You can take The Maven's word for it – or check the records – but, either way, in the first decade (1926-36) of the Rangers existence, the Blueshirts' mentor Lester Patrick was voted the league's best bench boss more than anyone.

"You just couldn't be around Lester without learning something," said All-Star defenseman – and Hall of Famer – Babe Pratt. "All we players ever got from Lester was straight common sense. He was a great theorist and believed in doing things the direct and simple way."

A Canadian all the way, yet Patrick blended so well as a New Yorker you'd have thought that he was born in Times Square. Canadiens boss Tommy Gorman summed it up well:

"Lester didn't adjust to New York. New York adjusted to him."

The same could be said of veteran hockey writers such as James Burchard of the World-Telegram, Joe Nichols of the Times and Al Laney of the Herald-Tribune. In his book, "The Patricks – Hockey's Royal Family," author Eric Whitehead described the scene after a practice.

"Lester would summon the attendant scribel to his quarters, get them comfortably seated, and then address them from behind his desk, much in the manner of a professor at a law school. He would rise and demonstrate the art of the pass and the shot with swift movements.

"Or, he'd sprawl on the carpet to illustrate the finer points of goaltending. The lectures were almost Shakespearean in nature, couched in a fine lyrical prose that would charm the most cynical audience. He was a master manipulator."