The Magnificent Seven

When Artemi Panarin tallied his 100^th point of the 2023-24 season on Mar. 26, 2024, he not only achieved a significant individual milestone. Panarin also joined an exclusive group of Rangers who have recorded 100 points in a season in their nearly 100-year-old history.

Here is the exclusive club of Blueshirts who have tallied 100 points in a season, and a look at how their 100-point seasons unfolded.

Jean Ratelle – 1971-72

• Stats in 1971-72: 63 games played, 46 goals, 63 assists, 109 points
• Date of 100^th point of 1971-72 season: Feb. 20, 1972 (vs. Detroit)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Goal

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Lester B. Pearson Award (now Ted Lindsay Award – the most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA)
• Lady Byng Trophy (the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability)
• Second Team NHL All-Star (Center)
• First player to record 100 points in a season for the Rangers in franchise history
• Rangers’ Most Valuable Player

Ratelle had tallied between 72 and 78 points in the four seasons prior to the 1971-72 season. As the 1971-72 season progressed, it was evident that the chemistry between Ratelle and his linemates – left wing Vic Hadfield and right wing Rod Gilbert – was at its peak, and each member of the line was having a career season.

The Rangers’ legendary center posted a multi-point game in seven consecutive contests between the end of October and the middle of November, registering 15 points in those seven games. On November 21, 1971, when the Rangers set a single-game franchise record with 12 goals against the California Golden Seals, Ratelle scored four goals and added an assist.

In late November, Ratelle began another stretch of six consecutive multi-point games, tallying 16 points over the span, and by early December, the Hadfield-Ratelle-Gilbert trio had been given the “Goal-A-Game Line” moniker. Following back-to-back five-point games at the start of January and a three-point game after that, Ratelle was leading the NHL with 74 points through the first half of the season.

No Ranger had ever previously reached the 100-point plateau in a season, but on February 20, 1972 in a game against Detroit at MSG, Ratelle tallied his 100^th point of the season with a first period goal that drew a long, extended standing ovation from The Garden Faithful.

Ratelle recorded three points in that game against Detroit; the contest was part of an eight-game goal streak in which Ratelle tallied 13 goals and registered 21 points, and he notched either two points or three points in every game of that run.

Ratelle’s season ended abruptly, however, on March 1, 1972, when he was inadvertently hit with a slap shot from teammate Dale Rolfe and had a broken bone in his ankle as a result.

Although he would later return for the Stanley Cup Final, Ratelle did not play another game during the regular season in 1971-72. With one month remaining in the regular season, he had tallied 109 points; what Ratelle’s statistics could have been for that season had he not been injured remains one of the biggest “what ifs” in Rangers history. No. 19 finished the season with a 1.73 points per game average, which is the best in a single season in franchise history.

Ratelle held the Rangers’ single-season franchise record for points for 34 years.

Vic Hadfield – 1971-72

• Stats in 1971-72: 78 games played, 50 goals, 56 assists, 106 points
• Date of 100^th point of 1971-72 season: Mar. 25, 1972 (at Montreal)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Assist (on goal by Phil Goyette)

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Second Team NHL All-Star (Left Wing)
• First player to score 50 goals in a season for the Rangers in franchise history
• Rangers’ Players’ Player Award

Prior to the 1971-72 season, Hadfield was named the Rangers’ captain. Hadfield was the perfect complement on a line with Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle; he had the physicality to go into corners to retrieve pucks for his linemates, while also having the skill to convert on the scoring chances that Gilbert and Ratelle created.

Hadfield’s previous career-highs in goals and points before the start of the 1971-72 season were 26 and 66, respectively (both accomplished in 1968-69), but from the outset of the season, the “G-A-G Line” was on a torrid scoring pace. He tallied 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 11 games in October and followed that up with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 11 games in November. After a three-point game on December 1, 1971, Hadfield was tied for the NHL lead in goals with 18 and was tied with Bobby Orr for second in the NHL in points with 39, only one behind Phil Esposito.

At the time Ratelle suffered his season-ending injury on March 1, 1972, Hadfield was tied for third in the NHL with 41 goals and ranked fifth in the NHL in points with 90, trailing only Esposito, Ratelle, Orr, and Gilbert. Although Hadfield and Gilbert played with different centers during the final month of the season, the Rangers’ captain maintained a point per game pace. On March 25, 1972, just over a month after Ratelle reached the 100-point plateau, Hadfield recorded his 100^th point of the season. In addition to tallying 100 points, Hadfield also had the opportunity to accomplish something that no other Ranger had previously done – score 50 goals in a single season.

Hadfield entered the final game of the regular season on April 2, 1972 against the Montreal Canadiens with 48 goals. Despite playing with a badly swollen thumb, Hadfield scored two goals in the game, getting his 50^th goal of the season with 5:14 remaining in regulation.

