The New York Rangers have been pretty lucky over the years when it has come to the men who stand in between the pipes.

I remember when I was a kid, my dad and I would grab the 13-inch television, put it out on the kitchen table and watch Peter Puck kick off the hockey broadcast. The first New York Rangers goalie I remember playing in net was JD. John Davidson, with that awesome Rangers mask, was the man in net as the Rangers went on to the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadians.

The Rangers organization has been relatively successful with regards to the men who have stand goal for them. Since 1926, there have been great goalies defending the nets in Ranger Blue. Lester Patrick, Gump Worsley, Emil Francis, to name a few have all put on the pads for the Rangers.

It’s now time to look back at some of the goalie’s in the history of the Rangers and I have decided to begin this journey with the 1965 season and Ed Giacomin:

Ed Giacomin

• Played for Rangers 1965-66 – 1975-76

The winner of the Vezina Trophy in 1971, Eddie Giacomin played goal for the Rangers for almost 11 years. His stats while with the Rangers were 266 wins, 172 losses, 89 ties in 538 games played. He was waived and claimed by Detroit in the 1975-76 season. His first game for Detroit was against his former team at Madison Square Garden where he received a standing ovation. Eddie was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of fame in 1987 capping off an incredible career.

John Davidson

• Played for Rangers  1976-77 – 1982-83

Traded from the St. Louis Blues in 1975, JD enjoyed an eight-year career with the Rangers playing in 222 games for them with a record of 93 wins, 90 losses and 25 ties. JD led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1978-79 season where the team lost to the Montreal Canadians. After retiring due to injury, he joined MSG’s hockey coverage staff in

After retiring due to injury, he joined MSG’s hockey coverage staff in 1983 and was the color commentator for Rangers games from 1986–87 to 2005–06. Along with play-by-play man Sam Rosen, JD had a great career and was part of the broadcast as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. In 2009, He was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the 2009 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions to broadcasting. Currently, JD is the president of hockey operations for the  Columbus Blue Jackets.

Currently, JD is the president of hockey operations for the  Columbus Blue Jackets.

Glen Hanlon

• Played With Rangers 1982-83 – 1985-86

Glen Hanlon played in 138 games as a Ranger. He had 56 wins, 56 losses and 13 ties. Hanlon will is most remembered for his 1984 playoff series against the Islanders. In this fifth and deciding game, he and the Rangers lost to the Islanders 3-2 as Ken Morrow scored the OT winner. The game and series were played so well that hated goalie Billy Smith, who didn’t like the series ending handshakes, came up and actually put an arm around Hanlon.

John Vanbiesbrouck

• Played with Rangers 1981-82 – 1992-93

Beezer, as his teammates and fans called him, had a great Rangers career. He played in 499 games with the team recording 200 wins, 177 losses and 47 T/OT. In the 1985-86 season, he won the Vezina Trophy with  28 wins, 21 losses, 4 ties.  At the end of the 1993 season, he was traded to Vancouver for future considerations which turned out to be D Doug Lidster.

Mike Richter

• Played with Rangers 1989-90 – 2002-03
• 1994 Stanley Cup Champion

Mike Richter played for 14 seasons, his entire career, with the New York Rangers. 666 games played, registering 301 wins, 258 losses and 73 ties. In 1994, Richter had his best season as a professional. He was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game held at Madison Square Garden, where he won the MVP Award, he recorded 42 wins that season and then went on to win the Stanley Cup. In early November 2002, he suffered a concussion and missed most of that season. Richter retired the following season.

Henrik Lundqvist

• Played With Rangers 2005-06 – Present

The King, as he is commonly known, has been the steady number one goalie for the Rangers since the 2005-06 season. in 742 games played, Hank has compiled 405 wins, 249 losses and 76 ties. He won the Vezina Trophy in the 2011-12 season recording 39 wins, 18 losses and five ties. He registered 30 or more wins in every season he has played in with the exception of the 2012-13 season when the NHL and its players battled through a lockout. Hank has been to two Eastern Conference Championships and one Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 2014, a spot in which he and the Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

Ranger fans sometimes don’t recognize how lucky we all have been. Most people only look at Stanley Cups won as a way to measure how good a goalie is for this team. Just looking at the few men listed above who have stood tall in the net for our hockey club is impressive. They have given their all to win for the team and for the fans. Great job boys.