Rangers Now Know What It Feels Like : Hockey: It’s a touching scene during victory celebration as players get their hands on Stanley Cup.

They passed the Stanley Cup lovingly from hand to hand, its weight feather-light to the New York Rangers in their joy at finally winning hockey’s elusive prize.

From team captain Mark Messier it went to Kevin Lowe, the Rangers’ second-oldest player. From Lowe to Brian Leetch, winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. From Leetch to Adam Graves, who set a club record this season with 52 goals.

Then from Graves it went to Jay Wells, whose gap-toothed grin stretched from one end of Madison Square Garden to the other.

“I had no idea what to do with it,” said Wells, a former King. “All I was trying to do was not drop it, not trip on the (television) wires. And the emotion just gets all wrapped up and you don’t know what you’re doing.

“It’s been 15 years that I’ve seen the Cup in pictures, but I’ve never touched it, never even come close to it. . . . I’ve seen (Stanley Cup) rings, but I’ve never put one on my finger. Until we won it ourselves, I wasn’t going to touch the Cup. When I touched it, it was a sweet feeling.”

Lowe, who played on five Cup-winning teams with the Edmonton Oilers, said: “Now, the Ranger organization has a Stanley Cup. Now, Brian Leetch has a Stanley Cup and he’s experienced. Now, Mike Richter is experienced. Now Alex (Kovalev) is experienced. Now, these guys can carry the torch. These guys can get the machine going and hopefully turn out more.”

They ought to be good at carrying torches, since they seem to be good at playing with fire.

The tension between Coach Mike Keenan and General Manager Neil Smith was obvious, despite the champagne-soaked haze of Tuesday night’s Cup celebration. Keenan hugged Messier at center ice for several long moments, and the players hugged each other, but not once did Keenan embrace Smith. When Smith approached the podium at the end of Keenan’s postgame news conference, Keenan walked off, avoiding even a handshake.

Through the controversy that surrounded Keenan after it was reported he had verbally agreed to take a job with the Red Wings, Smith said nothing for quotation about wanting his coach to stay. Their relationship, never warm, might have been ruined by Keenan’s hesitancy to stop the rumors--and by Smith’s public reflection of his private unease at working with Keenan, whom Smith believed was trying to encroach on his territory.

One or the other might be gone, perhaps before the last cheer echoes through Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes in the parade scheduled for Friday.

On the ice, though, the Rangers appear more stable. Leetch, 26, has developed into an outstanding two-way defenseman. Richter, 27, blossomed under the responsibility of being the team’s starting goaltender and ranks among the NHL’s best. Graves, 26, is signed to a long-term contract. Defenseman Sergei Zubov, 23, shows exceptional puck-handling ability and boundless promise.

A few pieces will be replaced. Right wing Glenn Anderson will probably retire or play in Europe, and it’s questionable whether Lowe, who has many ice miles on him at 35, can keep his place as one of the top four defensemen.

The runner-up Vancouver Canucks face a similar tinkering process, rather than rebuilding. Their core players--goaltender Kirk McLean, center Trevor Linden, two-time 60-goal scorer Pavel Bure--are also young and haven’t hit their prime.

But the Rangers weren’t thinking about the future yet. They were too busy enjoying the triumph that ended 54 years of misery. As one fan’s sign proclaimed: “Now I can die happy.”

Messier said: “I was a little frustrated throughout the playoffs because I read some stories that we had to win this year or we’d never win. I look at every position and I see superstars.”

Dry Spells

The New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1940 by defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 on Tuesday night. A look at other teams with lengthy championships droughts in the four major professional sports.

NHL

Team: Detroit

Last Championship: 1955

Team: Chicago

Last Championship: 1961

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NFL

Team: Arizona/St. Louis/Chicago

Last Championship: 1947

Team: Rams

Last Championship: 1951

Team: Detroit

Last Championship: 1957

Team: Philadelphia

Last Championship: 1960

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BASEBALL

Team: Chicago Cubs

Last Championship: 1908

Team: Chicago White Sox

Last Championship: 1917

Team: Boston

Last Championship: 1918

Team: Cleveland

Last Championship: 1948

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NBA

Team: Sacramento/Kansas City/Cincinnati/Rochester

Last Championship: 1951

Team: Atlanta

Last Championship: 1958