# 1998–99 New York Rangers season

The 1998–99 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 73rd season. The Rangers missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season in what was Wayne Gretzky's final season in the National Hockey League.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Atlantic Division :
| R | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 47 | 24 | 11 | 248 | 196 | 105 |
| 2 | 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 37 | 26 | 19 | 231 | 196 | 93 |
| 3 | 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 38 | 30 | 14 | 242 | 225 | 90 |
| 4 | 10 | New York Rangers | 82 | 33 | 38 | 11 | 217 | 227 | 77 |
| 5 | 13 | New York Islanders | 82 | 24 | 48 | 10 | 194 | 244 | 58 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 47 | 24 | 11 | 248 | 196 | 105 |
| 2 | y – Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 239 | 179 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 34 | 30 | 18 | 210 | 202 | 86 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 268 | 231 | 97 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 37 | 26 | 19 | 231 | 196 | 93 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 214 | 181 | 91 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 37 | 28 | 17 | 207 | 175 | 91 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | ATL | 82 | 38 | 30 | 14 | 242 | 225 | 90 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 30 | 34 | 18 | 210 | 228 | 78 |
| 10 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 33 | 38 | 11 | 217 | 227 | 77 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 32 | 39 | 11 | 184 | 209 | 75 |
| 12 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 200 | 218 | 68 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 24 | 48 | 10 | 194 | 244 | 58 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 19 | 54 | 9 | 179 | 292 | 47 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

### The Great One retires

Wayne Gretzky's last NHL game in Canada was on April 16, 1999, in a 2–2 tie with the Ottawa Senators. His 1,487th and final game was a 2–1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins which had Jaromir Jagr, a future Ranger captain, scoring the game-winning goal on April 18, 1999, at Madison Square Garden. The national anthems in that game were adjusted to accommodate Gretzky's departure. In place of "O Canada, we stand on guard for thee," Bryan Adams sang "We're going to miss you Wayne Gretzky." John Amirante changed lyrics in "The Star-Spangled Banner" from "the land of the free" to "the land of Wayne Gretzky." He scored his final point in this game, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by team captain Brian Leetch. Gretzky was named as the first, second and third star of both games; only Maurice Richard had such an honour previously, for his performance in a 1944 playoff game.
At the time of his retirement, Gretzky was the second-to-last former WHA player still active in professional hockey, Mark Messier being the last. Messier, himself a former Ranger who would return to spend his final four playing years there, along with other representatives of the great Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s, attended the game. Gretzky's final game was considered a "national retirement party" in Canada, and Bryan Adams' rendition of "O Canada" was like a "lullaby." As the final seconds ticked away, the crowd at Madison Square Garden gave him a standing ovation, capping off "an entirely satisfying, weekend-long going-away party" in Canada, as there would be "No Regretzkys."
Gretzky told Scott Morrison that the final game of his career was his greatest day. He recounted:
   My last game in New York was my greatest day in hockey...Everything you enjoy about the sport of hockey as a kid, driving to practice with mom [Phyllis] and dad [Walter], driving to the game with mom and dad, looking in the stands and seeing your mom and dad and your friends, that all came together in that last game in New York.

## Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season :
October: 3–4–3 (home: 3–3–1; road: 0–1–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
1October 9, 1998Philadelphia Flyers1–00–1–0Recap
2October 10, 1998@ Montreal Canadiens7–10–2–0Recap
3October 12, 1998St. Louis Blues4–20–3–0Recap
4October 16, 1998New Jersey Devils2–10–4–0Recap
5October 17, 1998@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OT0–4–1Recap
6October 20, 1998Edmonton Oilers3–21–4–1Recap
7October 22, 1998New York Islanders3–22–4–1Recap
8October 24, 1998@ Philadelphia Flyers2–2 OT2–4–2Recap
9October 27, 1998Buffalo Sabres0–0 OT2–4–3Recap
10October 30, 1998Carolina Hurricanes1–03–4–3Recap :
November: 3–5–4 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–4–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
11November 3, 1998@ New Jersey Devils3–13–5–3Recap
12November 4, 1998Montreal Canadiens4–13–6–3Recap
13November 7, 1998@ Toronto Maple Leafs6–6 OT3–6–4Recap
14November 10, 1998@ Tampa Bay Lightning10–24–6–4Recap
15November 11, 1998@ Florida Panthers4–14–7–4Recap
16November 13, 1998Boston Bruins3–3 OT4–7–5Recap
17November 18, 1998@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim3–14–8–5Recap
18November 19, 1998@ Los Angeles Kings5–15–8–5Recap
19November 21, 1998@ San Jose Sharks2–2 OT5–8–6Recap
20November 25, 1998@ Buffalo Sabres4–25–9–6Recap
21November 27, 1998@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–2 OT5–9–7Recap
22November 29, 1998Nashville Predators5–16–9–7Recap :
December: 7–6–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 4–4–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
23December 1, 1998Florida Panthers5–4 OT7–9–7Recap
24December 2, 1998@ New York Islanders3–28–9–7Recap
25December 5, 1998@ Ottawa Senators2–19–9–7Recap
26December 7, 1998Toronto Maple Leafs6–210–9–7Recap
27December 9, 1998Colorado Avalanche2–110–10–7Recap
28December 11, 1998@ Buffalo Sabres2–010–11–7Recap
29December 14, 1998Calgary Flames5–211–11–7Recap
30December 16, 1998@ New Jersey Devils6–311–12–7Recap
31December 19, 1998@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–411–13–7Recap
32December 23, 1998Carolina Hurricanes1–011–14–7Recap
33December 26, 1998@ Carolina Hurricanes6–312–14–7Recap
34December 30, 1998@ Phoenix Coyotes3–112–15–7Recap
35December 31, 1998@ Colorado Avalanche6–313–15–7Recap :
January: 6–7–0 (home: 3–4–0; road: 3–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
36January 2, 1999@ St. Louis Blues1–014–15–7Recap
37January 4, 1999San Jose Sharks4–315–15–7Recap
38January 6, 1999New Jersey Devils5–215–16–7Recap
39January 7, 1999@ Washington Capitals5–115–17–7Recap
40January 10, 1999Tampa Bay Lightning5–216–17–7Recap
41January 13, 1999New York Islanders4–3 OT17–17–7Recap
42January 15, 1999Chicago Blackhawks3–117–18–7Recap
43January 16, 1999@ Montreal Canadiens3–017–19–7Recap
44January 19, 1999Ottawa Senators2–117–20–7Recap
45January 21, 1999Florida Panthers2–117–21–7Recap
46January 26, 1999@ Washington Capitals4–118–21–7Recap
47January 28, 1999@ Carolina Hurricanes3–2 OT18–22–7Recap
48January 30, 1999@ Detroit Red Wings3–219–22–7Recap :
February: 6–6–0 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
49February 1, 1999Washington Capitals3–119–23–7Recap
50February 4, 1999Vancouver Canucks8–420–23–7Recap
51February 7, 1999@ Boston Bruins3–220–24–7Recap
52February 12, 1999Carolina Hurricanes3–120–25–7Recap
53February 14, 1999Detroit Red Wings4–220–26–7Recap
54February 15, 1999@ Nashville Predators7–421–26–7Recap
55February 17, 1999Montreal Canadiens6–321–27–7Recap
56February 19, 1999Pittsburgh Penguins6–122–27–7Recap
57February 21, 1999@ Edmonton Oilers2–1 OT23–27–7Recap
58February 22, 1999@ Calgary Flames6–223–28–7Recap
59February 26, 1999Phoenix Coyotes3–024–28–7Recap
60February 28, 1999Philadelphia Flyers6–525–28–7Recap :
March: 6–5–3 (home: 2–3–3; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
61March 2, 1999Dallas Stars2–2 OT25–28–8Recap
62March 4, 1999@ Washington Capitals4–226–28–8Recap
63March 7, 1999@ Boston Bruins3–127–28–8Recap
64March 8, 1999Toronto Maple Leafs3–2 OT28–28–8Recap
65March 10, 1999Ottawa Senators3–028–29–8Recap
66March 12, 1999Boston Bruins5–428–30–8Recap
67March 14, 1999@ New York Islanders3–2 OT29–30–8Recap
68March 15, 1999Washington Capitals1–1 OT29–30–9Recap
69March 19, 1999Buffalo Sabres3–2 OT29–31–9Recap
70March 21, 1999Pittsburgh Penguins2–2 OT29–31–10Recap
71March 22, 1999@ Tampa Bay Lightning6–329–32–10Recap
72March 24, 1999@ Florida Panthers2–130–32–10Recap
73March 27, 1999@ Philadelphia Flyers3–130–33–10Recap
74March 29, 1999New York Islanders3–131–33–10Recap :
April: 2–5–1 (home: 1–2–0; road: 1–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordRecap
75April 2, 1999Mighty Ducks of Anaheim4–131–34–10Recap
76April 4, 1999@ New Jersey Devils4–131–35–10Recap
77April 5, 1999@ Philadelphia Flyers5–132–35–10Recap
78April 8, 1999@ Chicago Blackhawks6–232–36–10Recap
79April 9, 1999@ Dallas Stars3–132–37–10Recap
80April 12, 1999Tampa Bay Lightning2–133–37–10Recap
81April 15, 1999@ Ottawa Senators2–2 OT33–37–11Recap
82April 18, 1999Pittsburgh Penguins2–1 OT33–38–11Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 99 | Wayne Gretzky | C | 70 | 9 | 53 | 62 | −23 | 14 |
| 15 | John MacLean | RW | 82 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 5 | 46 |
| 2 | Brian Leetch | D | 82 | 13 | 42 | 55 | −7 | 42 |
| 9 | Adam Graves | LW | 82 | 38 | 15 | 53 | −12 | 47 |
| 93 | Petr Nedved† | C | 56 | 20 | 27 | 47 | −6 | 50 |
| 33 | Marc Savard | C | 70 | 9 | 36 | 45 | −7 | 38 |
| 17 | Kevin Stevens | LW | 81 | 23 | 20 | 43 | −10 | 64 |
| 24 | Niklas Sundstrom | LW | 81 | 13 | 30 | 43 | −2 | 20 |
| 22 | Mike Knuble | RW | 82 | 15 | 20 | 35 | −7 | 26 |
| 25 | Mathieu Schneider† | D | 75 | 10 | 24 | 34 | −19 | 71 |
| 20 | Todd Harvey | RW | 37 | 11 | 17 | 28 | −1 | 72 |
| 6 | Manny Malhotra | C | 73 | 8 | 8 | 16 | −2 | 13 |
| 5 | Ulf Samuelsson‡ | D | 67 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 93 |
| 37 | Brent Fedyk | LW | 67 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −11 | 30 |
| 23 | Jeff Beukeboom | D | 45 | 0 | 9 | 9 | −2 | 60 |
| 27 | Alexei Kovalev‡ | RW | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −6 | 12 |
| 21 | Scott Fraser | RW | 28 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −12 | 14 |
| 4 | Chris Tamer† | D | 52 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −12 | 92 |
| 34 | Peter Popovic | D | 68 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −12 | 40 |
| 12 | Rich Brennan | D | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −4 | 23 |
| 36 | Rumun Ndur† | D | 31 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 46 |
| 28 | Eric Lacroix† | LW | 30 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −5 | 4 |
| 32 | Sean Pronger†‡ | C | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 4 |
| 10 | Esa Tikkanen | LW | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 38 |
| 8 | Jan Mertzig | D | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 8 |
| 25 | Alexander Karpovtsev‡ | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Derek Armstrong | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 14 | Christian Dube | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Jeff Finley‡ | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 19 | Darren Langdon | LW | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 80 |
| 26 | Mike Maneluk† | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 3 | Stan Neckar†‡ | D | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 8 |
| 35 | Mike Richter | G | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 14 | Geoff Smith‡ | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 28 | P. J. Stock | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 6 |
| 14 | Johan Witehall | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Harry York‡ | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Mike Richter | 68 | 27 | 30 | 8 | 1897 | 170 | 2.63 | .910 | 4 | 3878 |
| 39 | Dan Cloutier | 22 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 570 | 49 | 2.68 | .914 | 0 | 1097 |

