1972–73 New York Rangers season
The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the 47th season for the team in the National Hockey League.
Regular season
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Key: Win LossPlayer statistics
;Skaters| Player | |||||
| 78 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 12 | |
| 76 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 25 | |
| 76 | 27 | 39 | 66 | 59 | |
| 78 | 30 | 33 | 63 | 23 | |
| 63 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 60 | |
| 78 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 71 | |
| 61 | 30 | 23 | 53 | 37 | |
| 52 | 10 | 43 | 53 | 51 | |
| 78 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 14 | |
| 72 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 36 | |
| 72 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 74 | |
| 52 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 12 | |
| 77 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 64 | |
| 53 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 54 | |
| 52 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 35 | |
| 50 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 50 | |
| ‡ | 51 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 15 |
| † | 46 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 17 |
| † | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| † | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| ‡ | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| ‡ | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| † | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Player | |||||
| 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | |
| 10 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | |
| 10 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 8 | |
| 10 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | |
| 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | |
| 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | |
| 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | |
| 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | |
| 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | |
| 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
;Goaltenders
| Player | ||||||||
| 43 | 2580 | 26 | 11 | 6 | 125 | 2.91 | 4 | |
| 34 | 2040 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 78 | 2.29 | 3 | |
| 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 |
| Player | |||||||
| 10 | 539 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 2.56 | 1 | |
| 2 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1.97 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
Awards and records
Transactions
The Rangers defense lost their gifted-defenseman, Brad Park due to a knee injury that occurred on 11/15/72 against the Flyers, which forced him out of the lineup for the next 18 games. Looking to plug that hole, they searched around the league for another talented-defenseman but prospects were sparse. So, on 11/28/72, they settled on veteran defenseman Ron Harris of the Flames who had minimal offensive skills but played a physical checking game. A 26-year-old forward, by the name of Curt Bennett was still scoreless with the Rangers while mostly sitting on the bench, so he was sent to the Flames in exchange. Both guys ultimately paid dividends for their new teams. Harris was instrumental in winning key games for the Rangers in different ways such as: against the rival-Bruins in game #2 of the 1973 playoffs, he threw a legal, rolling, hip-check at Phil Esposito which injured him, thus, sinking the hopes of the Bruins since they lost that playoff series; plus then, in a key 1974 playoff game against the Canadians, Harris scored the game-winning goal in overtime which eventually sparked the Rangers in winning that playoff series. Likewise, the Flames cashed in on Curt Bennett since he finally and quickly matured with them by becoming an excellent goal-scorer and their toughest fighter.Roster
Draft picks
New York's picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 10 | Al Blanchard | LW | Kitchener Rangers | |
| 1 | 15 | Bob MacMillan | C | St. Catharines Black Hawks | |
| 2 | 21 | Larry Sacharuk | D | Saskatoon Blades | |
| 2 | 31 | Rene Villemure | LW | Shawinigan Bruins | |
| 3 | 47 | Gerry Teeple | C | Cornwall Royals | |
| 4 | 63 | Doug Horbul | LW | Calgary Centennials | |
| 5 | 79 | Marty Gateman | D | Hamilton Red Wings | |
| 6 | 95 | Ken Ireland | C | New Westminster Bruins | |
| 7 | 111 | Jeff Hunt | D | Winnipeg Jets | |
| 8 | 127 | Yvon Blais | D | Cornwall Royals | |
| 9 | 137 | Pierre Archambault | D | Saint-Jerome Alouettes |