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All New York Rangers players and fans wanted to change the chanting from “1940” to “1994.” The last time the Rangers had won the championship was all the way back in 1940, and they considered themselves cursed ever since then. After the longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history, of 54 years (53 seasons), the Rangers finally won their fourth Stanley Cup championship on June 14, 1994.

After missing the playoffs entirely the season before, the Rangers hired a new coach, Mike Keenan. They also were ambitious about getting the right players. Having already acquired Mark Messier, Adam Graves, and Jeff Beukeboom in 1991, Kevin Lowe in 1992, and Esa Tikkanen in 1993, the Rangers added two more former-Oilers stars, Glenn Anderson and Craig MacTavish, on March 21, 1994. To backstop these seven members of the 1989-90 Stanley Cup team, Kennan chose Mike Richter right from training camp. After Richter set a team record with his 20-game unbeaten streak (surpassing Dave Kerr’s record from 1939-40), Keenan said, “Obviously, it worked out for the best.”

The Rangers pulled into first place midway through the regular season and maintained the spot until they had the President’s Trophy. Their 112 points (52-24-8) was six more than the second-place New Jersey Devils. In the postseason, the first round featured New York on New York as the Rangers swept the Islanders. It then took five games to eliminate the Washington Capitals. From there on out, the going got tough and the tough kept going. The Rangers and Devils kept the series close. Although his team trailed 3-2 going into Game 6, Captain Mark Messier promised, “We will be back for game seven.” Not only did Messier’s three goals in the third period force a seventh game, but the Rangers were able to take Game 7 in double overtime. Upon Messier’s receipt of the Prince of Wales Trophy, the Rangers returned to the Stanley Cup Final after fifteen years.

As the Eastern Conference representatives, the Rangers played the Vancouver Canucks, who had entered the postseason as fourteenth seed but winner of the Western Conference. For the opener, the underdog Canucks managed an overtime win thanks to Kirk McLean’s 52 saves. The Rangers then took control, winning the next three games. Edmonton Cup-winner Glenn Anderson scored the game-winner in the first two of these, and Brian Leetch (the Rangers’ first-round pick (9th overall) in 1986) had two goals to win Game 4. Before the New Yorkers could really celebrate, Vancouver came back to win the next two games and force a Game 7.

On June 14, 1994, fans paid big money to pack Madison Square Garden in the hopes that their long wait would end. The air conditioning on the ice had been cranked all night as temperatures outside reached 98 degrees. According to Messier, Keenan gave them the “most inspirational talk” he had ever heard. “He came through for us. He took control.” This was despite rumors (that turned out to be close to the truth) that Keenan planned to jump ship after the series ended. He used the excuse of his bonus being paid one day late to get out of his five-year contract and take a huge paycheck from the St. Louis Blues for the following season. Not only did he and the Blues get slapped with fines, they ended up losing the quarter-final to Vancouver. 

Right off the bat in Game 7, the Rangers did all the scoring in the first period with goals by Leetch and Graves (on a power play), both assisted by Sergei Zubov. Vancouver’s Trevor Linden responded with a shorthanded goal at 5:21 of the second period. Messier did not let that stand, and (assisted by Graves) he scored on a power play at 13:29. Even though Linden managed another power play goal at 4:50 of the third, Messier’s goal gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory. Despite delaying tactics employed by the Canucks, the Rangers held them off as MacTavish took one last faceoff just before 11 pm.

The Rangers and their fans exploded into celebrations, much like the fireworks that filled the ceiling. This was the first time in franchise history that they had won at Madison Square Garden. Mayor Giuliani was present and commented, “The Rangers won in dramatic style, just like New Yorkers always win in dramatic style.” Still, the New Yorkers did not riot though the heartbroken did back in Vancouver.

In the on-ice ceremony, Leetch received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the first American-born and second defenseman ever to be named playoff MVP. He led the team in scoring throughout the postseason with 34 points (11G, 23A). Messier followed with 30 points. Leetch said shortly thereafter, “Mark Messier told me this would be the toughest game in my entire life. Mark underestimated it a little bit.” He went on to say that it was not the Conn Smythe that mattered so much as the Stanley Cup. “I’ve never even been to the Finals. That’s exciting enough for me.” In fact, he later admitted, “We had played so much hockey and had so much emotion — the semifinals and Final both went seven games — that the biggest thing I felt after the game was relief.” Leetch said they all “spent the next few days celebrating.”

The Stanley Cup was brought onto the Garden’s ice for the first time since it was turned over to the Boston Bruins 22 years earlier. Then NHL Commissioner Bettman announced, “After 54 years, the nightmare is over! Captain Mark Messier, come get the Stanley Cup!” As Messier went to hoisted the Cup at 11:06 pm, long-time Ranger announcer Sam Rosen declared, “The Messiah has delivered.” Messier remarked, “Everybody deserves to hold it. I’ve won five other Stanley Cups, but I’ve never seen anything like this. All the history, the bad luck. This is so completely different. Fifty-four years of things gone bad . . . you can’t be afraid to slay the dragon.” In what could be considered the perfect summary, Messier said, “All the ghosts, all the bad luck for this organization . . . that’s what made this one different. Nineteen-forty, rest in peace.”

With the Rangers having broken their curse, Detroit was left with the longest drought. Their last Cup had been in 1955, but they broke their losing streak shortly thereafter. Currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active drought, at 51 years. Not having won the Cup again since 1994 (despite making the finals in 2014), the Rangers have an ongoing drought of 25 years (24 seasons).

Additional Sources:
In her personal history, Kyle Hurst hated her toe picks and wanted to skate on a hockey team like her brother. With age comes wisdom, and realizing how poorly she skates, she now much prefers watching the professionals. Writing about history for her day job, Kyle enjoys combining her two loves by writing hockey history. She still hates toe picks.

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