Seasons with Rangers: 5 (1981-1986)
Regular-Season Games with Rangers: 389
Playoff Games with Rangers: 43

Acquired
Selected by Rangers in Round 6 of 1980 NHL Entry Draft (Fifth Rangers pick, No. 119 overall).

Departed
Traded by Rangers to Edmonton with Clark Donatelli, Ville Kentala, Jim Wiemer and future considerations (Stu Kulak) for Mike Golden, Don Jackson and Miloslav Horava on Oct. 2, 1986.

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NYR - Career Regular Season Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1981-1982 Rangers 78 18 38 56 18 27 7 0 3 247 7.3 1982-1983 Rangers 77 16 53 69 27 22 5 0 4 230 7.0 1983-1984 Rangers 74 20 39 59 17 26 5 0 4 287 7.0 1984-1985 Rangers 80 28 45 73 -27 32 10 0 2 255 11.0 1985-1986 Rangers 80 17 42 59 22 47 6 0 2 228 7.5 Team Totals: 389 99 217 316 57 154 33 0 15 1,247 7.9

NYR - Career Playoff Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1981-1982 Rangers 10 4 5 9 2 2 0 1 1982-1983 Rangers 9 4 2 6 6 1 0 1 1983-1984 Rangers 5 1 1 2 2 1 0 1 1984-1985 Rangers 3 2 0 2 6 1 0 0 1985-1986 Rangers 16 0 8 8 6 0 0 0 Team Totals: 43 11 16 27 22 5 0 3

Career Regular Season Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1975-1976 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 34 9 15 24 12 1975-1976 Finland-EJC-A 3 1 0 1 0 1976-1977 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 42 25 41 66 14 1976-1977 Finland-WJC-A 7 2 4 6 6 1976-1977 Finland-EJC-A 2 0 2 2 0 1977-1978 Karpat Oulu-Finland 30 9 14 23 4 1977-1978 Finland-WJC-A 6 3 3 6 2 1977-1978 Finland-WEC-A 10 2 0 2 2 1978-1979 Karpat Oulu-Finland 36 14 8 22 47 1978-1979 Finland-WJC-A 6 0 3 3 0 1978-1979 Finland-WEC-A 6 2 0 2 2 1979-1980 Karpat Oulu-Finland 30 15 13 28 31 1979-1980 Finland-WJC-A 5 4 3 7 2 1980-1981 Karpat Oulu-Finland 34 28 23 51 28 1980-1981 Finland-WEC-A 8 3 2 5 4 1981-1982 New York Rangers-DN-Cup 4 1 6 7 1981-1982 Finland-Can-Cup 5 0 1 1 2 1981-1982 Rangers 78 18 38 56 18 27 7 0 3 247 7.3 1982-1983 Rangers 77 16 53 69 27 22 5 0 4 230 7.0 1983-1984 Rangers 74 20 39 59 17 26 5 0 4 287 7.0 1984-1985 Rangers 80 28 45 73 -27 32 10 0 2 255 11.0 1984-1985 Finland-WEC-A 10 0 4 4 6 1985-1986 Rangers 80 17 42 59 22 47 6 0 2 228 7.5 1986-1987 Sc Bern-Swiss 35 26 27 53 27 1986-1987 Oilers 16 5 8 13 8 6 3 0 1 52 9.6 1987-1988 Finland-Can-Cup 4 0 0 0 2 1987-1988 HV 71 Jonkoping-Sweden 40 10 22 32 26 1987-1988 Finland-Olympics 8 4 2 6 0 1988-1989 Sc Bern-Swiss 36 17 29 46 46 1988-1989 Finland-WEC-A 10 2 4 6 6 1989-1990 Devils 31 2 5 7 -4 14 1 0 0 52 3.8 1989-1990 Oilers 10 1 7 8 -1 6 0 0 0 28 3.6 1990-1991 Sc Bern-Swiss 36 13 25 38 20 1991-1992 Sc Bern-Swiss 35 7 16 23 24 1992-1993 Sc Bern-Swiss 31 7 15 22 42 1993-1994 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 4 1 5 6 6 1993-1994 Tappara Tampere-Finland 6 2 4 6 2 1994-1995 Sc Bern-Swiss 19 3 7 10 20 1995-1996 KalPa Kuopio-Finland 16 3 5 8 4 1995-1996 Zurcher SC-Swiss 18 4 11 15 4 1996-1997 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 17 1 5 6 14 1997-1998 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 44 8 23 31 42 NHL Totals: 446 107 237 344 60 180 37 0 16 1,379 7.8

