“Denis Potvin may be the most remembered player in Rangers history,” said Rangers president Glen Sather. “Every game you hear his name chanted, so we feel it’s time to give him the proper recognition.”

Throughout most games at Madison Square Garden, the fans chant “Potvin Sucks” in remembrance of the hit he placed on Ulf Nilsson back in February, 1979. Although he never played for the Rangers, he is part of the lore of the team.

A former first round draft pick and captain of the Islanders, Potvin led the Isles to four straight Stanley Cups, while tormenting the Rangers under coach Herb Brooks. His play prevented the Rangers from breaking the 1940 curse, which lasted to 1994.

Potvin retired in 1988, but his name has lived on, which took pressure off many a Ranger team.

“I think it’s great,” said Ranger captain Chris Drury. “When the times are tough the fans chant “Potvin Sucks” and don’t boo the team. He’s been an MVP for us during losing streaks.”

“I never heard of Denis Potvin until I came here,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “He should be thankful these fans remember him.”

When reached for comment, Potvin, 55, said he is touched by the gesture, but doesn’t want to say anymore until he speaks to Sather.

“I wish they asked me first,” he said. “I don’t know if I will get an outpouring of love like Mark Messier or Adam Graves. I have to speak to Glen.”

Happy April Fools Day from the staff at NYSD.

And maybe it was more fitting that the current Rangers and Leafs were set to battle after Bathgate’s No. 9 and Harry Howell’s No. 3 were raised to the Garden rafters.

Yet maybe that’s what made this day so special for the two former Rangers, as their great wait is now over and their day in the sun finally arrived.  The ceremony, like all the other Garden celebrations, was fitting for the honorees, while distinctive in its own right.

For these two distinguished gentleman, the night was about the Original Six, a brushed aside era for the Rangers due to the futility of the team on the ice. “When it happens, you never expect it,” Bathgate said. “When you don’t win any Stanley Cups, there’s sort of a gap there and you get forgotten.”

But even with no cups to show for their efforts in New York and a second class treatment by Garden ownership, which evicted them during the playoffs in favor of the circus, both seemed to love New York.

“Is there a better place to play hockey in the whole damn world than in New York?” inquired Bathgate as he began his speech.

“I played 1,160-plus games for the New York Rangers and I always wanted to be a New York Ranger,” Howell, who also said he grew up a Ranger fan in Maple Leafs territory, Hamilton, Ontario. “After I left New York, no matter where I played, I always said I played in New York and for the New York Rangers.”

Both players had reason to brag, since they were two bright spots.  With Bathgate, the Rangers had that star forward that could compete with the other star scorers in the league, while Howell was that stay at home defenseman, which every team needs to succeed.

Yet, even with Hall of Fame credentials, the Rangers seem to forget about them over the years. With almost 20 percent of the 1994 team had their numbers retired, the organization did the right thing for once, giving Howell and Bathgate their due.

While honoring the two former greats, the Rangers also honored the Original Six era by inviting eleven of their former teammates and Hall of Famers Red Kelly (Detroit), Dick Duff (Montreal), Frank Mahovlich (Toronto), and Stan Mikita (Chicago) to represent the Rangers opponents. (Milton Schmidt was supposed to be at the Garden to represent the Boston Bruins, but could not attend due to an illness).

And there were gifts with both men receiving Panerai watches from the organization, and a seven day Alaskan cruise.

Of course there were speeches, with Rod Gilbert introducing Howell and the other No. 9 Adam Graves saying a few kind words about Bathgate.  But the guests of honor were the highlight of the night, both of which reflected upon their careers.

The actual number retirement followed and Michal Rozsival also came out to relinquish jersey No. 3 to Howell, now going with No. 33.

“I was very nice of him,” Howell said. “I asked him what number he was wearing and he turned around with No. 33. So he’s No. 33 on the ice and I am No. 3 in the sky.”

But one major difference tonight, as Mark Messier didn’t break down and cry. So the honorees had to get choked up for The Captain.

