NEW YORK RANGERS

The New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The New York Rangers team is commonly referred to as "The Broadway Blueshirts". They were the first NHL franchise in the US to win the Stanley Cup, which they have done four times on their entire record. The Rangers are known to have an explosive, powerful offense to match its stifling defense, making them a tough match-up for any opponents. The Madison Square Garden is home of the Rangers, and is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. who also owns the including the NBA's New York Knicks, and the WNBA's New York Liberty.

The New York Americans joined the National Hockey League in 1925, and the first ice hockey team ever played in Madison Square Garden. The Amerks proved to be an even greater success than expected, leading Garden president Tex Rickard to go after a team for the Garden despite promising the Amerks that they would be the only hockey team to play there. He was granted a franchise to begin play in the 1926-1927 seasons, and originally planned to name it the New York Giants. However, the New York press soon nicknamed his team "Tex's Rangers", and the new name stuck.

New York Rangers won the American Division title their first year but lost to the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. The team's early success led to players becoming minor celebrities and fixtures in New York City's Roaring 20's nightlife. It was also during this time, playing at the Garden on 48th Street, blocks away from Times Square, that the New York Rangers obtained their now-famous nickname "The Broadway Blueshirts".

Today, the legal conflict between the Rangers and the NHL took another turn when Madison Square Garden filed its response to a countersuit by the league. MSG originally sued the NHL claiming it was acting as an "illegal cartel" in prohibiting the Rangers from running their own Web site and from selling merchandise or streaming video on the Internet. The league countersued, asking that the original suit be dropped and that the U.S. District Court allow in-house disciplinary action that could include stripping the franchise from the Garden's ownership. New Yorkers are still very hopeful that this matter will be settled down soon.

The New York Rangers are currently entering their 83rd year of operation in the Stanley Cup with a fine blend of veterans, led by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and forwards Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, and a strong group of newcomers, including defenseman Wade Redden and forwards Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev. Head Coach Tom Renney, coming off three consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, has the depth on the front line and the experience the back-end that will once again make the Blueshirts a Cup contender in the upcoming seasons.

For more information please visit: www.newyorkrangers.com

Long Island Sports