2 former Rangers forwards elected to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame named its Class of 2024 on Thursday, including two former New York Rangers players.
Kevin Stevens, who played three seasons for the Rangers from 1998-2000, and Matt Cullen, a Blueshirt just for the 2006-07 season, will become the 32nd and 33rd people with ties to the Rangers franchise inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Pittsburgh on Dec. 4.
They are the first from the Rangers family inducted into the Hall since former forward Tony Granato in 2020.
Among Rangers notables in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame are 1994 Stanley Cup champions Mike Richter and Brian Leetch, who were each inducted in 2008. Another member of that Cup-winning team, Eddie Olczyk, was inducted in 2012. Three years later, former Rangers captain and current general manager Chris Drury was enshrined.
The list of Rangers includes coaches and management (Herb Brooks, Craig Patrick, William Jennings), goalies (John Vanbiesbrouck, Guy Hebert) and skaters (Tony Amonte, Pat Lafontaine, Mark Pavelich, Doug Weight, Kevin Hatcher, Mathieu Schneider).
Though known more for winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992 when he was the preeminent power forward in the NHL, Stevens did score 23 goals with the Rangers in 1998-99. He overcame substance abuse and created Power Forward Inc. in 2018, a non-profit established to provide resources and education to battle opioid addiction.
A 40-time 40+-goal scorer, Stevens had 726 points (329 goals, 397 assists) in 874 NHL games and 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) in 103 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Cullen helped the Rangers reach the second round of the playoffs in his one season on Broadway. He was fifth on the Rangers with 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) in 80 games during the 2006-07 season and won 54.6 percent of his face-offs.
The Rangers were one of seven teams Cullen played for. Along the way, he won the Stanley Cup three times and played 1,516 NHL games — second most of any United States-born player, only behind Chris Chelios (1,651).
Related: Marc Staal retires as player, joins Rangers in development role
2 former Rangers to be enshrined in U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December
Stevens and Cullen are joined in the Class of 2024 by women’s national team star Brianna Decker, American hockey pioneer Major Frederic McLaughlin and the gold-medal winning 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.
“The impact of the Class of 2024 spans across the sport and each honoree is reflective of the extraordinary contributions necessary to earn the highest honor in American hockey,” USA Hockey president Mike Trimboli said. “Their stories are all unique and have positively impacted so many. We very much look forward to enshrining the Class in December.”
That this year’s induction takes place in Pittsburgh is fitting. Not only did Stevens win two Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins, but the final two of Cullen’s titles were also won as a member of the Penguins in 2015 and 2016.
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