“My wife gave me a shot in the ribs,’ Howell said. “I can understand why people get emotional. I was not an emotional player, but I was emotional tonight.”

So when the club hoists both Andy Bathgate’s No. 9 and Harry Howell’s No. 3 up to the Garden rafters, it will be the first step in recognizing the Rangers’ deep and storied history.

They were men of the Old Garden at 8^th Avenue and 50^th Street, playing a much simpler and more rugged game. Back then, the Rangers were tenants, evicted every spring with the circus came to town.  More than anything else, this is why the Rangers suffered for so many years without a Stanley Cup.

“I feel in my heart, that why a lot of players left,” said Bathgate, a Ranger from 195-1964. “The ultimate is to win the Stanley Cup. I would like to be on the winner and possibly win the Stanley Cup. We knew going in we weren’t going to be playing any games there [in the playoffs]. And our fans were so loyal, they were good for a goal a game.”

Back then the Garden was used every night for different events. The ice was always new, as the custom was to drain the rink and then refreeze it as necessary. They also had to practice an upstairs rink at the Garden that was designed for figure skating.

All of this made life difficult for the players, but they made the most of it.

“We could only play,” Bathgate said. “If you ask anyone in the NHL [the Garden] was the hardest place to play. It was almost a new ice every night and it can designate how you play.”

Bathgate, 77, finished up as a Ranger with 272 goals and 457 assists, including a Hart Trophy win in 1959. He was traded to Toronto in the 1964 season after what he felt was complaining to management about the way the team handled a few players. Yet, that was a very fortunate move, since he was able to win the ultimate award as a Maple Leaf that season.

But as he announced to the 15 or so reporters covering the event, “Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger” and the team will now send up his No. 9 to the rafters at the Garden, along with Howell’s No. 3. The 77 year-old former defenseman came up with Bathgate in 1952, but stayed with the team through the 1969 season. Much like Bathgate, Howell never saw this day coming and actually had a day for himself back in 1967 when he was still playing. His longevity as a Ranger has him still holding the team record for most games played with 1,160, while playing in 70 game seasons.

Both men will now be honored on Sunday in a pre-game ceremony. Bathgate, the first player to use a curved stick, and also a pioneer with the slap shot never thought this day would happen. “This is the ultimate for myself,” he said. “It was 45 years tomorrow night that I was traded to Toronto.”

At their advanced ages, it’s a nice gesture from the organization, yet more needs to be done. Players like Frank Boucher and Bill Cook need nights, as does Bathgate and Howell’s contemporaries like Jean Ratelle, Brad Park, and even coach Emile Francis. If they start now, then they need to finish the job and honor all the Rangers who deserve their numbers retired.

But today was not about the future, it’s about the past and about two gentlemen, who loved the game of hockey, playing it in a much simpler time.

AUDIO: Andy Bathgate on the Old Garden

One of the most evenly-matched games this season has seen, the Knicks went into halftime with a 57-56 lead over the Spurs. The biggest lead of the whole game was when the Spurs were up by seven with 3:18 left in the second quarter.

The hero of tonight’s game was the always-fiery Nate Robinson. Fresh off winning his second career Slam Dunk trophy this past weekend in Phoenix, “KryptoNate” Robinson looked sharp in all aspects of the game. He finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. One particular dazzling play was at the 8:50 mark in the second quarter. Robinson began driving down the lane, saw that there was too much traffic, spun the ball around his body, passed it back to a sprinting Danilo Gallinari who slam dunked it in. The crowd has always loved Robinson and they went into a frenzy after that play.

“He’s been playing extremely well and I thought especially in the second half. In the first half he was a little bit jittery and messed around a little bit with the ball. In the second half, he settled down and was terrific,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s doing a good job of just making the right play.”

