Mike Rogers (ice hockey)

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Mike Rogers
Born (1954-10-24) October 24, 1954
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Edmonton Oilers
New England / Hartford Whalers
New York Rangers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 77th overall, 1974
Vancouver Canucks
WHA draft 48th overall, 1974
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1974–1986

Michael R. Rogers (born October 24, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played five seasons in the World Hockey Association, followed by seven seasons in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

1985 card of Rogers in his second stint with the Oilers

Rogers was drafted by both the Vancouver Canucks (5th round, 77th overall) of the NHL and the Edmonton Oilers (4th round, 48th overall) of the WHA in 1974. He chose to start his professional career with the Oilers and was the Oilers' team-scoring champion in their third (1974–75) season.

Rogers was traded to the New England Whalers, with whom he entered the NHL when the leagues merged for the 1979–80 NHL season.

Rogers is one of four players to have scored 100 or more points in each of his first three NHL seasons, the others being Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Peter Stastny.[1]

The 1981–82 season saw him record 103 points on 38 goals and 65 assists to become the third Ranger in franchise history to record 100 points and the first in ten years (in the next four decades, only four other Rangers had done so).[2]

After the 1985–86 season ended, Rogers wanted to try something different. He reflected in a 2020 interview:

Twelve years was … enough. Ann and I wanted to travel; living in Calgary you want to get away in the winter. The hockey travel grind had started to get to me a little bit, too. So a lot of factors entered into the decision. I sat down with my wife and said: ‘Had a good run.’ I’d never say a bad thing about those 12 years but they’d kind of took a toll. I could’ve signed another contract after my last year in the NHL. But my stats weren’t what they’d been. I knew I wasn’t playing as well as I had and I didn’t want to be one of those guys that just hung on for the sake of it.[3]

He played one season with Ambrì-Piotta in the Swiss League, scoring 20 goals in 26 games before electing to return to Calgary to retire and spend time with his family. He later worked in the gas and oil industry.

Rogers was the colour commentator for the Calgary Flames on Calgary radio stations for 12 years before announcing his retirement on July 25, 2013.[4]

Legacy

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Rogers at No. 88 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team’s first 82 seasons.[5] In 2016, he was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.[6] In 2019, he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1971–72 Calgary Centennials WCHL 6627305719 132462
1972–73 Calgary Centennials WCHL 67545811244 685132
1973–74 Calgary Centennials WCHL 66677314032 141316296
1974–75 Edmonton Oilers WHA 783548832 —————
1975–76 Edmonton Oilers WHA 4412152710 —————
1975–76 New England Whalers WHA 3618143210 1758132
1976–77 New England Whalers WHA 7825578210 51122
1977–78 New England Whalers WHA 8028437146 1456118
1978–79 New England Whalers WHA 8027457231 102682
1979–80 Hartford Whalers NHL 80446110510 30330
1980–81 Hartford Whalers NHL 80406510532 —————
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 80386510343 91672
1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 7129477628 10000
1983–84 New York Rangers NHL 7823386145 10000
1984–85 New York Rangers NHL 7826386424 30444
1985–86 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 209152428 —————
1985–86 New York Rangers NHL 91342 —————
1985–86 Nova Scotia Oilers AHL 3315284314 —————
1985–86 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81010 —————
1986–87 HC Ambrì–Piotta NDA 2621143526 —————
WHA totals 396145222367109 4613213414
NHL totals 484202317519184 17113146

International

Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM
1981 Canada WC 60114
Senior totals 60114

See also

References

  1. Amore, Dom (July 15, 2019). "Hartford remains a second home for Whalers captain Mike Rogers despite painful trade". Hartford Courant.
  2. "For single seasons, playing skater, playing for the New York Rangers, in the regular season, requiring Points >= 100, sorted by descending Points". Stathead. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  3. "SHIFT CHANGE: ROGERS KNOWS TIMING IS EVERYTHING". Calgary Flames Alumni. November 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  4. Cruickshank, Scott (July 25, 2013). "Mike Rogers retires after 12 years as Flames' radio colour commentator". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  5. Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 36. ISBN 978-0470736197.
  6. Cruickshank, Scott (July 22, 2016). "Calgary's Mike Rogers earns Alberta hall of fame nod". Calgary Herald. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  7. "Mike Rogers". Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 15, 2026.