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 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 Corey Locke, Sandis Ozolinsh, James Sheppard, 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”.
In this edition, we feature a guy who the Rangers shouldn’t have traded and another guy who played for the Rangers that fits the definition of forgotten (but he did get a hat trick in 2002 though!)
Jeff Toms, Forward
Time with Rangers: 53 Games for the Rangers between 2000 and 2002
Before making his debut with the New Jersey Devils, Toms found himself traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he spent several seasons before being picked up on waivers by the Washington Capitals. Toms left his mark on December 5, 1997, by scoring both the first game-winning goal and the inaugural overtime goal in the history of Capital One Arena (formerly known as MCI Center).
His journey in the NHL also took him through stints with the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Florida Panthers.
During his time with the Rangers, he suited up for 53 games in total throughout 2000 and 2002. Primarily shuffling through Hartford and New York, Toms had one bright spot with the Rangers, as he notched a hat trick on January 23rd, 2002 against the Boston Bruins, with his third goal coming on the power play that was deflected in off a shot by Mike York.
In 2003, Toms embarked on a new chapter in Europe, dividing the 2003-04 season between the Russian Superleague with HC Severstal Cherepovets and Switzerland’s Nationalliga A with EHC Basel.
He then settled into the Swiss league for the remainder of his playing days, representing HC Ambri-Piotta for two seasons, followed by three seasons with SCL Tigers, and ultimately concluding his career with Genève-Servette HC. Toms proudly wore the Team Canada jersey at the Spengler Cup tournaments in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Marc Savard, Forward
Time with Rangers: 98 games with Rangers between 1997 and 1999
This one seems to annoy me a bit since Marc Savard was an effective hockey player who could have given the Rangers some life during the Dark Ages, had the organization decided to keep their youth instead of dealing them for instant gratification.
Savard’s journey through hockey began in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Oshawa Generals back in 1993–94. His prowess on the ice quickly became evident, particularly in his second season when he topped the league charts with an impressive 139 points. This performance caught the eye of the New York Rangers, who drafted him 91st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
Remaining in the OHL for two more seasons, Savard continued to dazzle, securing his second Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy with 130 points in the 1996–97 season. He played a pivotal role in leading the Generals to victory in the 1997 J. Ross Robertson Cup, culminating in an appearance in the 1997 Memorial Cup.
Transitioning to professional play, Savard joined the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the 1997–98 season. Despite spending most of his time there, he demonstrated his scoring prowess with 74 points in 58 games, leading the team. Despite limited appearances for the Rangers, Savard’s talent was evident, though he only managed six points in 28 games.
The following season, with a change in coaching staff, Savard saw an increased role with the Rangers under John Muckler. Despite his youth, he became a valuable contributor, tallying 45 points in 70 games during the 1998–99 season. Notably, he achieved this while playing fewer minutes on average compared to other top scorers on the team.
However, despite his promising performance, Savard’s time with the Rangers was cut short due to a controversial trade. At the end of that season, he found himself traded to the Calgary Flames, packaged alongside the Rangers’ first-round pick for Oleg Saprykin. In exchange, Calgary sent over their first-round pick (Jamie Lundmark) and a third-round selection (Craig Anderson), which was later dealt back to Calgary, along with the rights to Jan Hlavac.
Following the trade, Savard’s career continued to flourish. He notched 53 points in the 1999-2000 season and 65 points in 2000-01, reaching a career pinnacle with 97 points during his tenure with Atlanta in 2005-06. Throughout his career, he amassed an impressive 706 points in 807 games, culminating in a Stanley Cup win with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
On the flip side, the Rangers’ haul from the trade didn’t quite pan out as expected. Lundmark, selected ninth overall in 1999, struggled to make a significant impact, never surpassing eight goals in a season for New York before being traded to Phoenix in 2005-06. He currently plies his trade for Klagenfurt AC in Austria.
The third-round pick eventually found its way back to Calgary, while Hlavac, though initially a productive player for the Rangers with 104 points in 146 games, was later shipped off to Philadelphia as part of the deal that brought Eric Lindros to New York in 2001. Hlavac did have a solid 2003-04 season with the Rangers, tallying 26 points in 72 games.
Unfortunately, his NHL career came to an abrupt halt in 2010-11 due to post-concussion syndrome but before that, Savard was a productive forward that could have possibly given the Rangers a much-needed boost that they sorely needed down the middle had the team decided to keep him.
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