The Rangers announced today that the organization will retire jersey No. 9 in honor of Adam Graves prior to the Rangers-Thrashers game on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The team will retire No. 9 again, for Andy Bathgate, and the No. 3 of Harry Howell before the Rangers-Maple Leafs game on Sunday, Feb. 22.
GM Glen Sather said Graves’ will be the last number retired from the 1994 Stanley Cup championship team.
“Adam Graves is one of the most beloved players to ever don a New York Rangers sweater,” Sather said. “Off the ice, there isn’t a finer person. His effort and production as a hockey player was nothing short of triumphant and, even today, his dedication to the community is incomparable.
“We are proud to have Adam join his fellow 1994 Stanley Cup champion teammates Mike Richter (35), Mark Messier (11) and Brian Leetch (2), as well as legends Rod Gilbert (7) and Eddie Giacomin (1), as his number is raised to the rafters of Madison Square Garden.”
Graves, who retired following the 2002-03 season after a 17-year career, now serves in the Rangers hockey and business operations departments.
Graves set the franchise record for most goals in a season with 52 in 1993-94 (since broken by Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06), and ranks third in career goals (280) and 10th in points (507).
Bathgate, who played 12 seasons with the Rangers from 1952-53 to 1963-64, served as captain from 1961 to 1964.
“Rangers history is enriched by players like Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell, who laid the foundation for what a Rangers player should be,” Sather said. “They will now take their rightful place in the Garden rafters alongside those players who have carried their tradition throughout the years.”
Bathgate became the first Rangers player to register 40 goals in one season in 1958-59, and ranks fourth in career goals (272), assists (457) and points (729).
Howell, who played 17 seasons with the Rangers from 1952-53 to 1968-69 and served as captain from 1955 to 1957, established the benchmark for consistency and durability in the Rangers organization. He holds the franchise record with 1,160 games played.
Howell ranks fifth in Rangers history in assists by a defenseman (263) and points by a defenseman (345), and ranks sixth in goals by a defenseman (82).