Ratelle getting set for big fete

When Jean Ratelle received a phone call earlier this year from Rangers president and former teammate Glen Sather telling Ratelle the franchise wanted to retire his No. 19, Ratelle responded quickly. “It’d be a great honor,” he told Sather.

It’s been 42 years since Ratelle, 76, last played for the Rangers and 32 years since he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. At last, Ratelle’s No. 19 will rise to the rafters on Sunday, Feb. 25 when the Rangers host the Red Wings.

“Not every day you get to have your sweater retired up there,” Ratelle said Wednesday before the 35th annual Rangers Golf Classic at Westchester Country Club. “I don’t know how I’m gonna feel, but I know I’ll be nervous, for sure.”

It’s a distinction long overdue for the classy center of the famed GAG line along with Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield.

There were never any problems between him and the Rangers, Ratelle said. He did say he felt a sense of allegiance to Boston, to which he was traded with Brad Park in the blockbuster on Nov. 7, 1975 that brought Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to New York.

Ratelle spent 26 seasons with the Bruins organization — six as a player, four as an assistant coach and 16 years as a scout, a period during which he worked for thenBruins executive and current Rangers GM Jeff Gorton.