2007–08 New York Rangers season


The 2007–08 New York Rangers season was the National Hockey League franchise's 81st season of play and their 82nd season overall. In 2006–07, an impressive late season run brought the team from 12th to 6th place in the Eastern Conference, but the team ran out of steam in the Conference semi-finals before losing in six games to the Buffalo Sabres.
The off-season began in late June with the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio. The Rangers had the 17th overall pick in the first round, yet came away with a steal as Russian superstar Alexei Cherepanov fell for the taking, despite being considered by many rankings to be a top five prospect, and the top European available in the draft. A variety of reasons have been postulated for Cherepanov's drop, most notably, the lack of a new transfer agreement between the National Hockey League and the International Ice Hockey Federation concerning players from Russia. In the second round, the Rangers selected goaltender Antoine Lafleur from the P.E.I. Rocket of the QMJHL. Lafleur was ranked #3 among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting.
The Rangers made a tremendous splash on July 1, the first day of free agency. Within a 30-minute span on that Sunday evening, the Rangers announced the signings of the two most coveted centers available: Scott Gomez from the rival New Jersey Devils and Chris Drury from the Buffalo Sabres. As both players had worn number 23 with their previous teams, General Manager Glen Sather flipped a puck at their introductory press conference to determine who would wear number 23 on the Rangers; the winner was Drury.
After these signings, left out of the picture was center Michael Nylander, who had reportedly signed with the Edmonton Oilers, but then actually signed with the Washington Capitals. In addition, the Rangers also lost Jed Ortmeyer, Brad Isbister, Karel Rachunek and Kevin Weekes to the free agency market, the latter two signing with the rival New Jersey Devils.
The Rangers re-signed a number of their own free agents, including Jason Strudwick, Petr Prucha and Brendan Shanahan. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and forward Marcel Hossa had been designated for salary arbitration, but both signed contracts before reaching their respective hearings. Sean Avery did go through arbitration and was awarded a one-year deal worth $1.9 million.
The multitude of high-profile free agent signings in July left the Rangers dangerously close to the league's $50.3 million salary cap. This effectively forced the Rangers to deal Matt Cullen and his $2.875 million per year cap number back to the Carolina Hurricanes. At the start of the season, the Rangers total cap number was over the league maximum, but player bonuses can be deferred to the next season if it causes a team to exceed the upper limit of the salary cap, so the Rangers were in compliance.
On April 3, 2008, the New York Rangers clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season in a 3–0 win against their crosstown rival Islanders.

Regular season

The Rangers had the most shutouts of all 30 teams in the League, with 12.

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

The New York Rangers ended the 2007–08 regular season as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed.
The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals in five games. This was the fifth playoff meeting between the two clubs, with the Rangers having won four of those series. They were eventually eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals by the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games.

Player statistics

;Skaters
Player
82254671858
81165470336
82253358−345
73232346−235
65142741522
82142640879
80132538080
571518336154
611415291110
82101828014
8251520543
6111617152
6271017322
528513731
422810748
802810242
‡36178824
†18268220
75257−420
70224−1296
52112040
†1820208
74112−13159
101110
1000−20
1000−10
6000−20

Player
1051015312
10471158
103710216
10448212
843736
1033638
10156410
1014508
1022430
10224310
10033−14
1012348
1003316
10011320
1001102
110110
200000
8000312
8000−42
200000
8000−22
300000

;Goaltenders
Player
7243053724101602.231823.91210002
13686533252.19296.9162002

Player
1060855262.57287.9091

†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.

Awards and records

Milestones

PlayerMilestoneReached
Marc Staal1st NHL gameOctober 4, 2007
Michal Roszival400th NHL gameOctober 4, 2007
Colton Orr200th NHL PIMOctober 6, 2007
Paul Mara500th NHL PIMOctober 12, 2007
Dan Girardi1st NHL goalOctober 18, 2007
Jaromir Jagr1200th NHL gameOctober 25, 2007
Brandon Dubinsky1st NHL assist
1st NHL point		October 25, 2007
Colton Orr100th NHL gameOctober 29, 2007
Brendan Shanahan1300th NHL pointOctober 29, 2007
Marc Staal1st NHL assist
1st NHL point		November 1, 2007
Nigel Dawes1st NHL assistNovember 8, 2007
Brandon Dubinsky1st NHL goalNovember 8, 2007
Tom Renney100th Rangers winNovember 10, 2007
Blair Betts
Marcel Hossa		200th NHL gameNovember 10, 2007
Marc Staal1st NHL goalNovember 14, 2007
Ivan Baranka1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point		November 21, 2007
Greg Moore1st NHL gameNovember 21, 2007
Martin Straka900th NHL gameDecember 6, 2007
Chris Drury200th NHL goalDecember 7, 2007
Petr Prucha100th NHL pointJanuary 16, 2008
Stephen Valiquette1st NHL shutoutJanuary 31, 2008
Scott Gomez500th NHL pointFebruary 1, 2008
Chris Drury500th NHL pointFebruary 1, 2008
Dane Byers1st NHL gameFebruary 5, 2008
Martin Straka700th NHL pointFebruary 16, 2008
Dan Girardi100th NHL gameMarch 4, 2008
Sean Avery100th NHL assistMarch 14, 2008
Chris Drury700th NHL gameMarch 15, 2008
Henrik Lundqvist100th NHL winMarch 18, 2008
Chris Drury300th NHL assistMarch 27, 2008
Ryan Hollweg200th NHL gameApril 4, 2008

PlayerMilestoneReached
Brandon Dubinsky
Marc Staal
Fredrik Sjostrom		1st NHL playoff gameApril 9, 2008
Nigel Dawes1st NHL playoff goalApril 9, 2008
Brandon Dubinsky1st NHL playoff goalApril 13, 2008
Scott Gomez100th NHL playoff gameApril 13, 2008
Marc Staal1st NHL playoff goalApril 16, 2008
Lauri Korpikoski1st NHL playoff game
1st NHL playoff goal
1st NHL playoff point		May 4, 2008

Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

Free agents acquired

Free agents lost

Player signings

* Sean Avery re-signed through salary arbitration.

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Arena.
Round#PlayerPositionNationalityCollege/junior/club team
117Alexei CherepanovRWAvangard Omsk
248Antoine LafleurGP.E.I. Rocket
5138Max CampbellCStrathroy Rockets
6168Carl HagelinLWSodertalje SK
7193David SkokanCRimouski Oceanic
7198Danny HobbsFOhio Junior Blue Jackets

Farm teams

[Hartford Wolf Pack] (AHL)

The 2007–08 season was the 11th season of AHL hockey for the franchise. The team's status as the Rangers' highest-level minor-league affiliate became questionable when Northland AEG LLC purchased the Hartford Civic Center from Madison Square Garden, L.P.; however, on May 29, 2007, it was announced that the franchise will remain in Hartford and will remain affiliated with the Rangers.
Hartford finished the regular season with a record of 50–20–2–8 for a total of 110 points, a franchise high. P. A. Parenteau led the team with 81 points in 75 games, and team captain Andrew Hutchinson won the Eddie Shore Award as the league's top defenseman.
Portland eliminated Hartford from the playoffs in 5 games, marking two consecutive season's that the Wolf Pack failed to advance past the 1st round.

Charlotte Checkers">Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)">Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)

The 2007–08 season was the 15th season of ECHL hockey for the franchise.
Charlotte finished the regular season with a record of 34–31–1–6 for a total of 75 points. Gwinnett eliminated the Checkers from the playoffs in 3 games.

Roster