If you want some great book recommendations on the Rangers, checkout what The Maven has to say.
Okay, the Rangers are through playing but that doesn't mean they can't be on your mind.
And what better item to learn about your heroes than to read a good book – or books – on the subject of Blueshirts.
Nathan Lajoiie, who boasts the world's largest hockey book collection, took time out to recommend his three favorite Rangers volumes. Here goes:
1. WHEN THE RANGERS WERE YOUNG. Superior Canadian hockey writer Trent Frayne collaborated with Blueshirt icon – player, coach, manager – Frank Boucher on a beauty.
The Hall of Famer spins tales about his stint in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, his playing days in the rough and tough Western Canadian League and his coming to New York in 1926.
A master story-teller, Boucher takes us through three New York Stanley Cup titles as well as the near-one in 1950. It concludes with the 1954-55 season after which Boucher exited the franchise.
Frayne's writing is incomparable and so are Boucher's endless tales including one where he tells how he and Rangers defenseman Ching Johnson actually hijacked a Toronto trolley car!
2. A YEAR ON ICE: THE RANGERS ROLLER COASTER 1970 SEASON: The New York Times' Rangers beat man, Gerald Eskenazi, is behind this gem. It's a day to day chronicle of the roller coaster ride that was the Blueshirts 1969-70 season.
I was next to Eskenazi on the final day and night of the season -- first at Madison Square Garden and then at the Times' sports desk. To make the playoffs the Rangers beat Detroit in the afternoon at MSG. Then we cabbed over to the Times and listened to the Black Hawks beat Montreal.
That enabled the Rangers to gain a playoff berth. From that point, Gerry goes on to recall some playoff heroics. This guy can write and he has all the melodrama to make it a winner.
3. WE DID EVERYTHING BUT WIN: FORMER NEW YORK RANGERS REMEMBER THE EMILE FRANCIS ERA (1964-1976) A keen student of Rangers history, author George Grimm's enthusiasm is matched by his superior writing. This is a wonderful oral history of an unforgettable era in Rangers history. George chronicles all of the highs and lows of the Francis-led Blueshirts.
The Francis' quotes and anecdotes could be a book in and of itself. The Cat's candor is underlined by his incredible memory and story-telling ability. Meticulously researched, Grimm enhanced his work with many entertaining and insightful interviews with the players and Cat, himself.
Fans reading this will surely feel as if they've entered a time capsule to relive many of their favorite memories from such an entertaining team and era. Those Rangers did everything but win it all. Grimm did his part by delivering a winner.
THE THREE MOST UNHERALDED RANGERS BOOKS:
The Maven never has encountered any author who has so successfully produced a series of Rangers books than Sean McCaffrey. Here are just three titles.
1. TRICKS OF THE TRADE: A CENTURY LONG JOURNEY THROUGH EVERY TRADE MADE IN NEW YORK RANGERS' HISTORY.
2. THE NEW YORK RANGERS RINK OF HONOR AND THE RAFTERS OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.
3. ONE GAME AT A TIME -- A SEASON TO REMEMBER.
The Maven's Personal Favorite: Of Maven Books:
I've written a few Rangers books myself. Actually my favorite is about a lot of teams and it's called METRO ICE – A HISTORY OF HOCKEY IN NEW YORK. Naturally, it is overflowing with Rangers chapters.
