The Rangers are the richest American-based NHL team and second richest – after Toronto – of all 32 franchises.

Since that's the case how come the Rangers have only won The Stanley Cup four times in 99 years?

Since Don LaGreca has covered the Rangers longer than most electronic journalists, my colleague Solon Mihas put the question to him as Part Three of our "Farewell To The Rangers' series featuring Don. So, why can't the Rangers win more Cups?

LaGreca's reply started out by fingering Toronto which has not had a Cup-winner since 1967 when the NHL was a six-team league. Here's how Don sees it:

"It's not just about money; you have to have a lot of things break your way. It's hard to win and in the case of New York and Toronto, it's frustrating to watch. At the same time it's fascinating to see what the Panthers have built and what the Lightning built before that – of just getting in that groove; of finding the formula; the secret sauce to winning; and hanging on to it as long as you can.

"It's hard; it's hard to get to; it really is. The Devils had it with their Stanley Cups in six years. But if you look at it, it's so hard to win consistently. While I don't believe in curses, I do think there's a self-fulfilling prophecy of the longer you go without winning, it becomes a part of the room.

"Whenever you go to Toronto, there's a question for a new Leaf:: 'Hey, you haven't won since 1967; Are you going to be the missing piece? Is this the year it's going to come to an end?'  It kind of builds and that's what happened with the Rangers. They finally had that relief in 1994 and now fast-forward and it's been over 30 years since then. So, one Cup in 85-plus years seems ridiculous.

"Players want to come to the Rangers. We saw that with Panarin who wanted to go to an Original Six team because it has importance. Being around the Rangers as I have, I could see players wanting to come here in New York and play here. Then, when you think about them not being able to win the Cup for so long, it's crazy to think how hard it is to get in that groove. 

The Blueshirts Game I'll Never Forget The Maven's Roundtable is about to launch a new feature – "The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> Game I'll Never Forget."

"The Rangers just haven't been able to find a way to get there. They've been close – banging on the door, but just keep missing out. Also, I think that it's also part luck; just finding a way to overcome it. If there was just an easy answer, then we would all be able to have a chance to win every year.

"And when you think about Toronto and New York – and the pressure the players have to play in each city and how they are the NHL's two richest franchises, it shows that money isn't necessarily the answer; money is only a small part."

(TOMORROW: DON TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE RANGERS TO INTERVIEW.)