1998–99 New York Rangers season

The 1998–99 New York Rangers season was the 73rd season for the franchise. The Rangers missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season in what was Wayne Gretzky's final season in the National Hockey League.

1998–99 New York Rangers
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	11th Eastern
1998–99 record	33–38–11
Home record	17–19–5
Road record	16–19–6
Goals for	217
Goals against	227
Team information
General Manager	Neil Smith
Coach	John Muckler
Captain	Brian Leetch
Alternate captains	Adam Graves Jeff Beukeboom
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	18,200 (100%)
Team leaders
Goals	Adam Graves (38)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (53)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (62)
Penalty minutes	Ulf Samuelsson (93)
Wins	Mike Richter (27)
Goals against average	Mike Richter (2.63)

Wayne Gretzky's Farewell Game at Madison Square Garden

Regular season

Final standings

Atlantic Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	5	Philadelphia Flyers	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
3	8	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
4	10	New York Rangers	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
5	13	New York Islanders	82	24	48	10	194	244	58

[1]

Eastern Conference[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

The Great One retires

Wayne Gretzky's last NHL game in Canada was on April 16, 1999, in a 2–2 tie with the Ottawa Senators. His 1,487th and final game was a 2–1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins which had Jaromir Jagr, a future Ranger captain, scoring the game-winning goal on April 18, 1999, at Madison Square Garden. The national anthems in that game were adjusted to accommodate Gretzky's departure. In place of "O Canada, we stand on guard for thee," Bryan Adams sang "We're going to miss you Wayne Gretzky."[3] John Amirante changed lyrics in "The Star-Spangled Banner" from "the land of the free" to "the land of Wayne Gretzky." He scored his final point in this game, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by Brian Leetch. Gretzky was named as the first, second and third star of both games; only Maurice Richard had such an honour previously, for his performance in a 1944 playoff game.

At the time of his retirement, Gretzky was the second-to-last former WHA player still active in professional hockey, Mark Messier being the last. Messier, himself a former Ranger who would return to spend his final four playing years there, along with other representatives of the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s, attended the game.[4] Gretzky's final game was considered a "national retirement party" in Canada,[4] and Bryan Adams' rendition of "O Canada" was like a "lullaby."[4] As the final seconds ticked away, the crowd at Madison Square Garden gave him a standing ovation, capping off "an entirely satisfying, weekend-long going-away party" in Canada,[4] as there would be "No Regretzkys."[4]

Gretzky told Scott Morrison that the final game of his career was his greatest day.[5] He recounted:

My last game in New York was my greatest day in hockey...Everything you enjoy about the sport of hockey as a kid, driving to practice with mom [Phyllis] and dad [Walter], driving to the game with mom and dad, looking in the stands and seeing your mom and dad and your friends, that all came together in that last game in New York.[5]

