Tell me about the Rangers in the 80s

[Crease]

The storied years of this franchise remain the Pre-War years, 70s and the 90s. You don't hear much about the 60s and the 80s. The 60's are too far gone, but we have plenty of posters who vividly remember the 80s. I'm calling on you to tell us about those Rangers teams, the Garden, ownership, rivalries, etc. Consider this thread your blank slate. Looking forward to learning about it.

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[Dagoon44]

The 80's were a mish mosh of line ups bad trades and lots of let downs .. They were either to small and out muscled or to good And something bad happened. Beezer would be awesome and team couldn't score they would score and beezer would give up 6 lol.. The 80's were about goons and fighting early on and the rangers were smurfs. Then the Rangers were bad ass and other teams went lighting fast and the rangers were lumbering never in balance with the league

 

[Crease]

The 80s was really the last of the dynasty era too. The Islanders and Oilers combined for 9 Cups. Was there ever a sense in the 80s that you had a chance of winning the whole thing, or that you were just competing for a spot in the final four?

 

[Tawnos]

Put this thread up a couple of months ago

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1588905

 

[Crease]

^^ Oh nice. Not sure how I missed that. I'll give it a read through.

 

[NickyFotiu]

1978-1985 were some of the funnest times to be a Ranger fan cup or no cup. The team had a real personality. The Isles were in their dynasty run but we usually played them as tough as anyone.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

1978-1985 were some of the funnest times to be a Ranger fan cup or no cup. The team had a real personality. The Isles were in their dynasty run but we usually played them as tough as anyone.

All I can remember about that period when I first started watching is what a dump the Garden was.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Although I was very young, I still like the technicolor rainbow scheme of the seats. One love for the "yellow seats!"

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Kenny Morrow, John Maclean and Claude Lemieux.

Beezer destroying his hand on the coffee table.

Bobby Carpenter.

Not winning in the Forum for the last seven years of the decade, capped by Lafleur's homecoming.

Mike Rogers getting 100 points.

Mikko Leiononen getting 6 assists against the Flyers when they wore long pants.

Setting the NHL record for PP goals in a season and not making the playoffs.

Brian Leetch coming straight from Calgary and blowing out Dynasty Edmonton 6-1

Dave Brown mauling Sandstrom.


The 80s sucked. Friggin Islanders.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

The 80s was really the last of the dynasty era too. The Islanders and Oilers combined for 9 Cups. Was there ever a sense in the 80s that you had a chance of winning the whole thing, or that you were just competing for a spot in the final four?

No hope. You knew they would crush your heart. So inconsistent. They would beat Calgary then lose to Winnipeg.

1990 was the first ray of hope. They were playing great down the stretch, even without Leetch. Im convinced that if they beat Washington, they would have beat Boston in the smaller rink.

After the Nicholls trade they went into LA and Edmonton and won.

 

[RangerBlues]

This just about covers it.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

One player who's name you never hear but was really really good for us was Mike Rogers. I forget which trade he was a part of, but yeah seemed like a lot of bad trades and lack of depth to complement some smallish but very talented guys. I really loved/hated Reijo Routsalinen and Pierre LaRouche.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

GWOW-Can you elaborate on the Beezer coffee table thing? I never heard that one. What year was that?

Rangers in 1990 if they had a healthy Leetch and an in game shape Carey Wilson that Washington series could have been different.

What was the deal with Rogers missing so many playoff games later in his Rangers tenure? No one has ever explained that to me. I was very young and only saw highlights but it didn't look like he was present for the 84 run or the 85 run. Injured or the coaches lost faith in him?

Some of those mid to late 80s teams were just awful. Then the new batch came in in 88-89 and 89-90.

 

[ilovemarkmessier]

Ok so I started really watching hockey in 1984. So here is the rundown on players I remember.

James Patrick= Offensive d-man Underrated Traded to whalers for Pat Verbeek.

Thomas Sandstrom= probably my favorite ranger as a kid. At times the only good Ranger

Walt Poddubny = One year wonder 80 points once

And of course John Vanbiesbrouck The other good thing about the Rangers then there were the Jon Erickson's Kelly Kisios Ulf Dalehns the end of career of Greshner and Maloney it was a ugly time although 1986 I found to be a exciting season. The whole team changed when the Leetch Richter Amonte Weight group came in.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Ok so I started really watching hockey in 1984. So here is the rundown on players I remember.

James Patrick= Offensive d-man Underrated Traded to whalers for Pat Verbeek.

Thomas Sandstrom= probably my favorite ranger as a kid. At times the only good Ranger

Walt Poddubny = One year wonder 80 points once

And of course John Vanbiesbrouck The other good thing about the Rangers then there were the Jon Erickson's Kelly Kisios Ulf Dalehns the end of career of Greshner and Maloney it was a ugly time although 1986 I found to be a exciting season. The whole team changed when the Leetch Richter Amonte Weight group came in.

