There had never been a free-agent signing season like it, and for the sake of all those invested emotionally or otherwise with the Rangers, there will never be a 1999 again.
For that was the summer following Wayne Gretzky’s retirement with the Blueshirts. The franchise had missed the playoffs for the second straight time after having qualified for the tournament eight of the previous nine years and 18 of the previous 20.
The Ranger$ pledged to splurge, and they did, signing an entire prospective starting lineup of free agents featuring goaltender Kirk McLean; defensemen Stephane Quintal and Sylvain Lefebvre; left wing Val Kamensky; center Tim Taylor; and last but hardly least, Theo Fleury, who never, ever had the slightest interest in coming east until he received a legal bribe of $21 million over three years.
“Were there any other competitive offers?” I asked Fleury when he signed.