

[Crease]

Bryan Hextall, Sr.

Tenure:
11 seasons (1937-1948)
233 Wins 283 Losses 92 Ties

Awards and Achievements:
Stanley Cup Champion (1940)

3 x First Team All-Star (1940, 1941, 1942)
Second Team All-Star (1943)

Hart Voting - 5th (1941), 10th (1944)

Scoring:
NHL Points – 1st(1942), 2nd(1941), 6th(1940), 7th(1943)
NHL Goals – 1st(1940), 1st(1941), 2nd(1942), 5th(1939), 5th(1943), 10th(1938)
NHL Assists – 2nd(1942)

Play-off Points – 3rd(1940)
Play-off Goals – 3rd(1940)
Play-off Assists – 5th(1940)

Hextall's NHL prime was from 1939-1944. Here is where he ranks during that time:
2nd in Points (beat everyone but Bill Cowley)
1st in Goals (beat everyone!)
5th in Assists

Further insight gathered by Jafar:

Who's who in hockey:

He had a terrific burst of speed , was appropriately tough , and could stickhandle with the best of them.

Joe Pelletier:

Bryan Hextall was one of the highest skilled and most respected players ever to grace a sheet of NHL ice.

He was also one of hockey's hardest hitters. Herb Goren, a long time reporter for the New York Sun once said "He was the hardest bodychecking forward I had seen in more than forty years of watching hockey."

He scored 20 goals in 7 consecutive seasons back in the days when 20 goals was a benchmark of a very good player.

Hex may have continued on as the best right winger in hockey had his career not been interrupted by World War II. Hextall served in the Canadian military during the 1944-45 season. He would miss most of the 1945-46 season as well due to a serious stomach and liver disorder

The most famous goal Bryan scored immortalized him in New York sporting history forever, although he didn't know that at the time. Bryan scored the overtime winning goal of game six of the 1940 Stanley Cup game against Toronto

In 1939-40 and 1940-41 Hextall led all NHL snipers in goals scored. In 1941-42 he captured the Art Ross trophy as the league's leading point scorer. On four other occasions he was in the top ten of scoring. With three selections to the First All-Star team and another to the second All-Star team, it is obvious that Bryan Hextall was the dominant right winger of the era directly before the arrival of Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe.

Poor circulation in his legs forced doctors to amputate both legs below the knees in 1978. Bryan Hextall died in 1984.

HockeyLegends:

He would become a permanent fixture with the Blueshirts the following year playing on his "off wing," many years before the tactic was to become common practice in the league. Hextall found that he had a better shooting angle, as a left-handed shot, by cutting in on goal from the right wing

Hextall was considered the dominant right winger of his day

NYHistory:

Bryan Aldwyn Hextall was a key piece in the superb Rangers teams of the pre-World War II era that won the Stanley Cup in 1940

Dennis Hextall:

Bryan Sr. scored 20 or more goals in seven of his 12 NHL seasons. "A 20- goal season then was the equivalent of a 40-goal season today," Dennis Hextall said. "It was a different game. If you scored 20 then, you were a helluva player."

"Our father never talked about his career," said Dennis Hextall, now a manufacturers representative in Detroit. "He was a modest guy. If he had pushed himself (in the press) he could have been an NHL coach. But it wasn't his nature. He was low-key.

"Our father would come to our junior games," Dennis said, "and he'd curse us out if we fought. I had 20 goals and 20 major penalties (fighting) in one season. My father said, 'You'd have 30 (goals) if you didn't spend so much time in the box.'

"I told him, 'Dad, if something happens out there, I'm not gonna back away.' He understood, he just didn't like the cheap penalties. He said there was a difference between being tough and being dumb."

James Dunn:

"He is a very clean-living individual and an excellent ambassador for professional hockey."

Ron Hextall:

"He told me to quit taking dumb penalties," the Flyers' goalie said. "He told me to leave the fighting to the other players. I had a pretty short temper back then."

Bryan Hextall Jr.:

"I never realized how great my father was until I got to the NHL," Dennis Hextall said. "That's when I saw what it meant to be a first-team All-Star. He was the Gordie Howe of his era.

"I saw him play in a senior league back home (Manitoba). He was strong even then. He never slapped the puck, everything was with the wrists. He'd come in, snap those wrists . . . boom."

 

[Greg02]

Here are my tiers of the 32 players who I thought reasonably could make a top 20. The goal of this was to, without too much research, sort the players into groupings such that if we have tiers 1,2, and 3, all the players in tier 1 will be ranked higher than all the players in tier 3, and at least one player in tier 1 will be ranked higher than any player in tier 2. I probably have not accomplished that, but hopefully it will provide a decent rough estimate for people, and serve as a good starting place for anyone on the fence.

Bill Cook
Andy Bathgate
Rod Gilbert

Bryan Hextall
Lynn Patrick
Bun Cook

Jaromir Jagr
Vic Hadfield
Cecil Dillon
Adam Graves

Camille Henry
Steve Vickers
Dean Prentice
Alex Shibicky

Don Marshall
Don Maloney
Alex Kovalev
Grant Warwick
Marian Gaborik
Danny Lewicki

Tony Leswick
Anders Hedberg
Andy Hebenton

Mike Gartner
Bill Fairbairn
Bob Nevin
Brian Mullen

Don Murdoch
Ryan Callahan
Ron Duguay
Theoren Fleury
Tomas Sandstrom

 

[Cake or Death]

I think I have time to do this one. I'll work on putting my top 20 list together.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

the reason this is pointless to do is because Jagr was the best winger to ever put on a Ranger sweater, and he dug us out of the dark years...yet he's "tier 3". yeah ok

 

[Crease]

the reason this is pointless to do is because Jagr was the best winger to ever put on a Ranger sweater, and he dug us out of the dark years...yet he's "tier 3". yeah ok

Sorry, but your disagreement with one poster does not make this project pointless. Far from it. Jagr is arguably the greatest winger in NHL history. That being said, he was a Ranger for 3.5 seasons. IMO, he doesn't have a Rangers resume that a quite a few other wingers have put together in a Rangers uniform. Putting Jagr near the top of the list would be akin to putting Gretzky near the top of the list of greatest Rangers centers.

Jagr and Hextall are going to be interesting debates come voting time. Jagr because of his short but explosive tenure. Hextall because he dominated an era that didn't have many noteworthy stars.

 

[Greg02]

the reason this is pointless to do is because Jagr was the best winger to ever put on a Ranger sweater, and he dug us out of the dark years...yet he's "tier 3". yeah ok

As I said, it was done in a very cursory manner, and it was likely imperfect. Please form a cogent argument why Jagr should be ranked higher than someone in the first tier (realistically that would probably have to be Gilbert, I suppose? Don't see anything that would make someone be able to argue over Cook or Bathgate), or everyone in the second tier.