As time passes, and we avidly follow our favorite sports teams, a multitude of players come and go. While we may recall them during their time with the team, some manage to slip through the crevices of our memory, only to resurface through a nostalgic memory or an old piece of media, causing us to reconnect their faces and names with the iconic Rangers uniform.
Among the hallowed names like Messier, Leetch, Giacomin, Lundqvist, and others, there are those more unknown Rangers, such as Pascal Dupuis and Ilkka Heikkinen, Enver Lisin, and others who may have faded from our recollection. As we traverse the regular season, we’ll delve into a few of these “Forgotten Rangers”
Featured on this edition of Forgotten Rangers, are a Buffalo Sabres “legend,” a Stanley Cup winner but not with the Rangers, and a guy whose name sounds more fitting as an AI-generated name in EA NHL.
Todd White, Center
Time with Rangers: 18 games in 2010-11
After more than a decade in the league, Todd White epitomized the quintessential bottom-six center. He had ventured through various hockey leagues, including the SEL, IHL, AHL, and NHL, earning the title of a journeyman. White’s standout season came in 2009 when he was with the now-defunct Atlanta Thrashers, tallying 22 goals while sharing the ice with Bryan Little and Ilya Kovalchuk. Their line was famously known as the “Little White Russian” line.
In August 2010, White was traded for Donald Brashear and the previously mentioned Patrick Rissmiller. The Rangers acquired White to bolster their depth in the forward lines, particularly the bottom six. Regrettably, White failed to make a significant impact.
After just 18 games with the Rangers, where he managed a single goal and one assist, he was placed on waivers and went unclaimed. In a somewhat forgettable move, White played nine games for the Connecticut Whale, where he notched three goals and two assists before ultimately retiring from hockey later that season.
Summing up Todd White’s time with the Rangers is a bit perplexing; he was there one moment and gone the next, leaving little to linger in memory.
Tim Kennedy, Left Wing
Time with Rangers: 53 games for HFD/CT Whale, None for Rangers
Local hype machines can be great but also massively detrimental to a professional player.
Well, what do you mean by local hype machines?
When a player competes for the team they grew up watching or represents their hometown, they often become the focus of the local hype machine, elevating their status to sometimes unrealistic heights. Tim Kennedy was no exception to this phenomenon.
Hailing from Western NY and having a respectable rookie season with 26 points in 76 games, Tim Kennedy was celebrated as a hometown hero simply because he hailed from Buffalo. Kennedy had a solid collegiate career at Michigan State University, accumulating 43 points in his final two seasons. It seemed like everyone I knew who rooted for the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t stop talking about him.
However, Kennedy’s tenure with the Sabres didn’t unfold as expected due to disagreements on contract values. Kennedy believed his value was higher than what the Sabres were willing to pay, leading to a contract buyout. Subsequently, Kennedy signed with the Rangers before the 2010-11 season, with hopes of securing a spot on the team and providing secondary scoring.
Although Kennedy made appearances in a few preseason games, he fell short of making the Rangers’ opening night roster. He was waived and sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack, which later became the Connecticut Whale. Unfortunately, Kennedy’s stint with the Rangers consisted of just a handful of preseason games, a stint in the AHL, and a trade to the Florida Panthers, along with a third-round pick in exchange for Bryan McCabe.
Afterward, Kennedy had stints with the Panthers, Sharks, and Coyotes, and even played overseas for a while before returning to North America to play for his hometown team, the Rochester Americans, and most recently, the Binghamton Devils. Kennedy’s last ice time was in Ontario for the ACH, a Senior Ice League.
Pascal Dupuis, Left Wing
Time with Rangers: 6 games in 2006-07
The question of who wore the number 61 before Rick Nash has a surprising answer: none other than Pascal Dupuis. Yes, the very same Pascal Dupuis, known for being a two-time Stanley Cup winner alongside Sidney Crosby. In a somewhat unremarkable chapter in Rangers history, Dupuis was acquired by the Rangers on February 9th, 2007, in exchange for Adam Hall.
During his brief stint of six games with the team, he managed to score one goal. Although the stat sheet confirms it, there’s no video evidence to back it up, leading to speculation that perhaps Pascal had some tricks up his sleeve to bolster his Rangers’ performance.
Putting jest aside, Dupuis failed to leave a notable mark on the Rangers during his short six-game appearance. Consequently, he was traded away less than a month later, on February 27th of the same year, to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for winger Alex Bourret.
Dupuis remained with Atlanta for a season and a half before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins a year after enduring two trades in quick succession. The rest, as they say, is history. Dupuis played a crucial role in the Penguins’ 2008 Stanley Cup run, even though they ultimately fell to the Detroit Red Wings. He went on to win a Stanley Cup the following year, once again against Detroit.
Dupuis continued to be a dependable forward for the Penguins in the ensuing years, forming a formidable offensive unit alongside stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, contributing to the team’s scoring depth. Sadly, Dupuis had to face adversity when diagnosed with blood clots.
After battling through a series of injuries and complications arising from these clots, he made the difficult decision to retire midway through the 2015-16 season. Fortunately, he had the opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup once more with his teammates that summer.
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