A decade of futility for the New York Rangers that began within the late Nineteen Nineties started with one occasion in July 1997. It wasn’t a recreation the Rangers misplaced, a commerce they made, or a free agent they signed (though there can be many to observe).
No, the day that led to seven straight non-playoff seasons for the Broadway Blueshirts was the day their captain walked away.
Mark Messier to the Canucks
When Mark Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent in the summertime of 1997, it closed the guide on one of the vital profitable eras in Rangers’ historical past. Though Messier’s first tour of obligation in New York solely lasted six seasons (he would return for 4 extra seasons from 2000-04), he turned a legendary determine in New York.
You might also like:
From 1991-97, the Rangers made the playoffs 5 occasions, received two Atlantic Division Championships, two Presidents’ Trophies, one Jap Convention championship, and the Stanley Cup in 1994. When the ultimate buzzer sounded after Sport 7 of the Ultimate in 1994, Rangers’ play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen mentioned “This one will final a lifetime!” The identical may very well be mentioned for all the reminiscences Messier gave to the followers in New York.
That’s the reason it was so arduous for a lot of followers to fathom that ‘The Captain’, their captain, can be allowed to stroll away as a free agent. For a metropolis and a company that was (and nonetheless is) synonymous with giving out giant contracts to lure free brokers, why wouldn’t the Rangers be keen to overpay to maintain Mark Messier in New York?
Why Did Mark Messier Depart?
Relying on who you ask, the explanations for the messy divorce between Messier and the Rangers are very completely different. In case you ask Messier, or not less than for those who requested him fifteen years in the past, one of many causes that he determined to go away was that he felt he was “disrespected” by Backyard administration.
In an article within the New York Instances, Messier mentioned, “When July 1 got here round, different groups had been allowed to come back in my lounge, and issues modified…I suppose they (the Rangers) felt they didn’t must, that my loyalty (to New York) was so sturdy.” (from ‘A Dangerous Feeling Chases Messier Out of New York,’ New York Instances, 07/29/1997)
Rangers’ president and common supervisor Neil Smith’s supply to Messier of a one-year $4 million contract was not effectively obtained by the Rangers’ captain. In Jeff Z. Klein’s biography of Messier, the writer writes “he (Messier) was telling reporters how slighted he felt by what he thought was the Rangers’ deliberate insult.”
In line with Rangers’ administration, Messier’s determination to go away New York was all in regards to the cash that Vancouver threw his approach. Whereas it was reported that groups such because the Islanders, Capitals, and Purple Wings all provided offers much like the Rangers’ supply, the Canucks provided Messier a minimal of three years at $6 million per 12 months, with an possibility for 2 extra years at $5 million per 12 months.
Mark Messier as a Cup-less Canuck
After Messier signed with the Canucks, Madison Sq. Backyard CEO Dave Checketts rhetorically requested “How lengthy ought to we pay for that Cup?” The Rangers felt that he wasn’t definitely worth the cash, and fifteen years later, it’s seemingly that each Canucks fan will agree.
Nevertheless, even with Wayne Gretzky for 2 extra seasons, the Rangers missed Messier’s presence within the lineup and within the locker room. Possibly issues would have turned out in another way if Joe Sakic made it to Broadway.
After shedding Messier to the Canucks, the Rangers signed the Avalanche heart to a three-year $21 million contract. However the Avalanche determined to match the Rangers’ supply for Sakic, who was a restricted free agent.
With out Mark Messier, the Lengthy Drought
The Rangers and their followers wish to overlook the years that adopted. Seven years got here and went with out a playoff look. The carousel of mercenaries that made their technique to the Backyard, together with Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, and Messier himself in 2000 as a 39-year-old, simply highlighted how dysfunctional that point interval in Ranger land was.
But it surely all goes again to the day that Messier left, and a state of affairs that, in hindsight, either side would do in another way.
This text was initially printed in July, 2012.
