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29 Teams We Hate: New York Rangers

Jared Wickerham

When Bruins greats of days past gather, it's a wonderful sight. Unfortunately, they never include the best goal scorer in team history. Phil Esposito never forgave the Bruins for trading him to the Rangers, and to be honest, I can see why he'd be offended.

We're reminded of their atrociousness with one of the preeminent story lines of the offseason's homestretch, the contract relations with Derek Stepan. Last year's best Ranger forward is currently being bullied by GM Glen Sather who's making little attempts to accommodate the team's next big star. And as we're all quite aware, Sather is among the more frugal GMs in hockey, particularly when it comes to free agent signings.

By the way, that Brad Richards contract is awesome.

Speaking of the team, no Rangers profile would be complete without mention of Henrik Lundqvist. While he may very well be the best goalie on planet Earth, he's going to have to defend that crown without the benefit of Michelin Man pads. Good luck, Hank! Oh, but what a dreamboat he is. If he is as much of a hunk as people claim, then why does he wear a mask that covers his face all the time? Think about it.

And you want to talk about ugly - his response to questions on Russia's anti-gay laws last month were just that. If you're going to support a cause, support it.

How about those Rangers fans? Like any New Yorker, their only real interests are telling you how great New York is and how every place that isn't New York isn't as good as New York. When they're not droning on and on about how awesome their bagels and pizza are (by the way, I have no problem getting comparable versions of each here), they're inciting their own players to violence. Is it any wonder that the team just sat around and watched as Milbury and co. jumped the boards to regulate?

But let me tell you, games at Madison Square Garden are a treat! They're chockfull of bad lighting, poor ice, questions about how magical is it to play there and of course, a goal song that gives fans a friendly reminder of who the team is in case they forgot.

This season, though, the Rangers will look a little different. Gone is the immature super tough guy John Tortorella as he swapped teams with his replacement, Alain Vigneault. A lot of people are excited about this because they feel Vigneault fits the team culture to a tee. I happen to agree, his penchant for whining makes him seem like a true New Yorker.

In an effort to keep things lighthearted, I'd like to leave you with a collection of fun thoughts from the Bruins/Rangers playoff series last year from MSG analyst and hashtag enthusiast Stan Fischler:

Not quite, Stan.