## Awards and honors
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | Wayne Gretzky |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Wayne Gretzky |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Wayne Gretzky (April 19) |
| Team | Ceil Saidel Memorial Award | Adam Graves |
| Team | "Crumb Bum" Award | Rod Gilbert |
| Team | Frank Boucher Trophy | Mike Richter |
| Team | Good Guy Award | Kevin Stevens |
| Team | Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award | Manny Malhotra |
| Team | Players' Player Award | Adam Graves |
| Team | Rangers MVP | Brian Leetch |
| Team | Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award | Adam Graves |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Jan Mertzig | October 9, 1998 |
| First game | Manny Malhotra | October 10, 1998 |
| First game | Johan Witehall | January 30, 1999 |
| 1,000th game played | John MacLean | November 11, 1998 |
| 1,000th game played | Ulf Samuelsson | January 13, 1999 |

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, New York at the Marine Midland Arena.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Manny Malhotra | C | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 2 | 40 | Randy Copley | LW | Canada | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 66 | Jason LaBarbera | G | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 4 | 114 | Boyd Kane | LW | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 5 | 122 | Pat Leahy | RW | United States | Miami University (Ohio) (NCAA) |
| 5 | 131 | Tomas Kloucek | D | Czech Republic | Slavia Prague (Czech Extraliga) |
| 7 | 180 | Stefan Lundqvist | RW | Sweden | Brynas IF (SEL) |
| 8 | 207 | Johan Witehall | LW | Sweden | Leksands IF (SEL) |
| 9 | 235 | Jan Mertzig | D | Sweden | Lulea HF (SEL) |