Rangers See What Championship Success Means To New York Through Knicks

As the New York Knicks raised their championship banner on Tuesday night, some members of the New York Rangers were at Madison Square Garden to witness the historic moment.

In June, the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years, bringing a joyful energy and uniting the entire city of New York.

Sharing a practice facility and both playing at The World’s Most Famous Arena, the Rangers and Knicks are bonded together under the MSG umbrella.

For the Rangers, witnessing the Knicks win a championship and seeing the impact it had on the city was something the whole organization took to heart.

“It’s inspiring,” Mike Sullivan said. “It’s inspiring when a group has witnessed the ultimate success in their respective sport. When it’s close to you, these guys, we have lunch with the Knicks a lot, so there’s some familiarity. I know both teams root for one another. We couldn’t be more proud of them and I think a night like last night is inspiring for our guys,

Noah Laba, Gabe Perreault, Will Cuylle, Alexis Lafrenière, Vladislav Gavrikov, Sean Durzi, and Eeli Tolvanen were all in attendance for the Knicks’ opening-night game on Tuesday night, in which the team received their championship rings and raised the championship banner.

“It was great,” Vladislav Gavrikov said about attending the Knicks game. “The atmosphere, the building was electric. Those moments that they showed on the jumbotron, the video and everything, you are getting goosebumps to that. Obviously, that was a special night.”

The Rangers got a taste of what it could be like to be a champion in New York by watching the Knicks this summer and now further realize the magnitude sports has on the city.

“I think we saw it all summer, the parade and just all of the streets,” Perreault said of the Knicks’ championship win. “It shows you the fan base in New York and obviously if we could do that one day, it would be super cool.”