Patrick went in the Larmer trade, not Verbeek trade.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Looking at Hockey-Reference.com, I noticed the most successful Rangers team (as far as the playoffs are concerned) was the 1980-81 team which made it to the conference finals (although with a 46.3% points percentage). That team was led by the likes of Anders Hedberg, Eddie Johnstone, Ron Greschner, Mike Allison, & Steve Vickers. Their goalie was Steve Baker. Quite a nice Cinderella team right there.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1981.html

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Looking at Hockey-Reference.com, I noticed the most successful Rangers team (as far as the playoffs are concerned) was the 1980-81 team which made it to the conference finals (although with a 46.3% points percentage). That team was led by the likes of Anders Hedberg, Eddie Johnstone, Ron Greschner, Mike Allison, & Steve Vickers. Their goalie was Steve Baker. Quite a nice Cinderella team right there.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1981.html

I was born during the second half of that season so my accounts are all just from watching old footage, hearing interviews, etc. but that team was tough. Fotiu, Hospodar, Kotsopolous, Beck, etc. could all fight.

They tuned out Fred Shero and Craig Patrick replaced him with a verbal agreement in place that Herb Brooks would finish coaching in Europe and take over the next season.

They had a horrible start with many injuries (Dugauy missed a lot of time that year) and they pulled it together in the second half.

Back in those days the playoff format was #1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc so you had some cool and wacky playoff matchups.

They played the Kings is round 1 who were a great regular season team and heavily favoured and apparently from interviews with Fotiu and Greschner, they were laughing at the Rangers, so the Rangers literally beat them up. The clip is on Youtube but that was pretty much the entire series.

They beat the Blues in round 2 and then in round 3 ran into the Islanders.

I've posted it here about 5-6 times but if they had a healthy JD and he pulled his magic in 81 instead of 79, they go on to destroy Minnesota in the Finals and win the Cup.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I was born during the second half of that season so my accounts are all just from watching old footage, hearing interviews, etc. but that team was tough. Fotiu, Hospodar, Kotsopolous, Beck, etc. could all fight.

They tuned out Fred Shero and Craig Patrick replaced him with a verbal agreement in place that Herb Brooks would finish coaching in Europe and take over the next season.

They had a horrible start with many injuries (Dugauy missed a lot of time that year) and they pulled it together in the second half.

Back in those days the playoff format was #1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc so you had some cool and wacky playoff matchups.

They played the Kings is round 1 who were a great regular season team and heavily favoured and apparently from interviews with Fotiu and Greschner, they were laughing at the Rangers, so the Rangers literally beat them up. The clip is on Youtube but that was pretty much the entire series.

They beat the Blues in round 2 and then in round 3 ran into the Islanders.

I've posted it here about 5-6 times but if they had a healthy JD and he pulled his magic in 81 instead of 79, they go on to destroy Minnesota in the Finals and win the Cup.

Cool info', I was only 1 years old that year so I don't recall that season, but it's really cool to hear your perspective. Yeah, I was wondering where John Davidson was that season. Rather impressive they got that far with that roster and that record. Must've been a team with a lot of tenacity.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Cool info', I was only 1 years old that year so I don't recall that season, but it's really cool to hear your perspective. Yeah, I was wondering where John Davidson was that season. Rather impressive they got that far with that roster and that record. Must've been a team with a lot of tenacity.

They had a lot of experience from the 79 run and many of those guys were still there.

JD had knee problems from the SCF run and never really recovered. He's actually in street clothes during the brawl with the Kings. Him and Fotiu are in the crowd, pretty crazy stuff.

That year Espo retired midway through the season (I never really got why) and Walt Tzachuk took a puck in the eye and was forced to retire.

Allison was a rookie sensation but he broke down a few years later with knee issues and became a role player with Toronto, LA, etc.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

They had a lot of experience from the 79 run and many of those guys were still there.

JD had knee problems from the SCF run and never really recovered. He's actually in street clothes during the brawl with the Kings. Him and Fotiu are in the crowd, pretty crazy stuff.

That year Espo retired midway through the season (I never really got why) and Walt Tzachuk took a puck in the eye and was forced to retire.

Allison was a rookie sensation but he broke down a few years later with knee issues and became a role player with Toronto, LA, etc.

Yeah, that run they had during the 1979 playoffs must've prepared them well. Really surprising they could get that far without Davidson who many say was the key to their run in '79. Seems like a lot of players rose up to fill the voids of fallen superstars that year. Surprised not many people talk about that team. I was really impressed from what I read.

 

[Cake or Death]

The 1985-86 season was my favorite of the decade. VBK would win a Vezina that season on a team with a losing record. On a team that finished 36-38-6, VBK would go 31-21-5 with 3 shutouts, with our other three goalies that season going a combined 5-17-1 and 0 shutouts. Our craptastic regular season team, which in a very high scoring 80s had one guy score over 60 points that season, would open round 1 of the playoffs against Philly. We finished the regular season with 78 pts, the Flyers were second best in the league behind Edmonton with 53 wins and 110 pts. We should've gotten decimated but won. Next round we had the Caps, who were third best in the league with 50 wins and 107 pts. The Rangers again came out on top, VBK was unreal in both rounds leading the team to monumental upsets.

