The Rangers’ greatest-ever defenseman along with a leader from the team’s last Stanley Cup appearance have joined the club’s front office.
Brian Leetch and Brad Richards have become hockey operations advisers for the Rangers, the team announced Tuesday. Their duties will include working with the club’s hockey operations department “in both hockey-related decisions along with off-ice player and prospect development,” according to a release. They’ll also help with on-ice development for the team’s prospects, including AHL Hartford players.
The 49-year-old Leetch is the Rangers’ all-time leader in goals (240,) assists (741) and points (981) by a defenseman. The Hall of Famer leads all Rangers in assists and is second to Rod Gilbert in points. He spent parts of 17 seasons with the Rangers during an 18-year NHL career which ended in 2006. The two-time Norris Trophy winner was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for his performance in helping the Rangers win the 1994 Stanley Cup, when he had 23 assists and 34 points.
Richards spent three seasons with the Rangers from 2011-2014, posting a 56-95-151 line in 210 regular-season games. The 37-year-old became the team’s de facto captain during their run to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final after Ryan Callahan was traded midseason. After that Cup run, the Rangers used a compliance buyout to get out from the final six years of Richards’ nine-year, $60 million deal. He retired after the 2015-16 season, having spent one season each with Chicago and Detroit.
