Ferraro was a prolific scorer in junior hockey, including a 108-goal and 192-point season for the Western Hockey League 's Brandon Wheat Kings in 1983–84. He also was a member of the 1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks squad that won the 1983 Memorial Cup. Ferraro's teammates on the championship-winning team included Cam Neely, Mike Vernon, Brian Curran, John Kordic and other future NHLers. In his NHL career, he scored 408 goals and 490 assists for a total of 898 points in 1,258 games spanning 18 seasons. He was named to the NHL All-Star Game in 1992, held in Philadelphia. He also had two 40-goal seasons. Ferraro had a memorable Stanley Cup playoff run for the New York Islanders in 1993, scoring two overtime goals against the Washington Capitals as the Islanders defeated both the Capitals and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Ferraro assisted on David Volek's game- and series-winning goal during overtime of Game 7 against the Penguins. The goal advanced the Islanders to the Wales Conference Finals, which they lost to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens. Ferraro finished that playoff season with team-leading totals in goals and points.
Broadcasting
Ferraro retired from the NHL on August 2, 2002. He has done work for ESPN hockey broadcasts, including on NHL 2Night with John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, where he began working while still an active player. On that show, Ferraro was often referred to as "Chicken Parm" by Buccigross after an accident with Chicken Parmesan moments before going on the air. He later worked as a studio analyst for the NHL on NBC, as a colour commentator on Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet West and on Sportsnet's other hockey programs. Ferraro works as a color commentator and studio analyst for the NHL on TSN. Ferraro provided colour commentary and analysis for CTV during the 2010 Winter Olympics. After Pierre McGuire left TSN for NBC/Versus, He became the lead color commentator. After Rogers Media, the parent of TSN's rival Sportsnet, gained the nationalNHL rights with effect in the 2014-15 NHL season, Ferraro became a color commentator for the network’s regional NHL telecasts, primarily working Toronto Maple Leafs games. On May 5, 2014, EA Sports announced that Ferraro would be an "Inside-the-Glass" reporter for NHL 15 along with play-by-play commentator Mike Emrick and color commentator Eddie Olczyk. He returned as an "Inside-the-Glass" reporter for NHL 16. On November 23, 2015, Ferraro became the first hockey broadcaster to broadcast a game where his child also played in the same game, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Boston Bruins at the Air Canada Centre.. During the 2019 NHL Awards, Ferraro was named as a color commentator in NHL 20. Also in 2019, Ferraro and Darren Dreger started a podcast, The Ray and Dregs Hockey Podcast, hosted by TSN.
Personal life
Ferraro's second wife is former U.S. women's ice hockey team captain Cammi Granato, who also worked as a women's hockey analyst during NBC's 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics coverage. The couple has two sons — Riley, who was born in December 2006, and Reese, born in December 2009. Ferraro also has two sons from a previous marriage to his high-school sweetheart, Tracey Ferraro — Matt, born in 1988, and Landon, born in 1991. Landon, a centre, was drafted second overall by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft and in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings; he was later traded from Red Deer to the Everett Silvertips, where he was named team captain. Landon made his NHL debut with the Red Wings on March 18, 2014. Matt, a former goaltender, was drafted to the WHL in 2003 by the Prince George Cougars, but has since become a financial planner. Following the Swedish women's team upset of the U.S. at the 2006 Winter Olympic games, Ferraro publicly criticised U.S. women's coach Ben Smith for failing to bring the best U.S. players to the games, which led to the team's downfall. His comments were broadcast on MSNBC during the intermission of a men's game. This appeared to be directly related to his wife being cut in August 2005 because she wouldn't give up her NBC Sports job, along with other veterans in favour of younger, faster players. Some critics and fans also questioned Granato's cut from the team and cited it as a factor in the U.S. team's disappointing performance. Ferraro currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ferraro played in the 1976 Little League World Series.
Transactions
November 13, 1990 — Traded by the Hartford Whalers to the New York Islanders in exchange for Doug Crossman.
August 9, 1995 — Signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers.