Career Playoff Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1979-1980 Karpat Oulu-Finland 6 5 2 7 0 0 0.0 1980-1981 Karpat Oulu-Finland 12 7 4 11 0 6 0.0 1981-1982 Rangers 10 4 5 9 2 2 0 1 1982-1983 Rangers 9 4 2 6 6 1 0 1 1983-1984 Rangers 5 1 1 2 2 1 0 1 1984-1985 Rangers 3 2 0 2 6 1 0 0 1985-1986 Rangers 16 0 8 8 6 0 0 0 1986-1987 Oilers 21 2 5 7 10 1 0 1 1987-1988 HV 71 Jonkoping-Sweden 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0.0 1988-1989 Sc Bern-Swiss 11 4 7 11 0 22 0.0 1989-1990 Oilers 22 2 11 13 13 12 1 0 0 55 3.6 1990-1991 Sc Bern-Swiss 10 5 8 13 0 10 0.0 1991-1992 Sc Bern-Swiss 11 4 6 10 0 4 0.0 1992-1993 Sc Bern-Swiss 5 0 3 3 0 29 0 0.0 1993-1994 Tappara Tampere-Finland 9 1 2 3 0 6 0.0 1994-1995 Sc Bern-Swiss 6 1 5 6 0 4 0.0 1996-1997 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 9 0 4 4 0 0 0 0.0 1997-1998 Karpat Oulu-Finland-2 14 2 6 8 0 10 0.0 NHL Totals: 86 15 32 47 13 44 7 0 4 55

Bio/News RANGERS DEBUT Oct. 6, 1981 (Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings) FINAL GAME WITH RANGERS May 9, 1986 (Rangers at Montreal Canadiens) (playoffs) MAJOR NHL AWARDS/ACHIEVEMENTS WITH RANGERS NHL All-Star Game — 1986 RANGERS TEAM AWARDS Players` Player Award — 1984-85 INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS WHILE WITH RANGERS 1981 Canada Cup 1985 World Championships in Czechoslovakia NHL LEADER Most game-tying goals — 1984-85 (3, tie) RANGERS TEAM LEADER Most points — 1984-85 Most assists — 1982-83, 1984-85 Most playoff goals — 1983 (tie) RANGERS ORGANIZATION STATISTICS Minor-league games: 0 Minor-league teams: None MISCELLANEOUS Nickname: Rexi Full name: Reijo Juhani Ruotsalainen Uniform Numbers: 29 Retired from pro hockey: 1998 BIOGRAPHY The first Finnish player to star for the New York Rangers, defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen began his relatively brief NHL career with an amazing five-year run in New York. Just as Sweden`s Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson had done a few years earlier, Finns Ruotsalainen and Mikko Leinonen made a big splash in joining the Rangers prior to the 1981-82 season. Both were talented, but Ruotsalainen was the bigger star, putting up numbers unlike any previous Rangers defensemen except Brad Park and Ron Greschner. As a rookie in 1981-82, Ruotsalainen was paired on defense with Rangers captain Barry Beck. Playing much bigger than his diminutive 5-foot-8 frame, Ruotsalainen exploded for 18 goals and 38 assists. Still playing with Beck one year later, he increased his point total to 69 points. Chosen by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Ruotsalainen proved so talented offensively that head coach Herb Brooks began using him at left wing, as well as defense, in 1983. He responded by tallying 20 goals in 1983-84 and 28 in 1984-85, a season in which he played 32 games at left wing on a line with Mark Pavelich and Anders Hedberg and led the entire team with 73 points. In 1986, Ruotsalainen left the Rangers to continue his career in Switzerland. He eventually returned to the NHL to help Edmonton win the 1987 Stanley Cup just a few months after the Rangers traded his rights to the Oilers. Amazingly, Ruotsalainen returned to Europe again in the fall of 1987 but came back three years later to help the Oilers win their fifth championship in 1990. As a result, Ruotsalainen is one of the few players in history who can say they captured the Stanley Cup in their final NHL game. RELATED CONTENT º Players` Player Award Winners