Tonight the NY Rangers will honor Mike Richter and raise his #35 to the rafters. It is a well deserved honor for which I will be glad to be present. I was in Denver in 1988 when Richter made his professional debut with the Colorado Rangers of the International Hockey League. I watched him make me forget his forgettable Olympic performance as he won 10 straight games. I remember calling my brother at the time and telling him that I had seen the goalie that would finally win the Rangers the Stanley Cup. I was also there in June of 1994 when Mike Richter did carry the Rangers to their first CUP in 54 years and I gladly reminded my brother that I had told him so. I remember watching his Canada Cup performance in 1996 when he lifted an overmatched American team onto his back and carried them through to victory over Canada in the finals. I was there to see the shot ricochet off his head to fracture his skull and I was there when he sustained the concussion that ended his career. Mike Richter was a hell of a goalie and has proven in every way to also be one hell of a man.

I hope to see him up in the Lake Placid region someday.