Mike Rogers – 1981-82

• Stats in 1981-82: 80 games played, 38 goals, 65 assists, 103 points
• Date of 100^th point of 1981-82 season: Mar. 31, 1982 (at Chicago)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Goal

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Co-winner of Rangers’ Most Valuable Player Award (along with Barry Beck)

When the Rangers acquired Rogers in the first week of October in 1981, they were getting a center who had tallied at least 100 points in each of the previous two seasons with the Hartford Whalers. Despite not participating with the Rangers in Training Camp, Rogers was able to make a quick transition once the trade happened.

“What was funny about that year with the Rangers is that I don’t think I had the same two wingers (on my line) more than two or three games in a row,” Rogers recalled years later. “In the previous two years in Hartford, I had the same wingers. But there were so many great players on that team, that it was pretty easy to play with anybody.”

Rogers excelled under the puck-possession style of game that Herb Brooks – who was in his first year coaching the Rangers – wanted the team to play. Rogers consistently tallied points throughout the 1981-82 season, as he registered at least one point in 64 of 80 games.

That consistency led to several extended point streaks throughout the season. Rogers posted a nine-game point streak in November, an 11-game point streak that began in late-December and ran through mid-January, and then a 16-game point streak from mid-February through mid-March. Rogers’ 16-game point streak set a new franchise record at the time, eclipsing the previous record that had been established by Gilbert during the 1972-73 season.

“If you look at any player that scores 100 points in a season in the league, they have to have that one streak in the range of 13, 14, or 15 games that gets you over the hump,” Rogers said. “Things just seemed to fall into place for me over that 16-game span and everything was working.”

When Rogers’ point streak ended, he had 91 points and seven games remaining in the regular season to hit the 100-point threshold. He recorded eight points in the next four games before tallying his 100^th point of the season with a goal on March 31, 1982 at Chicago, which was the team’s third-to-last game of the regular season.

“It was almost a relief when I got the 100^th point,” Rogers said. “You set goals at the start of the year, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to score 100 points in the NHL, but after doing it the previous two years, that is what you’re looking at. You feel that you have to continue that play and try to get to 100 points.”

In addition to becoming the third player in franchise history to tally 100 points in a season, Rogers also set the Rangers’ single-season assists record at the time in 1981-82 with 65, breaking the previous single-season franchise record of 63 that Ratelle had set in 1971-72. In looking back on his career, Rogers said that reaching the 100-point plateau as a member of the Rangers is unquestionably one of the highlights of his career.

“It’s very humbling – and almost surreal – to see your name with the other players who have done it,” Rogers said. “I never put myself in their category, but just for this fleeting moment you could say, I see my name besides them, and it’s something to be proud of. It’s gratifying to be able to do that and be part of that illustrious group.”

Mark Messier – 1991-92

• Stats in 1991-92: 79 games played, 35 goals, 72 assists, 107 points
• Date of 100^th point of 1991-92 season: Mar. 22, 1992 (vs. New Jersey)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Goal

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Hart Trophy (the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team)
• Lester B. Pearson Award (now Ted Lindsay Award – the most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA)
• First Team NHL All-Star (Center)
• Rangers’ Most Valuable Player

The Rangers acquired Messier in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on October 4, 1991, one day after the team played its 1991-92 season regular season opener. Messier had played 12 seasons with the Oilers and had won the Stanley Cup five times, and he was a ready for a new challenge in his career.

The Rangers and New York City represented that opportunity.

“(New York) seemed to be the only place that I really could envision myself coming to,” Messier said years after the trade occurred. “For all of the reasons – the challenge of it, playing for an Original Six team, living in the city – the whole thing seemed to be exactly what I wanted.”

Messier made his Rangers debut on October 5, 1991 against the Canadiens in Montreal, and he assisted on the game-tying goal in what would be a 2-1 overtime win for the Blueshirts. Two days later, he was named the Rangers’ captain prior to the team’s home opener at MSG, and he assisted on two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime, as the Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 2-1.

Messier registered a point in each of his first 11 games as a Ranger, as well as 34 of his first 40 contests with the team. On the ice and off the ice, he was elevating the team to a new level.

“He came in and it was just a different feel in the locker room, in the arena, and in the sports scene in New York,” Mike Richter recalled years later. “He was bigger than just the sport.”

Messier’s individual success throughout the season was also the driving force behind the team’s success. The Rangers won 50 games in 1991-92, establishing a new single-season franchise record at the time, and they won the Presidents’ Trophy for having the best regular season record in the NHL.

