Glenn Healy recalls the New York Rangers’ Stanley Cup triumph in 1994

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On the 30th anniversary of the New York Rangers’ most recent Stanley Cup championship, the current squad is on the outside looking in, having been eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference final.

Still, the drama of that 1994 run, with a dramatic seven-game win over the Vancouver Canucks in the final to end the team’s 54-year drought, lives long in the memory. Backup goaltender Glenn Healy had the best seat in the house at Madison Square Garden the night the Cup was secured, before going on to stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hockey Night in Canada as a broadcaster, then landing his current gig, executive director of the NHL Alumni Association.

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Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since that memorable spring. The passing of time, how does that feel for you?

‘Win today and we walk together forever.’ I think that might have been [former Flyers coach] Fred Shero. We stole it in ′94. I remember the very first day of training camp, [head coach] Mike Keenan called us into the room and showed us the parade of the Miracle Mets that won the world championship in baseball and said ‘This could be you.’ And then here we went on our journey and at the very end of our journey when we got to Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks, there was no big speech, there was no state of the union. We watched the same video that we watched the very first day of training camp, and it was ‘60 minutes and this is yours.’ And then arguably the best Stanley Cup parade in the history of any sport. Millions of people lining the streets in New York and I’ll never forget that moment. But it started with a 2 1/2-minute video and it ended with a 2 1/2-minute video. And it ended with a Rangers win.

If I remember correctly, that Stanley Cup wasn’t the only trophy the Rangers won that season.

We went to London [in the preseason] and the funny thing about that was we beat the Leafs, which were really a good team, they were a final-four team, and [the organizers] forgot the trophy in the hotel. And so the NHL raced over to Wembley to the flea market and bought this $20 cheap piece of brass and handed it to us on the ice. And a couple of things we thought, ‘What the [bleep] is this? This is the trophy?’ And I think Mess [New York captain Mark Messier] left it in the locker room like ‘Okay, great. Great we won that, you can have it.’ But that’s how it started. And the way it finished was spectacular but you’re not going to get a better group of players, teammates, people that care more than what we had. It was exceptional.

I know the Leafs fell short again this season, but their drought now stands at 57 years and counting. What do you think would happen if they finally got over the hump?

I think we might cancel Christmas – I think that may happen. You know what I’m most proud of is I play the bagpipes so I’ll get to play in the parade. They’ve had so many great teams here so many years. We had really good teams. We lost in the semi-finals against Carolina [and] against Buffalo. And the rest is history. If we could have pushed that across the line … One of the reasons I came to Toronto was when I went to New York it was this 54-year drought and we won. And it was this euphoria of winning and doing something that all these great [Rangers] teams couldn’t do. And I thought if I could go to Toronto and we could do the same thing in Toronto, that would be spectacular. We didn’t get it done. It is a hard trophy to win. And even the great team we had in New York, it took us to the last three seconds of Game 7 against Vancouver to win that trophy. So it’s tough to do, but when you do it, it’s one of the reasons they put your name on it forever.

When and where were you happiest?

Well, I would say that after we won it. I mean, the one thing that stuck out to me was that they [didn’t used to] put your first name on the Cup. They put your last name and it’s because of the sacrifice your parents made, your siblings made for you to get to that point. And I think that was the most enjoyable thing, that my brothers and sisters can go and look at their last name on the Cup and go ‘Yeah, that’s us. This is us.’ And so I’m most proud of that.

What is your greatest extravagance?

The bagpipes.

Any favourite authors?

Fiction books, no chance. Got to be non-fiction. Love history, love war, love all the things that happened.

Which historical figure do you identify with?

Winston Churchill.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?

My kids.

Where would you most like to live?

Right here. Canada to me is the best country, the best place to live. What the people that have come before me have fought for, our freedoms, I cherish in every way.

What is your favourite occupation?

The one I’m doing now as executive director of the alumni.

What is it about it that you find so rewarding?

It’s the stuff behind the scenes, making tomorrow better than today for a bunch of players and their family when they don’t have hope and help. And with one phone call I don’t say ‘I’m sorry.’ I say ‘Tomorrow is going to be better than today.’ And these are guys I played against, played with. It’s really rewarding.

What is your greatest regret?

I don’t know if I have a greatest regret. I mean, I would change a lot of things. But I wouldn’t take one and say this is my Zeppelin, this is what I would not have done or have done.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Winning the Stanley Cup. Bringing up a great family. And third but not least, playing with Paul McCartney on stage. We played Mull of Kintyre a number of times with the Peel Regional Police pipe band. That to me was pretty exceptional. And then I would say playing bagpipes at Carnegie Hall. And I would say playing the bagpipes at Vimy Ridge on the commemoration of the memorial, the 90th [anniversary]. Representing Canada and what Canada did for our country to be the birth of a nation. Those are special moments I’ll never forget ever.

Tell me more about Paul McCartney. Where did that happen?

Air Canada Centre. We had to get rid of Cujo [former Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph] just for me to play there because he played all the home games. That was the big joke. You finally got to play at the Air Canada Centre and you had to wait for Paul McCartney to come in. On that night the manager said we’ll see you at 11:14. Band on the Run. Yesterday. Mull of Kintyre, and Let It Be. You are the encore. So at 11:14 they came and got us, we came up on the stage, we played and if you look at the picture that I have signed by McCartney with the whole band on stage, you see this little blond-haired guy with his head peeking over the stage. And it’s Mats Sundin. He was hurt. He hurt his eye and he came to the concert and so he gets in the shot with just a little part of his head. But that was a special moment.

What talent would you most like to have?

Kindness. It’s free.

Which living person do you most despise?

Putin.

What do you most value in your friends?

Loyalty.

Who are your real-life heroes?

I would say my mom. Everyone thinks it’s my dad, who fought in the Second World War and put some pretty good virtues and morals in my life. It’s not.

Why your mom?

Major health issues early on. Never complained, ever.