Brian Leetch: very underrated on hfboards?

CasusBelli

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Jul 6, 2017
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I didn't watch lidstrom play...but calling a guy who has won that many norris trophy over rated is not wise in my view.
Also: technical perfection and captain. I’m sorry ... is something supposed to be missing? :huh:

Lidstrom was a treat to watch. He wasn’t flashy but, damn, I’d take Lidstrom over Blake 10/10 — even if Blake was far more entertaining than Nik.
 

Bryce Newman

Registered User
Jan 4, 2021
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So... most of hf dont even watch players their commenting on, not sure how this is surprising.

NHL needs to make every game from 1968 to today available. Maybe charge a couple bucks for each game. What good are all those games locked up in a vault somewhere?
 

Waivers

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Sep 27, 2013
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Leetch is a notch below Lidstrom, and Lidstrom is the greatest defenseman in the last 30 years.
 

Joe Ranger Fan 1960

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Jan 25, 2021
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Leetch is one of the greatest defensemen ever and one of the worst captains the Rangers have had. You shouldn't need to stick up for your captain on the ice. Not a good quality for a leader. Great player though. One of the best.
 

alkurtz

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Nov 26, 2006
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Charlotte, NC
It is so difficult to rate defensemen over the decades: the game has changed so much, the ideal of the perfect defensemen has evolved so much.

When I was a kid in the last years of the Original Six, the concept of an offensive defensemen did not really exist. You did have some guys like Pierre Pilote with Chicago and JC Tremblay with Montreal who piled up assists on the power play but the ideal was defense first/strong in front of the net, never carry the puck into the offensive zone. Guys like Tim Horton and Doug Harvey.

Along came Bobby Orr and completely changed the game. Every team then went out looking for guys who could rush the puck, shot, but still play strong D: Dennis Potvin, Brad Park. BTW, when Park first came up, I vividly recall his first game, we in the blue seats named him, "the baby faced killer."

Then, in the free-wheeling 80s, we had guys like Paul Coffey: offense first, defense second.

Then we transitioned to a more balanced concept: guys who could still rush the puck but were also fine defensively: Leetch fits right in here. Lidstrom, for sure. Ray Bourque, probably the most perfect Dman I have ever seen, a guy who rarely made mistakes.

Now, we are in the era of the ideal being a guy who can, first and foremost, carry the puck out of the zone, minimizing time spent in the defensive zone.

Brad Park was the perfect D for his era. Leetch was the perfect D for his era. Adam Fox might be developing into the perfect D man for his era.

It is so difficult comparing eras, The game is just so much faster now. I watch tapes of games from the 60s and 70s, even the 80s, and I am always struck with how slow the game was. It didn't seem so at the time: it seemed fast. But today's game? As a fan since the late 1950s, I am continually amazed at the speed of today's game. It is often breathtaking.

Another tidbit: there is most definitely a bias against NY players, a belief that NY hype exaggerates a players ability. We see it on the main boards where people say Henrik was overrated. Heck, if anything, I think he was underrated.

Anyone who thinks Leetch was overrated simply is letting their bias overwhelm reality.
 

Joe Ranger Fan 1960

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Jan 25, 2021
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So now you to have to be able to throw 'em to be a leader? help............

There are exceptions. Soccer is one. Yzerman is another. Gretzky. IMO it helps a lot to be able to at least protect yourself if you want to successfully captain an NHL squad. I think that hurt the Rangers when Leetch was captain. Should've been Graves.
 

Unusual Suspect

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Aug 22, 2005
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Warren County, NJ
Replying to Singn: Agreed. I had some questions at the time about Leetch's suitability as captain as well, but none of them had a thing to do with fisticuffs. There's a reason we all like to yell "Beuuuuuke!"
 
Feb 27, 2002
37,882
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NYC
There are exceptions. Soccer is one. Yzerman is another. Gretzky. IMO it helps a lot to be able to at least protect yourself if you want to successfully captain an NHL squad. I think that hurt the Rangers when Leetch was captain. Should've been Graves.
You might want to look at the rosters of those teams. That might tell a bigger story of what hurt the Rangers when Leetch was captain.
 
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Scott r

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Feb 10, 2021
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Leetch is a notch below Lidstrom, and Lidstrom is the greatest defenseman in the last 30 years.
Leetch is a notch?? What in looks?? Lidstrom is top 5 easily..leetch is 17 according to one online review...thats.not a notch
 

Scott r

Registered User
Feb 10, 2021
441
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You might want to look at the rosters of those teams. That might tell a bigger story of what hurt the Rangers when Leetch was captain.
Agreed. But is the difference between players of those better teams and leetch a plus minus 25 and 350ish..um no. I think defensively he wasn't that good IMHO.
 
Feb 27, 2002
37,882
7,942
NYC
Agreed. But is the difference between players of those better teams and leetch a plus minus 25 and 350ish..um no. I think defensively he wasn't that good IMHO.
They went a long way to, yes. You put Leetch on the Avs or Wings or even the Devils and his +/- looks vastly different.
 

Bryce Newman

Registered User
Jan 4, 2021
260
204
Leetch is one of the greatest defensemen ever and one of the worst captains the Rangers have had. You shouldn't need to stick up for your captain on the ice. Not a good quality for a leader. Great player though. One of the best.

Leetch didn't seem to have any trouble when he Captained Team USA to World Cup Gold against Canada. A Tournament in which he played fantastically.

They went a long way to, yes. You put Leetch on the Avs or Wings or even the Devils and his +/- looks vastly different.

Anyone who says Leetch wasn't good defensively has zero credibility. As stated before, Coffey was inferior to Leetch defensively (I won't say "terrible" but average at best) and he retired +298. So yeah, it makes a HUGE difference what team you play for.

And it's not like Leetch played on 1 or 2 bad teams. He spent the last 8 seasons of his career playing on putrid squads, aside from the brief stint in Toronto where he was +11 in 15 games.
 
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