With 6:02 left in the fourth, Wilson Chandler nailed a three-pointer to tie the game at 88. Robinson was again in the thick of things as with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter, the guard drove in a lay-up being fouled in the process. He pumped his fists in the air and yelled to the rafters. He then calmed down and completed the three-point play. There have been so many trade talks swirling around him and fans would surely hate to see him go as he’s easily one of the most passionate players the Garden has seen in recent years.

With 52 seconds left in regulation and the Spurs leading 100-99, Lee was fouled. He missed the first free throw, but tied the game on the second. Tim Duncan retaliated with a jumper briefly giving San Antonio the lead. Again, Robinson was there to answer back, this time with another lay-up. With 3.1 seconds left, an inbound pass was given to Tim Duncan. To the delight of the Garden faithful he missed the jumpshot sending the game to overtime with the score tied at 102.

In overtime, Robinson continued his stellar play as he scored six of the Knicks’ ten points. San Antonio Head Coach Gregg Popovich also had positive things to say about Robinson.

“He’s a wonderful player. He gets after it,” Popovich said. “He wants to do things that help the team win. He kind of does for them what [Manu] Ginobili does for us in a way. He’s got that kind of spirit, that kind of aggressiveness.”

Other bright spots for the Knicks included another trade-talk accumulator David Lee. He recorded another double-double as he scored 13 points and brought down 12 boards. Chandler and Chris Duhon each had 17 points.

On the Spurs’ side, Duncan had 26 points with 15 rebounds and was San Antonio’s high scorer. Guard Roger Mason netted 20 points. All-Star Tony Parker, whose wife Eva Longoria-Parker was in attendance and definitely got a louder ovation that he did, had a quiet game scoring 14 but only recording three assists.

Parker did have this to say about the Knicks, “They look like Phoenix of the East, they take a lot of shots, a lot of threes and play great transition defense. Same old thing when you play against a Mike D’Antoni team.”

Going into the All-Star break, the Knicks didn’t look like a team that deserved to be in the playoffs. They still don’t. D’Antoni’s squad has to bring down more rebounds and play like they did last night. D’Antoni is still not taking my advice (and the advice of many Knick fans) and playing Gallinari more. Then when the kid does play, he rarely gets the ball (last night he played ten minutes and made the only shot he took) as teammates are hesitant to dish it to him. I don’t know why they are. He is wasting valuable learning time by playing ten to fifteen minutes a night. He’d be better off playing thirty minutes in the D-League, lengthening out his performances and strengthening his endurance.

Anyways, I have this message to the Garden faithful: if you get nothing else (as in missing the playoffs), at least your team is providing you with fun and competitive basketball.

No matter what the coach’s future will be, the Rangers need to do the right thing. Instead of letting “Renney Watch” hang over the team for a weeks, they need to make a decision and live with it. Either let Renney go and replace him with another coach – most likely being assistant general manager Jim Schoenfeld – or publically announce that Renney is the Rangers coach for the rest of the season and live with the decision.

Any other move will lead to continued speculation, negative chants from the Garden rafters, and ultimately more losses, since the players will become more tuned out to their coach.

Last summer we saw this with the Mets decision on Willie Randolph. Instead of giving their manager the thumbs up or ultimate dismissal, the team waivered, until being put in a position where firing him made him a sympathetic figure. Randolph was let go on the west coast after managing the Mets to a win. After being fired after the game, the press release came out at 3:17 a.m. Eastern Time. All that did was manage to infuriate the media, because it was missed in the morning papers, while keeping many sports writers up the night trying to get the story on the websites.

If the Mets made a quick decision on Randolph, it could be argued the team would have made the playoffs in 2008. Instead of 30 days of questions about their manager, the players would have moved on, and you would think the team would have one a few more games.

This is why the Rangers need to make a quick decision. As “Renney Watch” intensifies and more and more non -hockey reporters come to the Garden, the players will get questions about the status of their coach, which will probably translate to more losses on the ice, as the inquisitions will weigh upon them. The only way of stopping this vicious cycle will be when general manager Glen Sather or Garden chairman James Dolan makes a public announcement about the status of Renney.

