Worst NYR Captain from 1991 on..?

[FLYLine27*]

Probably the last most random topic before the new Ranger season starts up in a month!

So from 1991 on, who was the worst captain we have had? It will make for an interesting debate.

****NOT INCLUDING MCD SINCE HES IS STILL NEW****

Click to read more...

 

[Nanaki]

Drury and his I won't let it ruin my Christmas comment. He was a decent player but definitely not a captain.

 

[Beacon]

Those who don't say Leetch don't know what they are talking about. He was a great player, but he admitted to not being able to lead. This shouldn't be a poll on how good a player someone was on the ice, but rather his leadership abilities. Drury was a good captain, Leetch was a terrible one. All the anti-Drury votes are dumb.

 

[The Lunatic Fridge]

Why is messier even allowed an option?

(almost) no one will dare say leetch because he was everything we wish in McDonagh today in a playe role. But in a leader role? I don't know about that.

Jagr broke the franchise record for goals so there goes that.

"Cally was our heart and soul until he got greedy"

That leaves drury who sather overpaid and did what he was brouht in to do but will forever be hated because of his contract and one comment that you know he didn't mean the way you think he did.

I mean hey, drury was so awful he recently got a nice job in the NYR management. Interesting how that works.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Jagr, Messier and Drury were true leaders. Guys who showed the young prospects what it's all about.

Leetch was a great player but as mentioned, not a good captain because he wasn't your typical leader.

Callahan gets a lot of love because he was a "heart & soul" guy. Well, all he did was block shots and that's it. He was not a great leader, nor a great player. All he had was heart & soul. Does that make you a good captain? No way.

The way I see it:

1. Messier. True leader who came to New York as a veteran having already won multiple Cups. He took the team under his wing and made players believe they could actually win the Cup, even after the abysmal 1992-93 season where we missed the play offs.
2. Drury. He might not have been that elite player Messier was, but he was brought in to lead a team full of youngsters. He arrived in 2007 when Staal, Girardi, Dubinsky, and Callahan were all starting their NHL careers. He taught them what is expected of them. He brought valuable play-off experience. His knees didn't last, but as a leader and captain, he was all we could have asked for
3. Jagr. Like Messier a player leading by example. He might not have been as focal as Messier, but he was a big reason we even made it to the play offs after the lockout.

Callahan and Leetch were not capable of taking on a leading role. I don't know where the Callahan-fascination comes from. Never understood why people thought he was anything more than a dime-a-dozen player.

 

[darko]

Callahan was head and shoulders better leader and captain than Leetch.

 

[mike14]

Drury and his I won't let it ruin my Christmas comment. He was a decent player but definitely not a captain.

Can someone explain why this comment keeps getting brought up? Every captain since the invention of sports has at some point given the "we won't dwell on this loss, we'll keep looking forward" comment, yet for some reason when Drury did this board went nuts.

I get that people didn't like the contract (because it was terrible) and wanted more from him, but why is there such a big deal about such a nothing comment?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Callahan was head and shoulders better leader and captain than Leetch.

And yet not even close to Drury and Messier

 

[darko]

And yet not even close to Drury and Messier

Fair enough.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Fair enough.

Leetch's stint and Messier's second stint.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Why is messier even allowed an option?

(almost) no one will dare say leetch because he was everything we wish in McDonagh today in a playe role. But in a leader role? I don't know about that.

Jagr broke the franchise record for goals so there goes that.

"Cally was our heart and soul until he got greedy"

That leaves drury who sather overpaid and did what he was brouht in to do but will forever be hated because of his contract and one comment that you know he didn't mean the way you think he did.

I mean hey, drury was so awful he recently got a nice job in the NYR management. Interesting how that works.

Messier is an option because his 2nd stint here was amongst the most embarrassing things I've seen as a Ranger fan. Having too much pride was fun to watch when he was still a great player -- not so much in the early 2000's. Doesn't make him the worst captain obviously, but it tarnished his legacy.

