Jean Ratelle will not be at the Garden in body for the Rangers’ opener against the Islanders on Thursday, but the fabled No. 19 will be in the building in spirit, as the franchise celebrates its 90th anniversary with a pregame ceremony that will feature many of the best and brightest to skate on Broadway.
The news, though, is that the relationship between Ratelle, who turned 76 last Monday, and the organization that spawned him before that traumatic November day 41 years ago, when he was sent to the hated Bruins, is healthy. There is no breach between the parties.