Former Ranger Mike Gartner will have his number retired. Not by the Rangers, don't worry, but by the team he broke into the NHL with and spent nearly 10 seasons - the Washington Capitals. Gartner was a classy, fantastically skilled player and one of the best skaters in the history of the NHL. He also was great for the league in his post-playing career before leaving amid the Ted Saskin controversy. All told he played 351 games for the Rangers, racking up 312 points before being unceremoniously dumped for Messier's boyfriend Glenn Anderson under the pretense that Gartner's playoff inexperience would hurt the Rangers. As you can guess, I disagree - the Gartner was a clear-cut Hall of Famer while Anderson likely would not have made it in if not for a weak year of candidates. But what's done is done; at least Gartner is being honoured by one of his former teams. He deserves it.
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