{"id":657638,"date":"2026-05-22T02:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T02:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657638\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T02:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T02:40:19","slug":"the-cup-champion-94-rangers-still-cant-forget-how-their-coach-almost-ruined-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657638\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cup-champion \u201994 Rangers still can\u2019t forget how their coach almost ruined it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This is the last in a four-part, season-long series looking back at the New York Rangers\u2019 four Stanley Cup wins as the team celebrates its centennial season. Read Part 1 about the 1928 championship here<\/a>, Part 2 about the 1933 title here<\/a>\u00a0and Part 3 about the 1940 squad here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following one of multiple benchings by New York Rangers coach Mike Keenan during the 1993-94 regular season, decorated defenseman Brian Leetch received a surprise phone call from fellow Norris Trophy winner Chris Chelios.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on with Iron Mike?\u201d asked Chelios, then playing for Keenan\u2019s former team, the Chicago Blackhawks. \u201cHe called me the other night, and he\u2019s trying to trade me for you. I don\u2019t want to leave here. Do you want to leave New York?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d Leetch emphatically replied.<\/p>\n

Tension would circle the Rangers throughout what became the most memorable season in the franchise\u2019s 100-year history, which culminated with a seven-game series win over the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final. Keenan was at the center of it, with the abrasive bench boss creating constant turmoil and pushing his accomplished team to the edge of dysfunction. By the time the 1994 NHL playoffs began, though, Leetch was resolved to ditch the drama and move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the playoffs started, I felt free,\u201d the Hall of Famer recently said. \u201cI was like, \u2018This could be my last year in New York, so let\u2019s just go play your game.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first two rounds, that\u2019s precisely how it went. The Blueshirts swept the rival Islanders, then blew through the Washington Capitals in five games. Leetch registered points in all nine games, totaling 17 to lead the team.<\/p>\n

But the player-coach friction that he thought he\u2019d left behind came crashing back in an epic Eastern Conference final against the New Jersey Devils. The Athletic spoke to several players and involved parties about a moment that threatened to derail a championship season, as well as the fallout and ways that a veteran-laden team rallied to overcome it to attain what still stands as the Rangers\u2019 most recent championship.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is the f\u2014ing playoffs\u2019<\/p>\n

The upstart Devils were loaded with emerging talent, including future Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens, and played a swarming, lockdown style using coach Jacques Lemaire\u2019s signature neutral-zone trap. They finished second to the Rangers for the best record in the league and were considered the primary adversary in New York\u2019s quest to end its 54-year championship drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intensity of that series would match, if not exceed, (that of the Stanley Cup) finals,\u201d Keenan said. \u201cIt was competitive and razor-thin.\u201d<\/p>\n

With New Jersey in mind, Keenan, hired the previous spring after the Rangers surprisingly missed the playoffs, had spent much of the 1993-94 season hounding general manager Neil Smith to add bigger, stronger players with postseason experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t feel that the team was good enough with the players we had,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd I knew who he didn\u2019t like.\u201d<\/p>\n

The needling didn\u2019t prevent Smith from aggressively fortifying the roster with in-season trades. He used players Keenan wanted to move on from, most notably skilled forwards Tony Amonte and Mike Gartner, to acquire veterans Glenn Anderson, Steve Larmer, Craig MacTavish, Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan. The deals made the Rangers deeper, but Keenan\u2019s forceful nature began to sour the GM-coach relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem was the way he goes about things,\u201d Smith said. \u201c(But) I didn\u2019t want any excuses for us not to win the Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rangers were marching toward that goal when conflict bubbled back to the surface. Carrying a 2-1 series lead into Game 4, which was played at Brendan Byrne Arena near the swamps of East Rutherford, N.J., the team was outshot 11-3 during the first period while surrendering goals to the Devils\u2019 St\u00e9phane Richer and Bill Guerin. The latter prompted Keenan to pull starting goalie Mike Richter in favor of backup Glenn Healy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he made the goalie change, was that to motivate the team? Was that to punish Mike, who had gotten us there?\u201d Healy asked. \u201cI don\u2019t know that answer, but I know I wasn\u2019t the elixir. I can tell you that. I was there to stop the bleeding. I was like that guy from Monty Python with no arms and legs going, \u2018So you call a draw, do you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Healy-for-Richter swap raised eyebrows, but what came next was even more shocking. Early in the second period, Smith realized he hadn\u2019t seen Leetch on the ice in a while. Noonan was benched, too, with captain Mark Messier also being held off for a brief spell.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just horribly frustrating,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou\u2019re like, \u2018This is the f\u2014ing playoffs. What are you doing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Leetch would remain on the bench for the rest of the game at the instruction of assistant Colin Campbell. Keenan never spoke directly to his No. 1 defenseman, Leetch remembered, nor did the coach offer an explanation afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just sitting there, shaking my head,\u201d Leetch said. \u201cI\u2019m thinking, \u2018I can\u2019t freaking believe this is happening.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rangers were reeling, yet kept the game within striking distance. Matteau scored at the 8:47 mark of the second period to cut the deficit to 2-1, but that wasn\u2019t enough to convince Keenan to reinsert Leetch.<\/p>\n

