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The best of the “bests”: Ranking the top draft classes of each decade

Determining the best and worst New York Rangers’ entry drafts in each of four decades was a task that proved both nostalgic and challenging.

The research portion refreshed childhood memories.

The “ooh-la-la” flows sported by Ron Duguay, Dave Maloney, Phil Esposito and teammates in those Sasson jeans commercials of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Dennis Potvin sitting on the ice in Madison Square Garden, slumped against the boards in dejection after the Rangers upset the first-place and heavily-favored New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup semifinals in 1979.

The Smurf Line, “Beezer”, and the unexpected run to the conference finals.