Blades of Glory
Troll Captain
Am I the only one who finds him to be extremely underrated, both when he was playing and from a historical perspective? Zubov did have the unfortunate timing of playing in an era with an incredible crop of defensemen, likely the greatest collection of defense talent ever to play their primes together, but he was an elite defenseman that rarely has gotten the credit he deserves.
During 1994, a 21-year old Zubov led the Rangers in scoring during the regular season, and perhaps most surprisingly, outproduced Leetch at even-strength, despite the fact that he was on the second pairing. Leetch scored only 6 goals and 26 points at ES, compared to 17 goals and 36 assists on the PP opposite Zubov on the Rangers' top PP unit. Zubov had 3 goals and 40 points at ES, and 9 goals and 49 points. I believe that the presence of Zubov, who was a very good skater and possessed outstanding vision and passing ability, allowed Leetch to use his elite offensive skills far more effectively than he could when partnered with Jeff Beukeboom at ES.
He was an elite playoff performer all through his career. In the dead puck era, he was good for 50+ points a year in Ken Hitchcock's brutal defensive system. Yet his Norris voting record is mediocre, probably something to do with playing in Dallas. I will go as far to say as that I would take him over Scott Niedermayer pre-lockout, or at least pre-2004. Does anyone agree?
During 1994, a 21-year old Zubov led the Rangers in scoring during the regular season, and perhaps most surprisingly, outproduced Leetch at even-strength, despite the fact that he was on the second pairing. Leetch scored only 6 goals and 26 points at ES, compared to 17 goals and 36 assists on the PP opposite Zubov on the Rangers' top PP unit. Zubov had 3 goals and 40 points at ES, and 9 goals and 49 points. I believe that the presence of Zubov, who was a very good skater and possessed outstanding vision and passing ability, allowed Leetch to use his elite offensive skills far more effectively than he could when partnered with Jeff Beukeboom at ES.
He was an elite playoff performer all through his career. In the dead puck era, he was good for 50+ points a year in Ken Hitchcock's brutal defensive system. Yet his Norris voting record is mediocre, probably something to do with playing in Dallas. I will go as far to say as that I would take him over Scott Niedermayer pre-lockout, or at least pre-2004. Does anyone agree?