Besides, Renney deserves better than twisting in the wind. Starting right before the lockout, the coach has brought dignity and grace back to the franchise. He has been the face of the organization, while Sather sat back on his high perch, shunning the public spotlight. The coach of the Rangers needs to be treated the same way he treated everyone he encountered as coach of the Blueshirts.

That’s why the Garden needs to do something. They need to say Renney is their man or put someone in whom they will stand behind. They can’t let Renney stand out there naked to take abuse from the New York crowd. It would be wrong, could torpedo the Rangers season, and ultimately makes Dolan and Sather look like fools.

Adam Graves felt 'humbled' last night. (Photo by Tim Baker)

NEW YORK -This tribute wasn’t about really about hockey. It wasn’t about a player either.

This tribute was about a person.

It was fitting that Adam Graves night began with the guest of honor walking through the fifth floor halls of the Garden, greeting the many sick and underprivileged children he met over the years. True to form, this seemed like his favorite moment of the night, because when the spotlight shined on him, Graves became humbled.

“Since last year, when Brian [Leetch] was so kind to take time out of his night,” Graves said as he began his speech. “I felt a weight fall on my shoulders and that weight has only increased over the past year.”

Of course, he got through with the ceremony, but had to be pushed out by his teammates as he tried to walk off the Garden ice with the other three immortals from the 1994 team. Graves never wanted this night, and never wanted to be the center of attention. Even in his post-ceremony press conference, No. 9 only seemed comfortable when speaking about Andy Bathgate, the other No. 9 who will be raised to the rafters later this month.

“For me to be honored amongst them is humbling and to understand the history of our great franchise,” Graves said. “And to one of the great, great No 9s to play, Andy Bathgate. I respect this game and I appreciate the honor of sharing the number with him.”

The capacity crowd of 18,200 also appreciated what Graves brought to the club. Sure, it could be argued that Graves didn’t deserve this honor based on his numbers on the ice. But the Rangers got this right. A franchise should honor the person for what they brought to table. Too many times we have seen fans turn the other cheek for negative transgressions. Yankee fans were quick to forgive Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte. In Queens, Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were cheered on the last day at Shea. And if Plaxico Burress ever plays again, his hometown fans will stand up and applaud.

But the good deeds never really get the recognition they deserve. Graves’s work off the ice far exceeded his superior play on the ice. And that’s why the Rangers went all out last night for one of the good guys of the game.

They made the night about the man. Instead of a gaudy present – which usually gets left up at the MSG Training Center – Graves got a guitar signed by Bruce Springsteen. The cast of his favorite show – The Sopranos – also made a visit. And of course, his Ranger teammates were there to honor him.

It couldn’t have been scripted better. Mark Messier delivered a speech, during which he broke down twice. Mike Richter and Leetch were of course there, as were teammates from over the years.

And even the current Rangers got involved. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund skated out the banner to get raised to the top of the Garden.

“I’m glad we were here,” Drury said. “It was great to see all of the guys, the guys from the ‘94 team, his mates, his buddies that were there and the other guys who had their numbers retied.”

Graves especially appreciated the crowd. During his speech he mentioned the end of the “1940″ chant in 1994, which followed by the “Potvin” chant from the blue seats. It allowed the man a chance to stop and laugh, just like one of the guys.

That’s all Graves wanted to be. Although he had some great seasons, he acknowledged that he was just a cog in the wheel and one fortunate to have teammates like Messier, Leetch, and Richter.

So it’s truly fitting No. 9 will sit there next to those numbers for eternity. And while they call Messier the captain, Leetch the greatest Ranger, and Richter the great goalie, Graves will be remembered as the great teammate.

But even a better man.

Adam Graves gets joins the Ranger immortals tonight. (MSG Photos)

The numbers raised to the Garden rafters in the past few seasons were well deserved. No one would argue Nos. 35, 11, and 2 respectively, should not have been retired, rather there would have been a protest on 33^rd Street of Mike Richter, Mark Messier and Brian Leetch did not get their days in the sun.

