Sports in the New York metropolitan area York City, at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Ice hockey has a storied history and large following in the New York metropolitan area, which is unique in being the only metropolitan area and media market in the United States and Canada to feature three major league professional teams participating in the same sport. New York City is currently the full-time home to the New York Rangers, playing in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, and part-time home to the New York Islanders, which currently split their home schedule between Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the Nassau
1996–97 New York Rangers season spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. New York's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri at the Kiel Center. 1996–97 New York Rangers season The 1996–97 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 71st season. The highlight of the season was that it was Wayne Gretzky's first season in New York. The Rangers qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were defeated by