10 greatest New York Rangers in franchise history

Frank Boucher is the second original member of the New York Rangers on this list. Along with Cook, he set the tone for the franchise. Boucher is best known for winning an eye-popping seven Lady Byng Trophies. It’s a bit surprising the NHL didn’t just decide to rename the award the “Frank Boucher Trophy”.

Boucher played for the Rangers for 13 seasons from 1926 to 1944. Boucher was named to four All-Star teams during his career. He actually came back in 1944 because the Blueshirts were so bad (and short-handed) because of World War II.

Following his playing career, which ended in 1938, Boucher coached the Rangers until 1954. The highlight of his coaching career? Leading the Blueshirts to the 1940 Stanley Cup.

He led the NHL in assists thrice in his career (1929, 1930, 1933). Boucher won two Stanley Cups for the Rangers as a player (1928, 1933). During the 1928 run, he led the postseason in goals, assists, and points. Four of his seven goals that postseason were game-winning goals.

Boucher was the Rangers’ first star player. He made the Blueshirts relevant right from the start. Boucher’s number does not hang from the rafters at Madison Square Garden, but to be fair, he did play when players didn’t wear numbers. Boucher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 as a player.

If you include his coaching tenure, there’s a good argument he should be in the top three. But for the purposes of this exercise, Boucher’s coaching wasn’t considered.