But Adam Graves is a different story. What the Rangers will do tonight is honor an organizational choice, rather than an all-time immortal. They are raising No. 9 to the rafters because of Graves as a person, as much as the player.

Yet, Graves’s No. 9 deserves to hang next to his teammates for eternity, since he meant just as much to the 1994 team as the other three. In fact, it could be argued that the tough left wing was a greater part of that championship run, because to win the Stanley Cup the players other than the immortals need to step up and be counted.

Graves was always there in the front of the line.

“He was the realization of what a Ranger should be,” said Messier. “I think he’s going to be remembered as one of the great Rangers of all-time. He did everything a person could do for an organization, everything a player could do for an organization.

Maybe it came from his relationship with Messier. After signing as a free agent with the Rangers on Sep. 3, 1991, the former Oiler, who played on the “Kid Line” in Edmonton during the Stanley Cup season of 1990, first took Messier’s No. 11 on his jersey, until general manager Neil Smith made the franchise changing trade for the Hall of Fame center a month later.

Graves’s signing was unpopular at the time, as the Rangers had to relinquish young forward Troy Mallette as compensation. The left wing was considered a grinder when that move was made; never scoring more than seven goals in a season and 1990 was actually his first full year in the NHL, playing 76 games.

But with Messier as his pivot in New York, the Ontario native came into his own, scoring 26 goals that first season with 33 assists. As The Captain’s wing, he brought a power forward toughness to New York. Gone were the liberties other teams took at the Blueshirts expense, rather any late his was paid back with interest, as “Gravy” made sure other teams knew who was in charge on the ice.

So much has been written and said about Sean Avery and his antics with goalies. But before ‘The Grate One’ came to the Garden, Graves performed the same duties in front of the net. Yet, his play was clean and never crossed into rule changing territory like Avery.

“He takes everything personally when someone gets run over on the ice,” Leetch said. “No matter whom it is.”

“I like to call Adam ‘the Sheriff’ – he likes to keep the streets clean,” said former teammates and current Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe. “He just watches out for everyone. He’s pretty amazing.”

If Graves was only an enforcer, No. 9 night would have never come about. Yet, he developed that scoring touch which allowed him to hold the Rangers single season goal scoring record with 52 in 1994. (The record was broken by Jaromir Jagr in 2006). But it wasn’t just the amount of goals scored; it was the timing of them.

In 1996, Graves singlehandedly turned around the first round playoff series against the Canadiens. Down 2-0 going into Montreal, the left wing scored twice in Game 3 to give the Rangers a 2-1 win and the twice in Game 4 to tie the series, which was eventually won by the Blueshirts, 4-2.

In 1994, he had 10 goals in the Stanley Cup run and closed out the Devils with a series winning goal in the 1997 Quarterfinals.

Yet, Graves wouldn’t want those accolades mentioned, since he was such an unselfish player. Always putting the team first, he should have been named captain in 1997 after Messier left rather than Leetch, a move which cost the Rangers something on the ice. Although Leetch was a great leader, he was quiet. Graves had that commanding presence on the ice, and his unselfish play would have rubbed off on his teammates.

“There are many things Graves brings that you don’t see on the stat sheet,” Smith said. “Players like Graves are character people. They won’t score 70 in a season, but they will do anything to win.”

And that’s also off the ice. Performing many charity works, Graves had the reputation of putting the community first. For his efforts, he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1994 for leadership on and off the ice and the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2001 for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.  He also was awarded the NHL Foundation Award in 2000 for his work off the ice with underprivileged children.

“He was a huge part, obviously, of winning the Stanley Cup in 1994,” Messier said. “But more importantly, the way he handled himself on the ice and the way he represented himself off the ice was everything that makes a fan proud to be cheering for the home team and the home town.”