Messier consistently produced offensively throughout the season, adding a 15-game point streak throughout February and into early-March to the 11-game point streak he had to being his tenure with the Blueshirts. On March 22, 1992, Messier scored four goals in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils at MSG – putting an exclamation point on why he was deserving of the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in 1991-92 – and his first goal of the game was his 100^th point of the season.

Messier’s 107 points in 1991-92 were two shy of Ratelle’s single-season record at the time, while his 72 assists were the most by a forward in one season in franchise history at the time.

Brian Leetch – 1991-92

• Stats in 1991-92: 80 games played, 22 goals, 80 assists, 102 points
• Date of 100^th point of 1991-92 season: Apr. 16, 1992 (vs. Pittsburgh)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Goal

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Norris Trophy (the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position)
• First Team NHL All-Star (Defenseman)
• Most assists in one season in Rangers history
• Most points by a defenseman in one season in Rangers history
• Longest point streak in Rangers history (17 games)
• Longest assist streak in Rangers history (15 games)

During the 1990-91 season, Leetch established a single-season franchise record at the time with 72 assists, recorded 88 points, and was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team.

At 23 years old, the question was ‘what would Leetch do next?’ In 1991-92, Leetch would have the best statistical season of his NHL career, setting franchise records that still exist today.

“In 1991-92, I played a lot with Mark’s line,” Leetch recalled years later. “They had us together a lot, and with Mark being a top player in the league and seeing the game a little similar to the way I saw it, he put me in a lot of good positions. And when I passed to him, he created scoring opportunities.”

Leetch, who was named an alternate captain in 1991-92, posted a 14-game point streak that started with the Rangers’ third game of the season and ran through the beginning of November. That point streak, however, was not the longest one Leetch would have in the calendar year of 1991, as from November 23 through December 31, No. 2 registered a point in 17 consecutive games, establishing a franchise record. During that stretch, Leetch also posted a 15-game assist streak, which is also a franchise record.

Leetch’s offense from the blue line amazed teammates and fans alike. His offensive brilliance – including his playmaking ability and vision on the ice, as well as his speed in rushing up the ice with the puck – had been on display since his arrival into the NHL, but 1991-92 was the season in which it reached new heights.

He recorded a point in 63 of 80 games in 1991-92, including an assist in 56 different contests. Entering the final game of the regular season, Leetch had 98 points (21 goals and 77 assists). His teammates – particularly his captain – wanted to make sure that he would finish the year with 100 points.

“Mark was the one driving the whole thing,” Leetch recalled. “Mark said ‘you have to go for it now. You’re already this far, so you have to get that.’ And he was mentioning it to other guys.

“I didn’t even think of 100 points being any different than 99 or 98,” the always humble Leetch added. “You were having a good year regardless. The last game of the year was the first time I thought about that number being any different.”

Leetch tallied one goal and three assists in the Rangers’ final regular season game on April 16, 1992 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG to finish the season with 22 goals and 80 assists for 102 points. He became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to tally at least 100 points in a season, joining Orr, Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey, and Al MacInnis, and it would take over 30 years until another defenseman (Erik Karlsson) reached the 100-point plateau.

Leetch won the first of his two Norris Trophies in 1991-92. His 80 assists during the season remain a single-season franchise record, while his 102 points remain a single-season franchise record for defensemen.

Jaromir Jagr – 2005-06

• Stats in 2005-06: 82 games played, 54 goals, 69 assists, 123 points
• Date of 100^th point of 2005-06 season: Mar. 18, 2006 (vs. Toronto)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Assist (on goal by Petr Prucha)

NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season:

• Lester B. Pearson Award (now Ted Lindsay Award – the most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA)
• First Team NHL All-Star (Right Wing)
• Most points in one season in Rangers history
• Most goals in one season in Rangers history
• Most shots on goal in one season in Rangers history (368)
• Rangers’ Most Valuable Player

When the Rangers opened the 2005-06 regular season on October 5, 2005 against the Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia, Jagr scored two power play goals and added an assist to lead the team to a come-from-behind 5-3 win. It would be a microcosm for how 2005-06 would unfold for No. 68 and the Rangers, as Jagr set several franchise records while leading a lovable team to a memorable season.

With his lethal shot, ability to protect the puck, and impeccable chemistry with linemates Martin Straka and Michael Nylander, Jagr racked up points at a remarkable rate. Jagr tallied a point in 64 of 82 games during the 2005-06 season, including two or more points in 37 different contests, and he also had as many games with three or more points (18) as he did games without scoring a point.

Jagr scored 21 goals in the first 25 games of the season, and by the end of the 2005 calendar year, he was leading the NHL with 61 points in 39 games. In the five games that preceded the NHL pausing for two weeks for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Jagr scored a goal and posted a multi-point game in each contest, registering 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in the five contests. When the NHL paused for the Olympic break, Jagr was leading the NHL with 40 goals and 88 points in just 58 games.

