Remembering Ex-Ranger Al MacNeil

Former Ranger Al MacNeil, who recently died at age 89 in Calgary, was a solid NHL defenseman but with a rather bizarre coaching career.

Never a star on the blue line, MacNeil gained both fame and infamy while coaching the Montreal Canadiens to the 1971 Stanley Cup.

Never able to speak French, MacNeil was resented by such Hall of Famers as Henri Richard and Rejean Houle.

Still MacNeil coached the Habs to an upset playoff victory over the defending champion Bruins and eventually Montreal reached the Final.

It was then that Richard – angry over being benched – called MacNeil "incompetent." Nonplussed, Al coached Montreal to a seven-game Cup victory over Chicago.

Richard and MacNeil hugged at the end but Al resigned as coach shortly thereafter.

As for his Rangers days, MacNeil came to New York after four seasons with the Blackhawks. We in the press corps were very anxious to see him on the ice.

Well, for his debut, MacNeil did impress us – so to speak – with his arrival on the Garden pond.

He fell on his face.

In his excitement over making a Rangers debut in the Big Apple, Poor Al forgot to remove the rubber scabbards on his skate bladesI