Rangers celebrate silver anniversary of ‘94 champions

From the moment Mark Messier came to the New York Rangers in 1991, he knew he was expected to lead the team to its first Stanley Cup championship in more than 50 years.

“There was no escaping the pressure of 1940,” Messier said about the last year the Rangers had won the Cup. “Coming here and understanding what the Original Six franchise was and this history, there was no escaping it. The pressure was real, from the fans, the organization.”

Messier accomplished the task in 1994 as the Rangers ended their 54year title drought by outlasting the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final. Honored with a parade in the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan that June, the players from that team were back at Madison Square Garden on Friday night to celebrate the 25-year anniversary prior to presentday Rangers’ 3-0 loss to the Hurricanes.

“When you are in New York, not a day goes by that you don’t run into someone that you get reminded, get smiles,” Adam Graves said before the ceremony that preceded the Rangers’ game against Carolina. “Back then you never thought you’d be impacting the way we have been, it is very special.”

From general manager Neil Smith, coach Mike Keenan, to stars Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Craig MacTavish and Stephane Matteau, each were introduced one by one to a rousing ovation. The only absences from the group were Alexander Karpovtsev, who was killed along with most of the KHL Lokomotiv team in a plane crash in 2011, and Brian Noonan, who was said to have a prior commitment.

Messier said he’s been approached by countless people over since who thanked him and claimed to have witnessed the Game 7 win in New York.

“I didn’t realize Madison Square Garden holds 2 million people,” he joked, “because I’ve talked to 2 million people over 25 years that were here that night. That’s been interesting. It never gets old ... never get tired of speaking with people on the street or in the subway or trains, or taxi drivers that recognize the guys or myself and thank us for the Cup.”

Messier is also remembered for his famous for his declaration before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against New Jersey when, with the Rangers trailing 3-2 in the series, he guaranteed the team would win Game 6.

Messier said he was simply trying to let his teammates know he believed in the team.

“I really felt we could go into New Jersey and win, and I wanted the guys to know it,” he said. “The papers the next day were what they were. It wasn’t going to motivate New Jersey any more.”

Leetch said the team chuckled when they saw Messier’s Game 6 guarantee in the papers, and it didn’t change anything about their preparation for that game.