Curse of 1940

The curse of 1940 was the superstition, preventing the New York Rangers from winning the Stanley Cup between 1940 and 1994. It ended the successful series started in the 1926-27 season when the Rangers qualified for playoffs five times and gained two Stanley Cups, including the 1939-40 trophy.

The symbolic burning of the mortgage paid off in the cup inside the Madison Square Garden followed the defeat of the Toronto Maroons that year. Some fans considered the trophy desecrated and hockey Gods would leave their favourite club. The fans’ beliefs covered the Rangers. They suffered from World War II in a higher way than other clubs. It even suspended their operations to the end of the battles that’s why this club didn’t pretend for the Stanley Cup in the first half of the 1940s. But the curse continued furthermore.

Some journalists don’t believe in this version. They suspect Red Dutton, the New York Americans’ former player, general manager and owner as the misfortune initiator. They were the first hockey team in the Big Apple. Amerks made five playoff appearances. This team even beat Rangers in the 1937-1938 quarterfinal. They fell from Chicago Black Hawks at the next stage. After that, Americans had to go away from the Madison Square Garden in favor of the Rangers. Dutton was angry about that decision. He promised that its competitors would never win the Cup while he was alive. He died in 1987 at 88. The curse ended only in 1994, seven years later.

It had several affected branches. First, Madison Square Garden decided that travel circuses bring more money than hockey. This measure affected not only Rangers but also the NBA club Kings. They had forced these teams to use other arenas during their home playoff games. Sometimes these locations were inconvenient for the fans, or the games were held too late. All these factors reduced attendance at their matches. Toronto Maple Leaf Arena as alternate home ice left the Rangers without Stanley in 1950.

The Islanders also took part in this curse. They were the third NHL team in New York. Islanders and Rangers crossed in 1979 semi-finals. The opponents went to the final stage. The total number of Big Apple derbies in playoffs between these teams was more than 20. Some of them led to the Rangers’ victory, but they didn’t reach the final or lose the Cup.

1993-1994 was the storming season for the Rangers. They earned 112 points during the regular season with the chance to get their second President’s Trophy in three years. Their postseason route started from the Islanders. The 1994 New York derby ended sweeping of the opponents. Rangers passed Washington Capitals in five games of the second round and met with Devils in the third. New Yorkers had a great motivation to get revenge for last year’s loss. Their captain Mark Messier guaranteed his team wins Game 6 of the series and continued it. He became the hero of that game after the hat trick. The rangers beat their geographical neighbors.

The curse threatened to continue in the decisive game 7 of the final series against the Vancouver Canucks. Rangers started to celebrate 7 seconds before the end of the game, where they led 3-2. Canucks used this time to stop the clock and try to tie. However, captain Messier and Craig MacTavish conferred to oppose the faceoff into the Rangers’ zone. It helped to ensure their win. The team’s fans chanted “1940!” symbolizing the end of this curse.