i was a big time hockey fan from that time and a huge Rangers fan..
to this day Eddie Giacomin ranks as my all time favorite sports hero (though he was a bit of a schmuck in person) closely followed by Steve Vickers...
Hadfield, Brad Park, Bruce McGregor, Pete Stemkowski, Gilles Villenueve, Dale Rolf, Billy Farbairn...
the Rangers had a native American (or maybe Canadian) player named Jim “the Chief” Nielsen..
i remember Mikita well; small, explosively quick and yes- the helmet (i believe it was a CCM helmet)..
no face mask days....*smiles*
I was never a Rangers fan, but I was a hockey fan and used to listen to the Rangers broadcasts all the time with Marv Albert and Sal “Red Light” Messina.
I assumed the nickname was a jab at a former goalie, but given Albert’s later scandals maybe he had another type of red light in mind.