Book Description
In the late 1960s, the New York Rangers were transformed from National Hockey League also-rans to Stanley Cup contenders. Gilles Villemure was part of that transformation. The little goaltender, who had a long wait to make it to the NHL because the league had six teams until after the middle of the decade, joined Eddie Giacomin to give the Rangers as strong a 1-2 goaltending tandem as there was in the league. The Vezina Trophy-winning twosome was a fixture on Ranger teams that threatened to end the franchise's long Stanley Cup drought, only to come up short. Now, 30 years later, Villemure writes about his days with the Rangers, telling stories about old pals like Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield, Brad Park, Jean Ratelle -- and his boss, Emile "The Cat" Francis. The Rangers finally won that Stanley Cup in 1994, ending over 50 years of frustration, but it was those Francis teams -- the ones with Villemure and Giacomin in goal -- that brought New York's Blueshirts, Madison Square Garden's finest, to the top of the NHL. Read what Gilles Villemure has to say about this wonderful team in his "Tales From The Ranger Locker Room."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Gilles Villemure was one of the two goalies on those teams. On the depth chart, he was No. 2 to Eddie Giacomin, but most felt the pair were at least equal. Regardless, they were a pair and a formidable one -- winning the Vezina Trophy one year and taking the Rangers to within two wins of the Stanley Cup the next. Neither goalie retired with a Cup ring. Giacomin went on to the Hall of Fame, with his No. 1 retired in the Madison Square Garden rafters. Villemure remained in the memories of Ranger fans everywhere.

Now, Villemure emerges from the recesses of Ranger history. With the help of veteran sports writer Mike Shalin, a season ticket holder at the Garden in the Villemure years who went on to cover the Rangers for United Press International and the New York Post before moving to Boston in 1983, the former goalie brings you his Tales from the Rangers Locker Room, an up-close and personal look at the people involved and the things that happened to that team.

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