Schedule and results

1998-99 Game Log
October: 3-4-3 (Home: 3-3-1; Road: 0-1-2) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 9 Philadelphia Flyers 1 - 0 0-1-0 2 10 @ Montreal Canadiens 7 - 1 0-2-0 3 12 St. Louis Blues 4 - 2 0-3-0 4 16 New Jersey Devils 2 - 1 0-4-0 5 17 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 3 OT 0-4-1 6 20 Edmonton Oilers 3 - 2 1-4-1 7 22 New York Islanders 3 - 2 2-4-1 8 24 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 2 OT 2-4-2 9 27 Buffalo Sabres 0 - 0 OT 2-4-3 10 30 Carolina Hurricanes 1 - 0 3-4-3
November: 3-5-4 (Home: 1-1-1; Road: 2-4-3) Game November Opponent Score Record 11 3 @ New Jersey Devils 3 - 1 3-5-3 12 4 Montreal Canadiens 4 - 1 3-6-3 13 7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 6 OT 3-6-4 14 10 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 10 - 2 4-6-4 15 11 @ Florida Panthers 4 - 1 4-7-4 16 13 Boston Bruins 3 - 3 OT 4-7-5 17 18 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3 - 1 4-8-5 18 19 @ Los Angeles Kings 5 - 1 5-8-5 19 21 @ San Jose Sharks 2 - 2 OT 5-8-6 20 25 @ Buffalo Sabres 4 - 2 5-9-6 21 27 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 2 OT 5-9-7 22 29 Nashville Predators 5 - 1 6-9-7
December: 7-6-0 (Home: 3-2-0; Road: 4-4-0) Game December Opponent Score Record 23 1 Florida Panthers 5 - 4 OT 7-9-7 24 2 @ New York Islanders 3 - 2 8-9-7 25 5 @ Ottawa Senators 2 - 1 9-9-7 26 7 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 2 10-9-7 27 9 Colorado Avalanche 2 - 1 10-10-7 28 11 @ Buffalo Sabres 2 - 0 10-11-7 29 14 Calgary Flames 5 - 2 11-11-7 30 16 @ New Jersey Devils 6 - 3 11-12-7 31 19 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7 - 4 11-13-7 32 23 Carolina Hurricanes 1 - 0 11-14-7 33 26 @ Carolina Hurricanes 6 - 3 12-14-7 34 30 @ Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 1 12-15-7 35 31 @ Colorado Avalanche 6 - 3 13-15-7
January: 6-7-0 (Home: 3-4-0; Road: 3-3-0) Game January Opponent Score Record 36 2 @ St. Louis Blues 1 - 0 14-15-7 37 4 San Jose Sharks 4 - 3 15-15-7 38 6 New Jersey Devils 5 - 2 15-16-7 39 7 @ Washington Capitals 5 - 1 15-17-7 40 10 Tampa Bay Lightning 5 - 2 16-17-7 41 13 New York Islanders 4 - 3 OT 17-17-7 42 15 Chicago Blackhawks 3 - 1 17-18-7 43 16 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 - 0 17-19-7 44 19 Ottawa Senators 2 - 1 17-20-7 45 21 Florida Panthers 2 - 1 17-21-7 46 26 @ Washington Capitals 4 - 1 18-21-7 47 28 @ Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 2 OT 18-22-7 48 30 @ Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 19-22-7
February: 6-6-0 (Home: 4-4-0; Road: 2-2-0) Game February Opponent Score Record 49 1 Washington Capitals 3 - 1 19-23-7 50 4 Vancouver Canucks 8 - 4 20-23-7 51 7 @ Boston Bruins 3 - 2 20-24-7 52 12 Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 1 20-25-7 53 14 Detroit Red Wings 4 - 2 20-26-7 54 15 @ Nashville Predators 7 - 4 21-26-7 55 17 Montreal Canadiens 6 - 3 21-27-7 56 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 6 - 1 22-27-7 57 21 @ Edmonton Oilers 2 - 1 OT 23-27-7 58 22 @ Calgary Flames 6 - 2 23-28-7 59 26 Phoenix Coyotes 3 - 0 24-28-7 60 28 Philadelphia Flyers 6 - 5 25-28-7
March: 6-5-3 (Home: 2-3-3; Road: 4-2-0) Game March Opponent Score Record 61 2 Dallas Stars 2 - 2 OT 25-28-8 62 4 @ Washington Capitals 4 - 2 26-28-8 63 7 @ Boston Bruins 3 - 1 27-28-8 64 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - 2 OT 28-28-8 65 10 Ottawa Senators 3 - 0 28-29-8 66 12 Boston Bruins 5 - 4 28-30-8 67 14 @ New York Islanders 3 - 2 OT 29-30-8 68 15 Washington Capitals 1 - 1 OT 29-30-9 69 19 Buffalo Sabres 3 - 2 OT 29-31-9 70 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 2 OT 29-31-10 71 22 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 6 - 3 29-32-10 72 24 @ Florida Panthers 2 - 1 30-32-10 73 27 @ Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 1 30-33-10 74 29 New York Islanders 3 - 1 31-33-10
April: 2-5-1 (Home: 1-2-0; Road: 1-3-1) Game April Opponent Score Record 75 2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4 - 1 31-34-10 76 4 @ New Jersey Devils 4 - 1 31-35-10 77 5 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5 - 1 32-35-10 78 8 @ Chicago Blackhawks 6 - 2 32-36-10 79 9 @ Dallas Stars 3 - 1 32-37-10 80 12 Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 1 33-37-10 81 15 @ Ottawa Senators 2 - 2 OT 33-37-11 82 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 1 OT 33-38-11

