Do you know about the 1968 New York Rangers? Take a look at one of the strangest overlapping of players in the club's history.
The New York Rangers had a lot going on in the 1967-1968 NHL season.
Generations of famed hockey players overlapped in 1968, as the club moved from third to the fourth Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers played in two different buildings in the same season. They became the first team of the “Original Six” to move from their original arena.
The Blueshirts would go on to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs after holding a 2-0 series lead at the season's conclusion.
Emile “The Cat” Francis commanded the club as the general manager and the coach. He invented the plus-minus statistics system for the NHL as a way to evaluate players. Bob Nevin captained the squad. He was the return for the legendary Andy Bathgate and recorded 28 goals in 74 games.
It gets weird…
Did you know that the “GAG Line”, “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, and Harry Howell all played on the same New York Rangers team?
The innovator of the slapshot, Bernie Geoffrion, is a legendary hockey player who won the Stanley Cup six times, won the Calder Trophy, and had his number 5 retired by the Montreal Canadiens. The only other team he played for was the Rangers, and following the 1986 season, he retired.
Harry Howell would go leave the Rangers the next season in 1969. Howell had played for the Rangers since 1952, which means the GAG Line played alongside a man who skated with Edgar Laprade, Don Raleigh, and Lorne “Gump” Worsley.
The GAG Line was in their prime, having played in the league for a few years by 1968. To backstop these characters, Eddie Giacomin is in his fourth NHL season.
Dennis Hextall also played on the team, father of Ron, and son of the legendary Ranger Bryan Hextall Sr. He was the last New York Ranger to lead the league in points and goals.
Five of the Rangers retired numbers and an all-time Montreal Canadien played in two different Madison Square Gardens in 1968.
For More Rangers History:
“The Captain” and the Captains: The New York Rangers Leadership History
Rangers 101: Historical Deep Cuts