You had to be there to feel the pain. And the Maven was and I felt it right down to my ticker.
Never in the Rangers long history did the team – and its fans for that matter – ever get so suckered by one individual.
The sorry symphony actually began on a high note in the spring of 1950. The New Yorkers had made the playoffs and then upset the Canadiens in the opening round.
Coach Lynn Patrick's team then advanced to the Cup Final against first-place Detroit. The odds were stacked against New York and made even worse when MSG booted its club out of home ice and celebrated the arrival of The Garden's biggest moneymaker, the circus.
The Final series went the full seven games -- five at Detroit's Olympia and two at "neutral" Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Despite the hardship of having no home games, the Rangers extended Detroit to double-overtime in Game 7 before losing.
Credit – in large part – for the Rangers remarkable showing was Patrick's work behind the New York bench. The feeling among Rangers fans was that their favorite club would be even better with Lynn coaching in 1950-51.
You would have thought Patrick had the same exciting idea. We all did; except for one very important person; Lynn, himself. (One fan swears he heard Patrick humming "Don't Fence Me In.")
Alas, Patrick climbed over the fence and stiffed the franchise. Within weeks of the Rangers' grand 1950 playoff run, Patrick resigned as Blueshirt coach.
He told the hockey world that a big city was no place to raise his children. Instead, he told us he was returning to Victoria, British Columbia to coach father Lester's minor league team.
Lynn's Victoria visit was about as long as the Rangers 2025 playoff run. Before you could say truth is stranger than fiction, Patrick signed to coach the rival Boston Bruins.
Double-cross 101.
Rangers manager Frank Boucher signed ex-Blueshirt Neil Colville to replace Patrick and hate to tell you – Colville was from Loserville.
Meanwhile, deserter Patrick turned the Bruins into a winner. Minus Lynn, New York missed the playoffs in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955.
There used to be an expression in Brooklyn that fits Patrick's double-cross. WE WUZ ROBBED!