New York Rangers

The New York Rangers were originally the New York Americans who joined the National Hockey League in 1925. Their early success led to the president of Madison Square Garden, Tex Rickard, to take over the franchise. After being dubbed, “Tex’s Rangers,” he decided to stick with New York Rangers for his franchise name instead of his originally planned name, New York Giants.

The team won the American Division title their first year of play. They lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, but were on their way to celebrity status. The next year they made it to the finals and defeated the Montreal Maroons to win the Stanley Cup. It was unprecedented that such a young team could be so successful. Their next Stanley Cup playoff was against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1933 where the Rangers won their second Stanley Cup.

In 1940, with a new head coach, the Rangers made it to the finals and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs for their third Stanley Cup title. It was not until 1950 when another new head coach led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup finals. This time they lost to the Detroit Red Wings.

Between 1951 and 1966, the Rangers had only two winning records and made it to the playoffs four times. In 1967 the team was reemerging as a winning team and made it to the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons. They reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1972, but lost to the Boston Bruins. 1979 was their next Stanley cup appearance and they lost to the Montreal Canadians.

After their last Stanley Cup title, the Rangers broke the 1940 curse and won the title in 1994. The Rangers appear to be serious contenders for the 2009 Stanley Cup title.