 

[Infinitum Vitae*]

Messier is an option because his 2nd stint here was amongst the most embarrassing things I've seen as a Ranger fan. Having too much pride was fun to watch when he was still a great player -- not so much in the early 2000's. Doesn't make him the worst captain obviously, but it tarnished his legacy.

Really because its rarely brought up. Must be to busy talking about hows he's the best captain in hockey ever.

 

[eco's bones]

Before Vancouver Messier was our best captain ever--no contest and at least going back to the early 70's when I started following the team---after Vancouver though he wasn't good. Presided over a country club type of atmosphere and seemed fine with it. He should have retired two-three years before he did. He was a shell at the end and a perimeter player and anyone who watched him throughout his career knows he was no perimeter player. He was big, very mean, nasty and dirty. Very fast--very skilled, strong as an ox with a drill sergeant's mentality.

Leetch didn't want to captain. He just wanted to play.

Drury and Callahan were a bit overrated as players even at the things they did best. Of the two I liked Callahan better.

Jagr was fine. Great personality. Helped jumpstart the careers of a bunch of overachieving kids--giving them a taste of what winning was like.

The worst to me was Drury. I never really liked him. Didn't like the way he played. He never was able to create any chemistry with any winger he played with for any length of time. For a scoring center his puck distribution skills left a lot to be desired. He didn't hit. A lot of time he couldn't keep up with his wingers. A comparable was how Brad Richards played for us. And the Rangers fed him tons of pwp time just like with Richards. His personality as a captain was always blah--Callahan and Leetch were a lot like that. Personally though I don't think you can be much of a leader if you're only a so-so player. 50 point forwards wearing C's pretty much means a mediocre team. Captain needs to be a guy who you can look to on the ice to put you back into a game you're losing. Drury and Callahan weren't that kind of player. The others on the list were.

 

[eco's bones]

Messier is an option because his 2nd stint here was amongst the most embarrassing things I've seen as a Ranger fan. Having too much pride was fun to watch when he was still a great player -- not so much in the early 2000's. Doesn't make him the worst captain obviously, but it tarnished his legacy.

I agree. The difference was pretty much night and day. I've thought for a while there was a bit of resentment on his part that the Rangers walked away from him--let him go on to Vancouver. But there were injury issues as well all the while that first Smith and then Sather were spending money like drunken sailors trying to put together an all star team. Messier would be hurting--and trying to avoid getting hit and Lindros got to the point where he just didn't want to get tagged again. You've got your two best forwards not leading. So on any given night half the team didn't want to play---yet here's Mark talking big all the while. He should have retired two-three years before he did. There were good reasons why we weren't in the playoffs for several years running. Leetch by the way--leadership ability or not was not the problem and neither was Richter.

 

[Tawnos]

The only bad captain in that group was Messier in his second stint.

Leetch would have been fine if the team surrounding him was worth a damn. How many years of his captaincy was he the only good defenseman on the whole team? Leetch wasn't a leader in a "inspire players to greater feats" sort of way. His calm demeanor and his on ice play would work really well on a stacked team with a boisterous player wearing an A.

People too easily forget how Callahan could single-handedly swing the momentum in a game by stepping on the ice, skating hard, hounding the puck and throwing two or three solid hits in the offensive zone. I don't know why this doesn't work for every player when they do the same thing, but it definitely did for him.

 

[OverTheCap]

Leetch is one of my favorite players, but he wasn't a good captain. He was better-suited as an alternate where he didn't have to be "the guy" in the locker room.

Messier Part II was pretty bad also. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, he had far too much input in making personnel decisions for the team.

 

[silverfish]

Dubinsky should've been captain.

Callahan should've been traded for Nash.

We should've retained Nylander over signing Drury. Why did anyone (myself included, think Gomez and Jagr would work well together?). And that's not a shot at Gomez, who had a very good run here for us.

I voted for Drury merely because I don't like him. **** that guy.

 

[Tawnos]

Leetch would have been the perfect captain for the Richards/Carter era Flyers, for example.

 

[Tawnos]

Dubinsky should've been captain.

Callahan should've been traded for Nash.