For players, the most maddening moment came early in the third when Guerin was called for high-sticking, giving New York a prime man-advantage opportunity to tie the score. Defenseman Jay Wells pleaded with Keenan to pull him in favor of Leetch, the team\u2019s usual power-play quarterback, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

At one point, Wells skated over to Leetch and told him to hop over the boards anyway. But Leetch was unwilling to make such a defiant gesture.<\/p>\n

\u201cJay was so tired because he wasn\u2019t used to playing every other shift, and he goes, \u2018Just go! Just jump on the ice!’\u201d Leetch recalled with a laugh. \u201cI go, \u2018No, Jay. He\u2019s the coach.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Valeri Zelepukin extended the Devils\u2019 lead to 3-1 with 6:42 to play, but Keenan chose to leave Healy in net in the waning minutes, rather than pulling the goalie for an extra attacker. It was the final curious decision in a game filled with head-scratchers.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Keenan, shown here during the \u201994 Stanley Cup Final, caused numerous playoff controversies behind the Rangers\u2019 bench. (John Biever \/ Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

An edgy confrontation<\/p>\n

The Rangers were still seething as Keenan attempted to address the team following a demoralizing 3-1 loss, with a few snapping back or muttering under their breath. Then Eddie Olczyk decided to intercede.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old forward was in the midst of the most frustrating season of his career. He came to New York via trade the year prior, having registered nine seasons of 20 goals or more, including 42 in 1987-88. But he quickly found himself in Keenan\u2019s doghouse and only appeared in 37 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

Olczyk\u2019s usage diminished even further in the playoffs, where he was a healthy scratch in all but one contest. Yet he remained one of the most respected voices in the room, with teammates voting him as the recipient of the annual Players\u2019 Player Award for exemplifying \u201cwhat it means to be a team player.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so important to our team,\u201d Leetch said. \u201cWe all hear him on TV and know what he\u2019s been through<\/a>, but he\u2019s like that on a daily basis. You really need a consistent, positive person in that room. He had no problem talking to Mike out loud at some meetings, because he\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019re not playing me anyway, so this is what\u2019s going on. Why are you doing this?\u2019 \u2026 But then he was like, \u2018OK, back to work.’\u201d<\/p>\n

That was most evident in the edgy moments after Game 4, when Olczyk confronted Keenan in front of the entire team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, I challenged him,\u201d Olczyk said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re not playing and you\u2019re not in the heat of the battle, it\u2019s not easy to stand up in front of everybody and to be able to do that or say that. But you\u2019ve just got to do what you think is best for the team, and you\u2019ve got to know your role. And I felt that that was my role.\u201d<\/p>\n

News reports would later surface that Keenan was negotiating with the Detroit Red Wings during the Rangers\u2019 playoff run, but Olczyk and many of his teammates had already heard whispers. And while Olczyk didn\u2019t directly accuse him of flirting with another club after Game 4, Keenan fired back about what he perceived as a player questioning his loyalty.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told us to get the f\u2014 out of the locker room,\u201d Olycyzk recalled. \u201cAnd then (defenseman) Kevin Lowe said to him, \u2018Mike, I think you should leave, because this is our room.\u2019 And then (Keenan) got up and walked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messier addresses the mess<\/p>\n

