Danny Wild-Imagn ImagesFrank Boucher knew Lynn Patrick since 1934 when the rookie Lynn signed on with the Blueshirts as a promising left wing. At the time, Frank and Lynn were both teammates and pals; they stayed that way right through the 1950 playoffs.
But in his memoirs Frank confessed that something about Patrick didn't smell right. In fact, it stunk out loud.
Boucher: "During the Detroit series I sensed that something was wrong and asked Lynn if it was anything I might be able to help him with since he always had been completely truthful with me, and there was nothing devious about him now."
Lynn finally let the cat out of the bag and confided that Boston Bruins boss Art Ross had a plot going that – if it succeeded – would egregiously undermine the Rangers progress as a franchise. Ross wanted Patrick to quit the Rangers and take over the Boston coaching job.
"Ross promised Lynn that if he accepted the Bruin coaching job, in a year he also would be named general manager of the Boston team," Boucher explained. "But Lynn said he also felt a loyalty to me since I started him off in coaching."
That so-called "loyalty" was going up in smoke faster than a finished cigarette. Boucher was crushed. Everybody in the Rangers hierarchy loved Patrick for his work as well as he was a nice guy. "Selfishly," Frank concluded, "I had hoped that he'd reject the Boston offer. But realistically I knew he'd be a fool if he did."
Patrick's alibi was that New York was not a good place to raise a family but a Boston suburb would be better.
Boucher: "I certainly didn't want to lose him but I could see that Boston offered an excellent potential and the decision would have to be his own. Still I urged him to talk the matter over with the fellow who ran the Garden, General John Reed Kilpatrick and another Garden big shot, Ned Irish.
Irish would offer Patrick a substantial raise to stay in New York but Lynn already had made up his mind – and he accepted the Beantown gig.