We should've retained Nylander over signing Drury. Why did anyone (myself included, think Gomez and Jagr would work well together?). And that's not a shot at Gomez, who had a very good run here for us.

I voted for Drury merely because I don't like him. **** that guy.

Agreed about Dubinsky. I was one of the few what wanted him when the captaincy was vacant. I also think that him not getting it was a huge blow to his ego and is partially responsible for his down year in 11-12.

 

[Raspewtin]

Drury because no amount of intangibles or leadership can make up for how ****ing pitiful he was at ES relative to how much money he made.

 

[silverfish]

Agreed about Dubinsky. I was one of the few what wanted him when the captaincy was vacant. I also think that him not getting it was a huge blow to his ego and is partially responsible for his down year in 11-12.

I think most people want a captain who matches their own personality, or what they like. Dubinsky and Callahan were, despite coming up together for the most part, really polar opposites in the way they approached the game. They both had the fire, but Dubinsky really showed it all the time. Callahan had the Drury approach. Lead by doing, not by saying. I think their time at the Olympics together really rubbed off on Callahan.

Neither of these schools of thought are a bad thing... it's really personal preference. Perhaps at the time with a coach like Tortorella, having a more 'laid-back' captain wasn't a bad thing.

I'd still have loved to see Dubinsky with the 'C' on his chest though. The guy should've been a career Ranger....

(That third-man in call still haunts me to this day. What a load of **** that whole series was from the officials. Three games for Hagelin, nothing for Neil. **** everything about that)

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Bad player =/= bad captain the same way good player =/= good captain.

 

[eco's bones]

Dubinsky should've been captain.

Callahan should've been traded for Nash.

We should've retained Nylander over signing Drury. Why did anyone (myself included, think Gomez and Jagr would work well together?). And that's not a shot at Gomez, who had a very good run here for us.

I voted for Drury merely because I don't like him. **** that guy.

Agree with pretty much everything here.

Dubinsky over Callahan? check.

Nylander over Drury? double check.

Gomez over Drury? check again.

Dubinsky a bigger, better player, better playoff player who can play either center or wing.

Nylander, Gomez weren't one dimensional shoot first types. Both were better skaters--better puck distributors.

Not really at the '**** that guy'--I hope he does well in his new job. I just think that some people just way overrate him as a player. He wasn't that good.

 

[NYRSchrute217]

Dubinsky should've been captain.

Callahan should've been traded for Nash.

We should've retained Nylander over signing Drury. Why did anyone (myself included, think Gomez and Jagr would work well together?). And that's not a shot at Gomez, who had a very good run here for us.

I voted for Drury merely because I don't like him. **** that guy.

Really makes you wonder what the outlook of the franchise is if Callahan was traded for Nash instead of Dubinsky. Callahan was so beloved at the time and people were down on Dubinsky after holding out and having a bad year so that would have been a significantly less popular trade.

Also, that would have eliminated the need for St. Louis, but maybe with Dubinsky's clutch playoff performances the Rangers would have won it all in 2015 in spite of probably losing earlier in 2014.

Food for thought.

As for the poll, Drury was the worst captain. Leetch wasn't good, but at least he was a good player. Drury didn't lead, didn't step up his play in the playoffs, and was abysmal at even strength. Drury did nothing well here. People forget how bad that 2009 team was just because they made the playoffs and took Washington to 7 games. By far our worst post-lockout team and it isn't close. 2010 missed the playoffs. 2011 the team snuck in and Drury missed 60 games. Not a great run as a captain.

 

[Jabroni]

Why is messier even allowed an option?

(almost) no one will dare say leetch because he was everything we wish in McDonagh today in a playe role. But in a leader role? I don't know about that.

Jagr broke the franchise record for goals so there goes that.

"Cally was our heart and soul until he got greedy"

That leaves drury who sather overpaid and did what he was brouht in to do but will forever be hated because of his contract and one comment that you know he didn't mean the way you think he did.

I mean hey, drury was so awful he recently got a nice job in the NYR management. Interesting how that works.

Jagr broke the record, but he wasn't captain that year, he was just an alternate. We didn't have a captain in 05-06.