‘There was only one’: Rangers pay tribute to fallen friend

One member of the 1993-94 Rangers was sadly missed at the team’s 25th anniversary celebration of the franchise’s most recent Stanley Cup championship.

Alexander Karpovtsev, a rookie and one of four Russian players on that historic Blueshirts squad, was among those killed in the plane crash in Russia that claimed most of the Kontinental Hockey League team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2011.

“We were all sickened to see the loss of life in that tragedy when the plane went down, but he was a wonderful friend and family guy and a huge component of this team,” former Rangers goalie Mike Richter said. “There was only one Potsie. He had a great personality and just was who he was.

“We shared an incredible couple of years together and he had an incredible career. His life unfortunately was cut short, so you really think about him at times like this. There’s definitely a hollow spot there without him here.”

Karpovtsev, whose wife and daughter attended the ceremony and were introduced to the crowd before Friday’s game against Carolina, played 12 seasons in the NHL and was an assistant coach on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl at the time of the crash.

“It’s definitely sad. I miss him as a friend and a player,” said Alexei Kovalev, who now coaches in China in the KHL. “I was actually going through some pictures today at home, and I had a lot of pictures with him. It was really sad for me to see them. His wife is here with us today, but it’s definitely not easy that he’s not here. He meant so much to our team.”

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Former Rangers coach Mike Keenan said he’s “doing well” since undergoing treatment following a prostate cancer diagnosis in May of 2018.

“I went two weeks ago and things were aces,” Keenan said. “I couldn’t do much for about six months, but the doctors said, ‘You’re good to go, do whatever you want.’ So I’m back on the horse and away we go … I don’t mind speaking about it, because it build awareness for all of us.”

Richter appreciated Henrik Lundqvist honoring him with his goalie mask for Friday’s game: “I learned about that [Thursday] and it’s unbelievable, a humbling thing, what a great statement by him. He didn’t have to do it and it’s very classy. … Coming from him, look at the career the man’s put together. He’s been nothing but consistent from the day he arrived. He’s had just a remarkable career. So it means a lot coming from him.”

Forward Brian Noonan also was not in attendance due to a prior commitment.