BOSTON – Thurs day the honors will be for Brian Leetch, and the focus will be on the career of the greatest blueblood Ranger of all time.
When his No. 2 is raised to the Garden’s distinctive round ceiling, Leetch will become the fifth athlete to receive the franchise’s ultimate recognition, joining No. 1 Ed Giacomin, No. 7 Rod Gilbert, No. 11 Mark Messier and No. 35 Mike Richter.
The spotlight will be on Leetch, but the ceremony will at the same time illuminate the absence of the No. 9 jersey hanging from the roof for both Andy Bathgate and Adam Graves. The spotlight will be on Leetch, and therefore the most celebrated era in Ranger history, but it will at the same illuminate the void of historical franchise references in the Garden.
They are an Original Six franchise, but you couldn’t tell it from looking or walking around the arena, and you couldn’t tell it by attending a game. Except for Giacomin and Gilbert, nothing happened before 1993-94.
Ron Greschner, who played more games wearing the Ranger sweater than any player in history, may as well not exist, except for those times he slips into the Garden seats behind the goal at Eighth Avenue that once upon a time, in fact, belonged to the Leetch Family. There’s no reference to No. 4, anywhere.
Harry Howell, who actually was feted at the old Garden with a night during his Norris Trophy-winning 1966-67 season, is relegated to the imagination. There’s no recognition of Emile Francis, one of the singular heroes of Ranger history. There’s no platform devoted to respecting the achievements of the early great ones like Bill Cook, Ching Johnson, Art Coulter and Bryan Hextall, Sr.
Other teams play pregame videos highlighting their franchise histories. The Rangers don’t. The Garden can produce and feature a video about some hotel bellhop or doorman coming to the game wearing goalies’ gear and a mask, but they won’t produce a three- or four-minute clip devoted to team history.
Other teams have Halls of Fame. The Rangers don’t. Other teams pay homage to great players who fall short of the standard for number retirement by displaying their jerseys. The Rangers don’t.
(There is no point of reference to Wayne Gretzky having played in New York. The NHL retired his number, but there’s no No. 99 hanging from the roof. There is, however, a No. 12 banner for Billy Joel and a No. 60 banner for Elton John.)
Two years ago when we raised this issue, Garden personnel suggested that the club’s history would be properly recognized once a new Garden opens or this Garden is completely renovated. But who knows when either of those alternatives will be realized, and why wait, anyway? The Garden’s not waiting on construction to expand their retail and concessions sales construction, that’s for sure.
When a fan comes to a Rangers game, he or she should hear the name Jean Ratelle and see a clip of Brad Park. The fan should get a glimpse of the 1928, 1933 and 1940 Cup winners, and a peek at Francis, Fred Shero and Mike Keenan behind the bench. There should be a moment for the Bulldog Line. The fan should be entertained by and educated in the franchise’s history.
The Rangers are an Original Six team with an Original Six history. It is time they honor their fans by honoring their own heritage.
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So the Maple Leafs are apparently trying to convince Cliff Fletcher to take over the franchise on a temporary basis, meaning that an interim executive would be responsible for conducting the lottery if Mats Sundin agrees to go on the lend-lease market, and this is supposed to cure the dysfunction?
Has there ever been a winger of the stature of Jarome Iginla to go his entire career without once having an elite center with whom to work?
Wouldn’t Sundin sort of cure that injustice if general manager Darryl Sutter can find the way to bring him to Calgary – Alex Tanguay would have to be part of the package going the other way – before the Feb. 26 deadline?
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Odd, but Buffalo town crier Lindy Ruff never seemed to mind when Vaclav Varada went head hunting on Eric Lindros or Dainius Zubrus went knees seeking on Jaromir Jagr, did he?
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How intelligent are all these players signing lifetime contracts without agents acting to protect their interests going to feel when the NHL attempts to retroactively change the policy on buyouts in the next round of CBA negotiations? How will they feel if it goes from 67 percent on all years to 50 percent on a capped number of seasons?