Over the final quarter of the season, Jagr completed his rewriting of the Rangers’ record book. He tallied his 100^th point of the season in the Blueshirts’ 67^th game of the season on Mar. 18, 2006. On Mar. 29, 2006, Jagr registered his 110^th point of the season, breaking Ratelle’s single-season franchise record. On Apr. 8, 2006, Jagr tallied his 53^rd goal of the season, breaking Adam Graves’ single-season franchise record.

Jagr finished the regular season with 54 goals, 123 points, 368 shots on goal, and 24 power play goals; all of those totals established single-season franchise records at the time, and with the exception of the 24 power play goals, he is still the record-holder in each category. Jagr ranked second in the NHL in goals and points (trailing the leader by two in each category). He won the Lester B. Pearson Award and was the runner-up for the Hart Trophy.

Artemi Panarin – 2023-24

• Stats in 2023-24 (as of Mar. 27, 2024): 72 games played, 43 goals, 59 assists, 102 points
• Date of 100^th point of 2023-24 season: Mar. 26, 2024 (vs. Philadelphia)
• Goal/Assist for 100^th Point of Season: Assist (on goal by Mika Zibanejad)
• NHL/Rangers Awards and Records Accomplished During Season: TBD

In his first season with the Rangers in 2019-20, Panarin recorded 95 points and was a finalist for both the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He was on pace to reach the 100-point plateau before the 2019-20 regular season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, Panarin recorded 74 assists to break the single-season franchise record for assists by a forward that had previously been shared by Messier and Wayne Gretzky.

And in 2023-24, Panarin, who is the Rangers’ all-time leader in points per game and assists per game, reached the 100-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career, while also establishing single-season career-highs in categories such as goals and shots on goal.

Some of Panarin’s most significant points throughout the season have been:

• 1 – Oct. 12, 2023 at Buffalo: Panarin assisted on the Rangers’ first goal of the season, which was scored by Lafrenière
• 2 – Oct. 12, 2023 at Buffalo: Panarin scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot in the second period of the team’s 2023-24 opener and helped the Blueshirts win the game, 5-1
• 15 – Oct. 30, 2023 at Winnipeg: Panarin set up Mika Zibanejad’s game-winning goal in the final minute of overtime, helping the Rangers beat the Jets, 3-2, and complete a sweep of a five-game road trip for the first time in franchise history. Panarin recorded a point on all three goals for the Rangers in the game and extended his point streak to nine games.
• 25 – Nov. 18, 2023 at New Jersey: Panarin opened the scoring with a power play goal and extended his point streak to 15 games; the 15-game point streak was the longest to begin a season in Rangers history and was tied for the third-longest streak at any point in a season in franchise history. Panarin also scored another goal in the game, helping the Rangers beat the Devils, 5-3.
• 34 – Dec. 3, 2023 vs. San Jose: Panarin completed his first hat trick of the season, helping the Rangers defeat the Sharks, 6-5, at MSG.
• 39 – Dec. 12, 2023 vs. Toronto: Panarin tallied his 700^th career NHL point.
• 50 – Dec. 30, 2023 at Tampa Bay: Panarin completed his second hat trick of the season, helping the Rangers defeat the Lightning, 5-1. Panarin became the first Ranger to tally 50 or more points in the team’s first 35 games of a season since Jagr in 2006-07.
• 59 – Jan. 14, 2014 vs. Washington: Panarin tallied his 400^th career point as a Ranger by scoring a goal in the opening minute of the game. He recorded his first 400 points with the Blueshirts in fewer games (310) than any other player who reached that plateau in franchise history.
• 74 – Feb. 18, 2024 at NY Islanders (2024 NHL Stadium Series): Panarin capped off a three-point game by scoring the game-winning goal 10 seconds into overtime as the Rangers rallied to defeat the Islanders, 6-5, at MetLife Stadium.
• 90 – Mar. 16, 2024 at Pittsburgh: Panarin tallied his 90^th point of the season in the first period of the game; by doing so, he became the first Ranger in franchise history to record at least 90 points in a season four different times.
• 93 – Mar. 16, 2024 at Pittsburgh: Panarin registered his fifth point of the game with an assist, tying a single-game career-high in points, and his fifth point of the game was also his 500^th career NHL assist.
• 96 – Mar. 21, 2024 at Boston: Panarin scored his 40^th goal of the season, reaching the 40-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career.
• 97 – Mar. 21, 2024 at Boston: Panarin completed his third hat trick of the season with an empty-net goal, and by tallying his 97^th point of the season, he established a new single-season career-high.
• 100 – Mar. 26, 2024 vs. Philadelphia: Panarin assisted on Mika Zibanejad’s power play goal to become the seventh player in Rangers history to register 100 or more points in a season.