Gravey train

Go Rangers!

During Brian Leetch's number-retirement speech, Leetch let the cat out of the bag, and told his former teammate, and an all-time Sports With Steve legend, Adam Graves, that Graves' number 9 will be the next to hang from the rafters at Madison Square Garden.

Of late, number-retirements have been based almost solely on stats. Number retirement isn't about the stats. It's about what a player means to the team and the team's fans. Nobody is ever going to be blown away by Graves' 616 points in 1152 games, or even the 507 in 772 with the blueshirts.

But based on stats, and judging by Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, or Mario Lemiuex-like standards, one can make a case Maurice Richard's 965 points in 978 games shouldn't be enough for a number in the rafters.

No, Graves wasn't as culturally important, and no, Graves wasn't as purely talented, and no, Graves didn't raise the bar, and no, the NHL doesn't hand out the Adam Graves award annually. Heck, Graves never even had a real nickname.

He was just one of those guys. He played every game like it may be his last. He set a Rangers single-season goal record, and was named team MVP in both 1993, and their 1994 Stanley Cup season.

He wasn't the biggest name when he was a Ranger, and he wasn't the best player. But he was beloved. And it's a great day for fans of underdogs, fans of the good guy, and fans of guys that give it their all.

Now if only we could get the Rags to hang Brad Park's number...