The winningest goaltender in team history, a 700-goal scorer and one of the NHL’s best defensemen of the 21st century are among the greatest New York Rangers to wear Nos. 21-30 during the franchise’s first 100 seasons.
The list also includes two captains, the top point producer on the last Blueshirts team to win the Stanley Cup — and one of the most agitating players in NHL history.
Here’s a look at the best players in Blueshirts history to wear each of the numbers from 21 through 30 — (for the best players from 00-9, click here; for the best from 10-20, click here).
21 – Sergei Zubov (1992-95: 165 GP; 30-126-156)
The Rangers gave up one Hall of Famer and got another one when Guy Lafleur signed with the Quebec Nordiques in July 1989, with the Blueshirts receiving a fifth-round pick in the 1990 NHL Draft as compensation. That pick turned out to be Zubov, a Russian defenseman who arrived in the Big Apple in December 1992 and was an immediate success. One year later, he led the Cup-winning Rangers with 77 assists and 89 points, then had five goals and 19 points during the Rangers’ run to the 1994 Stanley Cup — including two assists in Game 7 of the Final. He had 36 points in 38 games in 1994-95, but the Rangers traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins that summer. The Pens dealt Zubov to the Dallas Stars a year later, and though he never matched his 1993-94 numbers, he consistently hit double figures in goals and helped the Stars win their only Cup in 1999. Zubov retired in 2008 and earned induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
Runner-up: Derek Stepan (2010-17: 515 GP; 128-232-360)
22 – Mike Gartner (1990-94: 322 GP; 173-113-286)
The Rangers were pushing for their first first-place finish since 1942 at the 1990 NHL Trade Deadline when GM Neil Smith landed Gartner, the proven goal-scorer he’d been looking for, from the Minnesota North Stars. Gartner did exactly what Smith got him to do — put the puck in the net. He had 11 goals in 12 games after the deal, helping New York win the Patrick Division, then scored 49, 40 and 45 in the next three seasons. Gartner is still the only player in Rangers history with three seasons of 40-plus goals. His scoring touch dropped a bit in 1993-94, and Smith (at the behest of coach Mike Keenan) dealt him to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline. Gartner played two more seasons with Toronto and two more with the Phoenix Coyotes before retiring with 708 goals and 17 seasons with 30 or more tallies — but never made it to the Stanley Cup Final. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Runner-up: Nick Fotiu (1976-79 and 1981-85: 455 GP; 41-63-104)
23 – Adam Fox (2019-present: 486 GP; 72-350-422)
Runner-up: Jeff Beukeboom (1991-99: 520 GP; 18-72-90)
Fox, a Long Island native, was determined to play with the Rangers — so much so that he refused to sign with the Calgary Flames, who drafted him in 2016, or the Carolina Hurricanes, who traded for him in 2018 but dealt him to the Rangers a year later to avoid losing him for nothing. Fox made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2019-20, won the Norris Trophy a year later and has been one of the NHL’s top defensemen throughout his seven seasons on Broadway.
24 – Ryan Callahan (2006-14: 450 GP; 132-122-254)
The Rangers probably didn’t expect much from Callahan, a forward they selected in the fourth round (No.. 127 overall) in the 2004 draft — certainly not a future captain. But that’s what Callahan became in 2011, when he officially replaced Chris Drury, who retired due to injuries. Callahan responded with a career year, finishing with 29 goals and 54 points. Injuries, mostly related to his physical style of play, began to take their toll after that, and the Rangers made a captain-for-captain swap on March 5, 2014, dealing him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Martin St. Louis. He remained with the Bolts until retiring in 2019.
Runner-up: Pierre Larouche (1983-87: 253 GP; 123-120-243)
25 – John Ogrodnick (1987-92: 338 GP; 126-128-254)
50-goal scorers don’t grow on trees, so Rangers GM Phil Esposito jumped at the chance to get one in September 1987 when he acquired Ogrodnick from the Quebec Nordiques in a four-player trade. The veteran left wing had 55 goals and 105 points for the Detroit Red Wings in 1984-85 after scoring 41 and 42 goals in the previous two seasons. The Wings had traded him to the Nordiques in the middle of a disappointing 1986-87 season, but new Rangers coach Michel Bergeron wanted him, and Espo obliged. Injuries hampered Ogrodnick during his first two seasons in New York, but he was healthy in 1989-90 and scored 43 goals, helping the Rangers to a first-place finish for the first time since 1941-42. He had 31 goals in 1990-91, but dropped to 17 the following season and was traded back to the Wings in the summer of 1992. Ogrodnick retired in 1993 as one of the least-known 400-goal scorers in NHL history.
