Should there have been a fifth Rangers Stanley Cup instead of just four – 1928, 1932, 1940 and 1994? Yes, there could have been another. The problem was that Rangers president and manager Lester Patrick was tight with his dollar. Too darn tight. The Rangers won their third Stanley Cup by beating Toronto in the spring of 1940. After the victory, MSG President John Reed Kilpatrick toasted his champions with a gala dinner at Toronto's Royal York Hotel. Special kudos were set aside for goalie Dave Kerr who had starred for a decade with the Blueshirts. And all in favor shouted, "Aye." Stan Fischler US Hall Of Fame MSG Kerr's superior play continued into the next season "He played his angles without peer and seemed to have a 'book' on every shooter." wrote Ken Campbell in The Hockey News Goalie Special. But before the 1941-42 season he was due for a new contract. He demanded $10,000 but Rangers manager Patrick refused. Neither the goalie nor the club's executive would budge. "Kerr stood up for his rights," added Campbell, "and essentially ended his career in his prime because he felt he wasn't being paid a fair wage. One year removed from winning the Stanley Cup and the Vezina Trophy, Kerr quit hockey at age 31." The pity of it all is that the 1941-42 Rangers finished first and were favorites to win another Cup but they had young, inexperienced Sugar Jim Henry in goal; and he wasn't Dave Kerr. It was as simple and unfortunate as that!
