"A Line" to Remember

May 15, 2023 marks 97 years since the Rangers franchise officially came into existence. Beginning with their inaugural season of 1926-27, the Rangers were an instant success, winning the American Division in their first season and then winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history the following year.

The Rangers' early success and popularity was thanks in no small part to three players who formed the first great line in franchise history, a unit which still ranks among the best in their storied history - left wing Fred "Bun" Cook, center Frank Boucher, and right wing Bill Cook.

The trio would be dubbed the "A Line" for the subway line that ran underneath what was, at the time, the new Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue between 49th Street and 50th Street. And for nearly a decade, their prowess and chemistry led to undeniable results for themselves and the Blueshirts.

Bill Cook and Bun Cook were brothers who, before joining the Rangers, played for Saskatoon in the Western Hockey League. Boucher had also played in the Western Hockey League for Vancouver in 1925-26. With the Western Hockey League folding and the National Hockey League expanding following the 1925-26 season, the NHL's newest teams were looking to Western Canada for the services of some of the WHL's top players to build out their rosters for the 1926-27 season.

The Rangers purchased the contracts of both Cook brothers from Saskatoon. Boucher initially had been told that his contract was sold to the Boston Bruins. However, at the urging of the Cook brothers (who had played against Boucher in the Western Hockey League) the Rangers made a deal with the Bruins to acquire Boucher.

The "A Line" was on the ice for the start of the Rangers' first game on November 16, 1926, and their chemistry only grew over time. "We were damned near inseparable, on the ice and off," Boucher wrote in his book, When the Rangers Were Young. "We'd come home after the games, and we'd work out plays in comfort. We never put diagrams on paper. Somehow, just in describing our ideas, we'd all grasp it."

The results were instantaneous. In the Rangers' inaugural season (which was 44 games in length), Bill Cook, the team's captain, led the NHL with 33 goals (eight more than the players who were second in the league, Howie Morenz and Babe Dye) and 37 points, while Boucher finished second in the league with 18 assists and Bun Cook finished fifth in the league with 11 assists.

The era in which the Cook brothers and Boucher played was not conducive to offense. It wasn't until 1929-30 - their fourth season together - that forward passing was permitted in the offensive zone. Despite this, the "A Line" found ways to score, and they became innovators along the way.

"In that era, defensemen lined up in front of the goaltender about halfway to the blue line and the three forwards rushed back to defend every time they lost the puck on attack," Boucher said. "We worked out a system whereby Bill and Bun tried to steer opposing puck-carriers toward me so I could hook or poke the puck free and get a quick break for our line."

One play that the trio also created and perfected was the drop pass. The idea for the play was originated by Bun. Bun (which was short for Bunny, and ultimately became his nickname due to his skating style and speed) had no problem selling the idea to his linemates, and the effectiveness of the drop pass wreaked havoc on opposing defenses and goaltenders. Bun was also credited with being one of the pioneers of the slap shot.

In the Rangers' second season in 1927-28, Boucher took a leading role on the line. He led the Blueshirts with 23 goals and 35 points during the regular season, finishing among the top four players in the NHL in both categories, and then recorded a league-high seven goals (no other player had more than two goals) and 10 points in nine playoff games while helping the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup.

In the 1928 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Maroons, Boucher scored four of the Rangers' five goals in the five-game series, including all of the team's three game-winning goals and both of the team's goals in the winner-take-all Game 5. He remains the only Ranger who has scored three game-winning goals in one playoff series in franchise history.

The 1927-28 season also marked the first of a league-record seven seasons that Boucher won the Lady Byng Trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 1924-25 to "the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." In 1925, Lady Byng of Vimy donated a trophy to the NHL to acknowledge the player who best fit the above criteria as part of an overall effort to "clean up hockey" and "eliminate the needless rough play that at present is a threat to the national game."

Boucher won the award for four consecutive seasons from 1927-28 - 1930-31, and then three more seasons from 1932-33 - 1934-35. Ultimately, Lady Byng gave Boucher the trophy to keep permanently, and a new trophy was created for players who would win the award in the years to come.

As the 1920s turned into the 1930s, the "A Line" showed no signs of slowing down. With the rule change to allow forward passing in the offensive zone taking effect in 1929-30, Boucher tallied a career-high 62 points and Bill Cook led the Rangers with 29 goals. Bill Cook would finish either first or second in the NHL in goals in each of the next three seasons, leading the league in goals in 1932-33, as the trio helped the Rangers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1931-32 and ultimately win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history in 1932-33. In Game 4 of the 1933 Stanley Cup Final against Toronto, Bill Cook scored the game-winning goal in overtime to win the Cup for the Blueshirts.

While Bill Cook and Boucher grabbed the majority of the headlines and were more recognized for their high level of play (each of them was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team three times and the NHL's Second All-Star Team once), Bun Cook certainly played an integral role in the success of the trio. "What the three of us did on the ice we did together as a unit," Boucher said.

A quarter of a century after they made their debut at Madison Square Garden, they were introduced as the "greatest line in hockey history." Nearly four decades after they played their final game together, legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt said that the way the Soviets played hockey and revolutionized the game was reminiscent of the Cook-Boucher-Cook line, except that if anything, the "A Line" was a little bit better and that "it always seemed they had the puck on a string."

When he wrote When the Rangers Were Young in 1973, Boucher, who also coached the Rangers and served as the team's general manager following his playing career, referred to Bill Cook as "the finest all-round player in Ranger history", and Boucher said Cook would be his choice as the best right-winger to ever play hockey - better than Maurice (Rocket) Richard and better than Gordie Howe.

Where Bill Cook, Bun Cook, and Frank Boucher rank on the list of all-time hockey legends and Rangers heroes makes for great conversation. What is not up for debate, however, is the impact that these three Hockey Hall of Famers had - as individuals and as a line - on Rangers history and shaping the Blueshirts into the legendary franchise that it is 97 years after it came into existence.