Runner-up:Orland Kurtenbach (1961 and 1966-70: 199 GP; 30-61-91)
26 – Dave Maloney (1974-84: 605 GP; 70-225-295)
The second Rangers player ever to wear No. 26 is also the youngest captain in team history. GM Emile Francis selected Maloney with the 14th pick in the 1974 draft, and he got the “C” four years later after Phil Esposito stepped down. He celebrated with the first of four straight double-figure seasons in goals and wore the “C” as the Rangers upset the Islanders in the Semifinals in 1979 to advance to the Final for the first time in seven years. Maloney, by now a teammate of younger brother Don Maloney, was a consistent point producer from the blue line through the early 1980s before the Rangers dealt him to the Buffalo Sabres in December 1984, and he retired in the summer of 1985. But his ties to the Rangers are still strong; he did color on their radio broadcasts for 20 years before becoming their full-time TV analyst this past season.
Runner-up:Joe Kocur (1991-96: 278 GP; 14-15-29)
27 – Ryan McDonagh (2011-18: 516 GP; 51-187-238)
McDonagh was the big prize in one of the great trades in Rangers history; they got him from Montreal in a 2009 trade that sent center Scott Gomez to the Canadiens. He made the NHL midway through the 2010-11 season and quickly became one of the NHL’s best two-way defensemen, contributing some offense while shutting down opponents well enough to finish as a plus player in each of his seven-plus seasons on Broadway. He was named captain in October 2014. But after the Rangers hit the skids in 2017-18, they decided to trade him to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The deal was great for the Bolts — and for McDonagh, who earned Stanley Cup rings in 2020 and 2021. He’ll enter his 18th NHL season in the fall.
Runner-up:Alex Kovalev (1991-98 and 2003-04: 492 GP; 142-188-330)
28 – Tomas Sandstrom (1984-90: 407 GP; 173-207-380)
Sandstrom irritated opposing goaltenders with his offensive skills; he antagonized whole teams as one of the most aggressive power forwards of his era. The Rangers took the Swedish forward in the second round of the 1982 draft; he made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1984-85 after a 29-goal, 58-point season. Sandstrom blended scoring prowess with physicality — in 1988-89, he had a career-high 148 penalty minutes while scoring 32 goals and piling up 88 points in 79 games. But they sent Sandstrom to the Los Angeles Kings in January 1990 as part of the package that brought Bernie Nicholls, then third in the NHL in scoring, to Broadway. He won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1997 and retired two years later.
Runner-up:Steve Larmer (1993-95: 115 GP; 35-54-89)
29 – Reijo Ruotsalainen (1981-86: 389 GP; 99-217-316)
It’s safe to say Rangers fans had never seen a defenseman like Ruotsalainen when the speedy Finn arrived in 1981, one year after the Blueshirts took him in the sixth round (No, 119 overall) of the NHL Draft. He more than made up for a lack of size (5-foot-8, 170 pounds) with a blazing shot and the kind of speed few (if any) Rangers defensemen had ever exhibited. Ruotsalainen scored at least 17 goals and finished with 56-plus points in each of his five seasons in New York while becoming a fan favorite with his end-to-end rushes. The Rangers traded him to Edmonton in October 1986, and he was part of the Oilers’ Cup-winning team the following spring. Ruotsalainen left the NHL in 1988 and played another decade in Europe, but Rangers fans who saw him racing up and down the ice during his time on Broadway won’t forget him.
Runner-up:Matthew Robertson (2025-present: 74 GP; 6-12-18)
30 – Henrik Lundqvist (2005-20; 887 GP; 459-310-96)
The greatest goaltender in Rangers history almost literally walked in off the street. The Rangers selected Lundqvist in the seventh round (No. 205 overall) in the 2000 NHL Draft. He was worth the five-year wait before coming to North America, finishing the 2005-06 season as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy while earning NHL All-Rookie Team honors. Lundqvist set an NHL record with seven straight 30-win seasons, won the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12 and led the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. “The King” finished his career in 2020 as the sixth-winningest goaltender in NHL history. He’s the Rangers all-time leader in games played, wins, shutouts (64) and 30-win seasons (11). The Rangers retired his number on Jan. 28, 2022, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023. He’s still a familiar face to Rangers fans because of his appearances on MSG Networks and TNT.
Runner-up: Gilles Villemure (1963 and 1967-74: 184 GP; 98-53, 23 ties)
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