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Wayne Gretzky 70 9 53 62 -23 14 John MacLean 82 28 27 55 5 46 Brian Leetch 82 13 42 55 -7 42 Adam Graves 82 38 15 53 -12 47 Petr Nedved 56 20 27 47 -6 50 Marc Savard 70 9 36 45 -7 38 Kevin Stevens 81 23 20 43 -10 64 Niklas Sundstrom 81 13 30 43 -2 20 Mike Knuble 82 15 20 35 -7 26 Mathieu Schneider 75 10 24 34 -19 71 Todd Harvey 37 11 17 28 -1 72 Manny Malhotra 73 8 8 16 -2 13 Ulf Samuelsson^‡ 67 4 8 12 6 93 Brent Fedyk 67 4 6 10 -11 30 Jeff Beukeboom 45 0 9 9 -2 60 Alexei Kovalev^‡ 14 3 4 7 -6 12 Scott Fraser 28 2 4 6 -12 14 Chris Tamer^† 52 1 5 6 -12 92 Peter Popovic 68 1 4 5 -12 40 Rich Brennan 24 1 3 4 -4 23 Rumun Ndur^† 31 1 3 4 -2 46 Eric Lacroix^† 30 2 1 3 -5 4 Sean Pronger^†‡ 14 0 3 3 -3 4 Esa Tikkanen 32 0 3 3 -5 38 Jan Mertzig 23 0 2 2 -5 8 Alexander Karpovtsev^‡ 2 1 0 1 1 0 Jeff Finley^‡ 2 0 0 0 -1 0 Derek Armstrong 3 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Maneluk^† 4 0 0 0 -1 4 Geoff Smith 4 0 0 0 -5 2 Johan Witehall 4 0 0 0 0 0 Harry York^‡ 5 0 0 0 -1 4 P. J. Stock 5 0 0 0 -1 6 Christian Dube 6 0 0 0 0 0 Stan Neckar^†‡ 18 0 0 0 -1 8 Darren Langdon 44 0 0 0 -3 80

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Mike Richter	68	3878	27	30	8	170	2.63	1897	.910	4
Dan Cloutier	22	1097	6	8	3	49	2.68	570	.914	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

[6]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, New York at the Marine Midland Arena.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	7	Manny Malhotra	C	Canada	Guelph Storm (OHL)
2	40	Randy Copley	LW	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
3	66	Jason LaBarbera	G	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
4	114	Boyd Kane	LW	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
5	122	Pat Leahy	RW	United States	Miami University (Ohio) (NCAA)
5	131	Tomas Kloucek	D	Czech Republic	Slavia Prague (Czech Extraliga)
7	180	Stefan Lundqvist	RW	Sweden	Brynas IF (SEL)
8	207	Johan Witehall	LW	Sweden	Leksands IF (SEL)
9	235	Jan Mertzig	D	Sweden	Lulea HF (SEL)

Awards and honors

• Wayne Gretzky, Lady Byng Trophy
• Wayne Gretzky, MVP of NHL All-Star Game

References

Bibliography

• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Rangers on Hockey Database

1. Dinger 2011, p. 155.
2. "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
3. Brady, Erik (April 19, 1999). "He loved 'every part of the game'". USA Today. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
4. Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. p. 133. ISBN 1-55278-408-8.
5. Morrison, Scott (2008). Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day. Toronto: Key Porter Books. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-55470-086-8.
6. "1998-99 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-01.