Prior to practice the next day at Rye Playland, Keenan summoned a select group of Rangers beat writers into his office and asked them to turn off their tape recorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeetch\u2019s shoulder is f\u2014ed,\u201d he told them, according to longtime Rangers reporter Rick Carpiniello in his 2023 book, \u201cThe Franchise: New York Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years later, Keenan also pointed to an infected elbow that Leetch sustained following a slash from Devils forward Claude Lemieux as part of the reason for Leetch\u2019s benching \u2014 a justification he reiterated during a recent interview. Leetch, meanwhile, has consistently pushed back on that narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not an injury issue,\u201d Leetch said. \u201cI was fine to practice. We\u2019re all banged up, and there were multiple guys, myself included, taking the needle. But it had nothing to do with my play on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we read that the next day, (my teammates) were like, \u2018Leetchie, you were hurt?\u2019 I go, \u2018No!’\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless, the incident added to the disjointed feeling that was consuming the team, forcing everyone to \u201cweed through what\u2019s bulls\u2014 and what\u2019s real,\u201d as Healy put it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Messier\u2019s leadership came to the forefront. He often served as the buffer between Keenan and the rest of the team, with one of their most important meetings occurring before that May 22 practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMess had a one-on-one conversation with him, then Mess told us all that\u2019ll never happen again,\u201d Olczyk said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t, and we ended up winning the Stanley Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t come easy. The Rangers still looked out of sorts while losing Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, 4-1, which pushed them to the brink of elimination. But they dug deep, with Messier guaranteeing a Game 6 win (sort of<\/a>), then producing a legendary hat trick after Richter stood on his head to weather an early New Jersey onslaught. Game 7 went down as an NHL classic, with Matteau scoring his famous double-overtime winner to send New York to its first Cup Final since 1979.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the greatest series ever played,\u201d said longtime Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko, who credited that experience for propelling Jersey to its first of three titles in eight years the next season. \u201cThat was our learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blueshirts survived another seven-game series in the Cup Final to beat the Canucks and earn their first championship since 1940. Leetch finished with 34 points (11 goals and 23 assists) and a plus-19 rating in 23 games, receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason.<\/p>\n

He would play nine more seasons with the Rangers and finish second in franchise history with 981 points, but the coaching situation was deemed untenable. Keenan left a month later to take over as GM and coach for the St. Louis Blues, leaving behind many frayed relationships in New York. It remained that way with him and Leetch for years, until the latter approached his former coach to clear the air at a charity event.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me just say that I\u2019ve only won one Stanley Cup,\u201d Leetch said. \u201cMike Keenan\u2019s on that with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The 1993-94 Rangers reunited in Feb. 2019 for a ceremony at Madison Square Garden. (Joshua Sarner \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u2018I give Keenan credit\u2019<\/p>\n

Other members of the 1993-94 champion Rangers aren\u2019t as forgiving, expressing mixed opinions over whether Keenan\u2019s mind games benefited the team by bringing them closer together or became an obstacle they won in spite of. What isn\u2019t debatable is that their blend of talent, experience and mental fortitude left them uniquely positioned to thrive under such tense conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cA different type of team would have imploded,\u201d Leetch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the group and you look down the roster, this was a team that probably had nine or 10 guys that could have been the captain of the team, if not for having the greatest leader in all of sports (Messier),\u201d added Healy. \u201cWe can paint a great little story, but I just believe it\u2019s the players in that uniform that were the ones that said, \u2018This year is our year. We\u2019re not going to be denied.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For Keenan, time has led to a deeper appreciation of what his players endured. He again cited injury as his reason for benching Leetch and defended his decision to bench Richter as less about the goalie\u2019s individual play and more because the team was \u201cnot playing up to standards.\u201d But in a moment of self-reflection, he aptly told The Athletic, \u201cThere was no one in that locker room that, in my opinion, was a distraction \u2014 except for maybe myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will always be an undertone of uneasiness, but Leetch has chosen to focus on the positives, particularly how Keenan\u2019s demanding style led to the best conditioning of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur practices and our fitness level was as good as could be,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of that is definitely a tribute to Mike. He got us ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, whether Keenan\u2019s approach was calculated or reckless, it produced the desired outcome. The Rangers have only won one Stanley Cup title in the last 86 years, and it came with one of the most volatile coaches in franchise history at the helm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Mike hadn\u2019t been the coach, I\u2019m not sure that by the time the playoffs came, the team would have been as resilient and hard-nosed as they were,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf we had (previous coach) Roger Neilson there, who was a player\u2019s coach and a great guy, maybe the team wouldn\u2019t have bonded together like they did. They needed that kind of an asshole for them to all bond together, and so I give Keenan credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t win if we don\u2019t have Keenan,\u201d he said, before laughing and adding, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t mean that I had to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: This is the last in a four-part, season-long series looking back at the New York Rangers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4823,385,99],"class_list":["post-657638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}