The Rangers retired Adam Graves’ number nine last night for not just his accomplishments on the ice, but for his myriad of contributions off of it. It was during that magical season of 1993-94 when Graves had his finest season as a Ranger, scoring 52 goals as New York eliminated 54 years of frustration. Graves never reached those heights again, but he played ten seasons in New York and scored almost 300 goals.
Those are impressive statistics, but not necessarily ones that you would retire a players number for. And Adam Graves probably wouldn’t have been given this honor if not for the incredible and tireless work he has done off the ice for charities around the New York area. Many of the people he has worked with attended the game and you could see the joy in their faces and his. Mark Messier described his teammate as “a champion with real character.” Graves is certainly both and very worthy of the honor the Rangers bestowed on him.
Graves told the crowd at Madison Square Garden, "I stand before you humbled and incredibly appreciative because I am truly blessed. Blessed to have the talent to play in the NHL and blessed to have the ability to share that ability for 10 years with the people of New York.” You can see videos of last night's ceremony here.
