5 New York Rangers records that may never be broken

The New York Rangers are approaching their Centennial season, celebrating 100 years of hockey on Broadway. As an Original Six franchise, many Hockey Hall of Famers have played for the Blueshirts, setting some of the team’s top records and milestones.

Considering the game has evolved since New York’s inaugural season in 1926, most of the Rangers best statistics have occurred in the last half-century. And some of these records may never be broken in our lifetime.

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5 New York Rangers records likely never to be broken

Let’s break down five of the most unbreakable records in Rangers history.

Single Season Plus/Minus Total

Brad Park (1971-72) Plus-63

During the 1971-72 season, Brad Park played 75 games, scored 24 goals, and finished the campaign with 73 points, an NHL career high for the Hall of Fame defenseman. He finished fourth in team scoring behind Jean Ratelle (109 points), Vic Hadfield (106), and Rod Gilbert (97), who finished third, fourth, and fifth in League scoring.

Meanwhile, Park, who achieved the 17th most points in the NHL that season, finished second behind Bobby Orr (plus-83) to set the Rangers record for the best single-season plus/minus total at plus-63. Ratelle (plus-61) and Hadfield (plus-60) came close to catching Park, but in a half-century since that magical season, no one has even come close to his milestone, with none surpassing the plus-40 total.

For perspective, since the 2004 NHL lockout, only five Rangers players have achieved a plus/minus rating of plus-30 or better. Those names include Artemi Panarin (plus-36), Michal Rozsival (plus-35), Jaromir Jagr (plus-34), Marek Malik (plus-32), and Michael Nylander (plus-31).

But that’s still not even close to Park’s incredible mark set more than 50 years ago.

Career penalty minutes by goalie

John Vanbriesbrouck (1981-93) 212 PIM

John Vanbriesbrouck began his career with a single game in 1981-82 as an 18-year-old. Eventually, he became an everyday starter with the Rangers by 1984-85 and won the Vezina Trophy as the League’s best goalie the following season.

Vanbriesbrouck skated with the Rangers for 11 years, compiling a 200-177-47 record, 3.45 goals-against average and .890 save percentage, and is one the best goalies in franchise history.

Interestingly, “The Beezer” was pretty feisty between the pipes, despite his small stature (5-foot-8, 175 pounds). Out of the top 15 spots for most penalty minutes by a goalie in a single Rangers season, Vanbiesbrouck’s name occupies nine of them.

Despite Bob Froese owning the franchise record 56 penalty minutes in a single season, Vanbiesbrouck is in second place with 46 in 1987-88, followed by another seasons with 30 in 1988-89. Because Vanbriesbrouck frequently accumulated infractions, he set a Rangers career record with 212 penalty minutes, the only goalie with over 100.

Froese is second on the list at just 68, meaning Vanbiesbrouck’s record will be safe for future generations.

Single season games played by goalie

Henrik Lundqvist (2009-10) 73 games

Grant Fuhr owns the NHL record for most games played in a single season with 79. No one will ever come close to breaking that mark in today’s NHL when goalies top out around 65 games or so a season.

In the prime of his career, Henrik Lundqvist was an old-school workhorse for the Rangers, playing 70+ games four times. He came within six games of Fuhr’s NHL record, and set the Rangers standard, by playing 73 games (72 starts) in 2009-10.

Though five different goalies have played 70+ games in a season for the Rangers (also Mike Richter, Johnny Bower, Gump Worsley and Ed Giacomin), none have done so since Lundqvist in 2009-10. In fact, since Lundqvist in 2017-18, no Rangers goalie has played 60+ games in a season.

As the top goalie on Broadway these days, Igor Shesterkin played in an NHL career-high 58 games in 2022-23, 15 shy of Lundqvist’s record. Considering the emphasis placed on staying fresh for the playoffs, most NHL starters no longer play as often, with only four netminders playing 70 games in the past decade.

Most points in single postseason

Brian Leetch (1993-94) 34 points

Hall of Famer Brian Leetch is the only Rangers player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, winning the award in 1994 when New York ended a 54-year championship drought. During that epic playoff run, which featured two thrilling Game 7 victories, the best defenseman in team history scored 34 points with 11 goals and 23 assists.

Leetch led the postseason in assists, points, plus/minus (plus-19), and game-winners, netting four. Despite some deep runs from the Rangers since their 1994 triumph, no skater has scored even 25 points, with Mika Zibanejad coming the closest with 24 in 2021-22.

Leetch, who currently owns the team record for most playoff points (89), remains just one of two skaters—along with Mark Messier (30) — as the only players to score 30 points in a single playoff run, giving these two franchise icons a special place in Rangers history.

Most points in single game

Steve Vickers (Feb. 18, 1976) 7 points

Steve Vickers debuted with the Blueshirts as a 21-year-old in 1972-73, scoring 30 goals and 53 points to win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. It was one of four times he surpassed 30 goals in a single season, with a career-high 41 in 1974-75.

As arguably one of the top 10 players in franchise history, Vickers set a Rangers record with a seven-point night against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 18, 1976. During the 11-4 blowout win at Madison Square Garden, the then 24-year-old scored a hat trick and picked up four assists to contribute 63 percent of New York’s offense on the evening.

Vickers broke the record for most points in a game (six) that was held by several players, including Frank Boucher (1930), Bill Cook (1933), and Don Raleigh (1951). Since then, several other players have scored six points for the Rangers, including Anders Hedberg (1980, 1984), Messier (1992), and Zibanejad on two occasions in 2021.

Only four NHL players in the 21st century registered a seven-point game, making it one of the rarest achievements in the modern era. Vickers’ mark appears to be unbreakable.

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