2000′s Recap: 2002-03 Edition…Just….Ugh…
Record: 32-36-10-4 (78 points)
Finish: Fourth place Atlantic Division, ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Missed the playoffs by five points behind the eighth place Isles.
Coach: Bryan Trottier (21-26-6-1), fired 54 games in. Replaced by Glen Sather (11-10-4-3)
Leading Scorers: Petr Nedved (27 goals, 31 assists), Eric Lindros (19 goals, 34 assists), Tom Poti (11 goals and 37 assists)
Players You May Not Remember: Vladimir Malakhov, Ronald Petrovicky, Joel Bouchard, Boris Mironov, ANSON CARTER, Cory Cross, Ted Donato, Ales Pisa, Josh Green, Krzysztof Oliwa, Dale Purinton, Billy Tibbets, (More)
Goalie: Mike Dunham (19-17-5) Mike Richter (5-6-1), Dan Blackburn (8-16-4)
Notes: Pavel Bure played the final 39 games of his career this season as a 31 year old. He had 19 goals and 11 assists in that time. Brian Leetch played 51 games that season and was injured within weeks of Bure getting hurt, or the other way around. He had 12 goals and 18 assists in that time. The Captain Mark Messier put in 40 points as a 41 year old. Bobby Holik, in his first season as a Ranger put in 35 points in 64 games. Darius Kasparaitis played in 80 games in his first season as a Ranger. The team re-acquired Alex Kovalev from the cash-strapped Penguins and he struggled and only put in 13 points in 24 games. Radek Dvorak was traded for Anson Carter, the second year in a row the Rangers traded with Edmonton at the deadline. Eric Lindros was a huge bust in his second season, after putting up over 70 points his first year. The Rangers were picked by many to come out of the Eastern Conference. Read here about how this year was going to be different.
Thoughts: O boy, this was the season. This was going to be it, the Rangers were going to be AWESOME. I was so excited, yet I overlooked the most important factor about this time from the beginning. BRYAN TROTTIER WAS THE COACH. Arguably the greatest Islander was picked to lead the Rangers. The Rangers were over .500 ONCE during his 54 games as coach. When the team was 1-0-0. They hovered around .500 but never went over it. I remember the day he was fired, WFAN was talking Rangers all day long, it was great but sucked. This team had a lot more wrong with it than that. Bure’s and Leetch’s injuries were killer. Mike Richter never played again after the November 5th win over Edmonton when Todd Marchant kicked him in the head. Danny Blackburn, as a 19 year old, played 18 straight games before Mike Dunham was acquired. Dunham actually had a winning record the rest of that season. It was all too little to late. Kovalev was a bust, big time, but they gave up basically nothing to get him. Lindros was just awful and I am still waiting for a reason why. I have a vague recollection that Leetch pinched in and scored the winner against Calgary in 1-0 OT game. I also remember trying that same move the next day in my basement. Jamie Lundmark started to show some promise as a 22 year old that never went fulfilled. Tom Poti finished third on this team in scoring. That is all.
The team picture is after the jump, Trottier is not in the picture, but there is another picture of him after the jump.