We ran into eventual Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner Patrick Roy in the conference finals, but the sheer fact that our hodge podge team even managed to make it there was awesome to watch. I still have all those playoff games on VHS and watch them every few years. Those first two rounds were out and out divisional wars and had you pumped as hell and on the edge of your seat. It was good ****

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

The 1985-86 season was my favorite of the decade. VBK would win a Vezina that season on a team with a losing record. On a team that finished 36-38-6, VBK would go 31-21-5 with 3 shutouts, with our other three goalies that season going a combined 5-17-1 and 0 shutouts. Our craptastic regular season team, which in a very high scoring 80s had one guy score over 60 points that season, would open round 1 of the playoffs against Philly. We finished the regular season with 78 pts, the Flyers were second best in the league behind Edmonton with 53 wins and 110 pts. We should've gotten decimated but won. Next round we had the Caps, who were third best in the league with 50 wins and 107 pts. The Rangers again came out on top, VBK was unreal in both rounds leading the team to monumental upsets.

We ran into eventual Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winner Patrick Roy in the conference finals, but the sheer fact that our hodge podge team even managed to make it there was awesome to watch. I still have all those playoff games on VHS and watch them every few years. Those first two rounds were out and out divisional wars and had you pumped as hell and on the edge of your seat. It was good ****

For some reason, the 1985-86 Rangers were the first team I thought of when I saw this thread. Not only did they get to the conference finals, but they had the players you thought of when you think of the 1980s Rangers. Also Vanbiesbrouck's Vezina makes you notice that season more.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

GWOW-Can you elaborate on the Beezer coffee table thing? I never heard that one. What year was that?

Rangers in 1990 if they had a healthy Leetch and an in game shape Carey Wilson that Washington series could have been different.

What was the deal with Rogers missing so many playoff games later in his Rangers tenure? No one has ever explained that to me. I was very young and only saw highlights but it didn't look like he was present for the 84 run or the 85 run. Injured or the coaches lost faith in him?

Some of those mid to late 80s teams were just awful. Then the new batch came in in 88-89 and 89-90.

It was 1988.

John Vanbiesbrouck, who has starred in goal for the Rangers for the last four years, may be sidelined for the first half of the coming season after suffering nerve damage to his left wrist in what he described as a freakish accident at his home in Rye, N.Y., on Sunday night.

The injury occurred when Vanbiesbrouck attempted to rise from a rectangular glass coffee table he was sitting on.

''It was a totally freak thing, the table just collapsed under me, and as I put my hand back to brace my fall, the glass gashed me,'' said Vanbiesbrouck, who was in Lenox Hill Hospital.

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/15/sports/vanbiesbrouck-injures-hand.html

Esposito and Bergeron opted to go with Froese, and it worked. The Rangers were in forst place in mid-November. Leetch and Granato brought a lot of life back to the Garden.

They were on a roll in late February, then Froese and Beezer collectively sucked. They lost like 10 of their last 12 and were swept in the playoffs.

1989 was a good team. Lots of youth. Turcotte, Miller, Granato, Dahlen, Leetch. Guy Lafleur and Dionne were good veterans. Kisio-Mullen-Ogrodnick.

Esposito and Bergeron couldnt stand each other. They hated each other. Espo wanted Pat Quinn, Dillard wanted Bergeron who coached the Nordiques.

Bergeron ended up costing them 100K and the 5th overall pick in 1988. That pick (Dore) is now a scout. Huge bust for the Nords who also took Leschysyn with 3rd overall behing Linden and Modano. The picks taken after Dore were Roenick, Selanne and Brindamour. Bergeron was fired before the 1989 playoffs.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I personally didn't really start following the NHL until the 1988-89 season. I remember being very impressed with Tomas Sandstrom & Brian Leetch that year even tho I wasn't very familiar with them at the time.

 

[donpaulo]

A few points I want to UNDERSCORE

Walt Poddubny had more than one fantastic season for NY. He was paired with Sandstrom and those two really lit the lamp. When he came over in 85 he was a point per game guy for the next 2.5 seasons. Sadly he ended up with mental issues and living in his sisters basement before he died.

Beezer won the Vezina in 85. Apparently he put his fist through a glass coffee table in a fit of frustration.

The Herb Brooks coached teams were entertaining and very competitive especially the US born contingent including Pavelich, Baker, Brooke, Nicky & Silk. The 83-84 team was quite good and lost to the Islanders in the Semi's. That team had Hanlon and Weeks in nets too. That was also the team where Pierre scored 48 goals while smoking a pack a day. FYI George Mcphee played on that team as well.

The most memorable thing for me was the pairing of Bubba and Reijo. Reijo could really fly and was the leading scorer for the rangers in one season in the mid 80s.

Rogers came over from the Whalers in a somewhat lopsided deal for Doug Sulliman, although Doug was a fine hockey player in his own right.