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How Rangers landed future icon in 2000 draft: ‘what about this Lundqvist guy?’
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- How Rangers landed future icon in 2000 draft: ‘what about this Lundqvist guy?’
Don Maloney is one of the best players in New York Rangers history. But his greatest contribution to the organization came 11 years after his final game played with the Rangers.
"I often tell people the greatest accomplishment in my second stint with the Rangers was the drafting of Henrik Lundqvist," Maloney explained during his induction speech for the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame on July 12.
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That second stint Maloney referred to was as a front office executive with the Rangers. He served as assistant general manager with the Blueshirts from 1996-2007, after beginning his post-playing career with the rival Islanders, first as assistant GM, then as the second general manager in their history.
With the Rangers, Maloney first worked under Neil Smith and then Glen Sather. So it was at the 2000 NHL Draft that Maloney ran the draft process for the Rangers, shortly after Sather replaced Smith as general manager.
Photo courtesy Jim Cerny
It was largely an unspectacular draft for the Rangers through the first six rounds. They didn't have a first-round selection, so it took until the 64th overall pick that they finally chose defenseman Filip Novak. Of their first six selections in 2000, only forward Dominic Moore (third round, No. 95 overall) ended up having much of a career in the NHL.
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"We were in the seventh round, just trying to stay awake basically, and talked about adding a goaltender to our system," Maloney explained. "I happened to take a glance over at our European scout Christer Rockstrom's draft list and noticed his No. 1 rated goaltender in Europe, Henrik Lundqvist , was still available."
Keep in mind this wasn't a lightbulb going on moment for Maloney. He, like many hockey people, didn't know much about this 18-year-old goalie from Are, Sweden. But to his credit, he pressed the respected scout about Lundqvist.
"When I asked Christer about it, he said head scout Martin Madden was not a big fan, and asked — actually begged — me not to bring it up to him," Maloney recalled. "I looked at Christer, grabbed the list, and turned to Martin and said. 'Martin, what about this Lundqvist guy?' Martin sighed and said, 'Why not?'
"That's how Henrik Lundqvist became a Ranger. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good."
Don Maloney was never Rangers GM, but made huge impact by helping draft Henrik Lundqvist
So, yes, that was Maloney's biggest contribution to the Rangers over his 21-year tenure as a player and executive with the organization. He recorded 502 points, 14th most in Rangers history, and 195 goals, 15th most, in 653 games with them. He helped lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final as a rookie in 1979, playing on the top line with Phil Esposito and Don Murdoch. Memorably, he was teammates on the Blueshirts with big brother Dave, who introduced him at this induction ceremony.
Photo courtesy Jim Cerny
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But nothing outshines the fact that he can take credit for selecting one of the greatest goalies in NHL history, one who ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame and whose No. 30 hangs in the rafters at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist was the No. 205 overall pick in 2000, yet finished with 459 wins in his career, most in Rangers history, and remains the sixth-winningest goalie all-time in the NHL.
Maloney remained in New York for the first two seasons of Lundqvist's career, before leaving to become the Phoenix Coyotes GM in 2007. He was named NHL general manager of the year following the 2009-10 season and currently works in the front office for the Calgary Flames.
No, he's never drafted a player like Lundqvist again.
During the induction ceremony, Maloney detailed how legendary Islanders general manager Bill Torrey mentored him during his transition from player to executive. He had kind words for both Smith — also inducted into the NY State Hockey Hall this year — and Sather, as well.
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"To this day, I don't think Neil gets enough credit for the outstanding job he did building that Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup championship-winning team," Maloney stated. "And I'm forever grateful to Neil for bringing me back to New York and the Rangers."
As for working under Sather, Maloney said, "It was another opportunity for me to work with someone who's built a hockey dynasty, five Stanley Cups with the Oilers.
"Glen was smart, shrewd, tough yet caring, and is the most self-confident man I ever worked with. His priorities were his family and the team, everything else took a back seat."
Though Sather was the general manager when the Rangers drafted Lundqvist, it will always be more of Maloney and Rockstrom's legacies that tie them directly to The King.
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