Kane vs Modano vs Leech best American player since 90s till now

[ScaredStreit]

Maybe if he could have stayed healthy.

From 90-98 (the years their careers overlapped):

Lafontaine: 276 goals, 637 points, 484 played
Modano: 277 goals, 654 points 633 games played

Lafontaine during those years scored ONE less goal and 17 fewer points than Modano despite playing in roughly 150 fewer games (almost 2 full seasons). Lafontaine didn't need to be healthy to produce at the same rate as Modano.

 

[Goldmember]

LALALALALALALAFONTAINE!!!!!!!!!!

Came here to mention Patty. He had the highest peak but unfortunately lots of injuries were slowing him down later. A great player and a person.

 

[sting101]

Yes Lafontaine was better than Kane. Unfortunately injuries and bad teams held him back from the title.

It's Modano until Kane passes him...sorry kids. Kane is one of the best scorers of the modern age but Modano was a 2 way beast playing C and outscoring his own teammates on one of the most defensive teams in history by 30pts. Give the man the credit he deserves until he gets passed at least. Kane is great but he's also been in a perfect situation and not even his teams leading scorer or best player a half dozen times.

 

[JofaBucket87]

Can't believe people are saying Chelios was better than Leetch. Leetch was amazing on both ends of the ice. Chelios was a great player, had a real successful career, and is really well respected and gritty but when it comes to the actual quality of player...Leetch did it all. He was dominant defensively and offensively. He carried that 94 Rangers team and won the Conn Smythe. I think he reached a level of play that Chelios could never have.

WIth all that said, if I had to rank them, I'd put Kane in front of Leetch and Chelios way behind both.

 

[Lyons71]

Kane is the greatest American player of all time.

Yeah, I gotta say the same thing.

 

[bukwas]

Brian Leetch.
Amazing player.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Patrick Kane is the greatest American player of all-time and is only 31.

Let's put this into perspective. Patrick Kane is to the Chicago Blackhawks what Steve Yzerman was to the Detroit Red Wings. And Steve Yzerman didn't win his 3 Stanley Cups until he was the age of 32. He's a very special player.

I don’t understand how he’s Chicago’s Yzerman. Yzerman was their top center, he contributed offensively while maintaining a shut down role. He was also much older than Kane was when he started finding playoff success.

Kane always benefited from playing behind Toews, and was always put in the best position to score more while not having any defensive responsibility. Of course his offense was impactful to those cup runs and they don’t win 3 without him, but like I said, he was also sheltered to be a pure offensive talent while Modano was the Stars leading offensive player while maintaining a shut down role.

If anything Modano was more Yzerman like, only with significantly less help and on a team that was built as a defensive juggernaut.

 

[Cotton]

I don’t understand how he’s Chicago’s Yzerman. Yzerman was their top center, he contributed offensively while maintaining a shut down role. He was also much older than Kane was when he started finding playoff success.

Kane always benefited from playing behind Toews, and was always put in the best position to score more while not having any defensive responsibility. Of course his offense was impactful to those cup runs and they don’t win 3 without him, but like I said, he was also sheltered to be a pure offensive talent while Modano was the Stars leading offensive player while maintaining a shut down role.

If anything Modano was more Yzerman like, only with significantly less help and on a team that was built as a defensive juggernaut.

Modano has no business being mentioned with Steve Yzerman, lol. That's another level, Mats Sundin is more Modano's tier.

 

[JofaBucket87]

Best American born NHLers since 90s:
1. Patrick Kane
2. Brian Leetch
3. Pat Lafontaine
4. Mike Modano
5. Brett Hull
6. Keith Tkachuk
7. Jeremy Roenick
8 Chris Chelios
9. John Leclair
10. Phil Kessel

 

[Stephen]

I don’t understand how he’s Chicago’s Yzerman. Yzerman was their top center, he contributed offensively while maintaining a shut down role. He was also much older than Kane was when he started finding playoff success.

Kane always benefited from playing behind Toews, and was always put in the best position to score more while not having any defensive responsibility. Of course his offense was impactful to those cup runs and they don’t win 3 without him, but like I said, he was also sheltered to be a pure offensive talent while Modano was the Stars leading offensive player while maintaining a shut down role.

If anything Modano was more Yzerman like, only with significantly less help and on a team that was built as a defensive juggernaut.

Kane was the foundation of an Original Six Renaissance and won three Stanley Cups much like Yzerman. Only his success came right away and he’s still a young man. So that pretty much blows everything Lafontaine, Modano, Leetch, Chelios and friends out of the water.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Kane was the foundation of an Original Six Renaissance and won three Stanley Cups much like Yzerman. Only his success came right away and he’s still a young man. So that pretty much blows everything Lafontaine, Modano, Leetch, Chelios and friends out of the water.

It’s like Yzerman on paper And status but outside of that, I don’t see the comparison.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Modano has no business being mentioned with Steve Yzerman, lol. That's another level, Mats Sundin is more Modano's tier.

I mean I meant relative to impact and overall play for their teams, not as talents or overall skill. IMO Modano was a better player than Sundin. Just as gifted offensively while being defensively elite. Their situations are similar on their teams, only their roles were much different and they worked in completely different systems. The Leafs were a run and gun offense while The Stars were a defensive shut down team.

 

[BayStBullies]

Best American born NHLers since 90s:
1. Patrick Kane
2. Brian Leetch
3. Pat Lafontaine
4. Mike Modano
5. Brett Hull
6. Keith Tkachuk
7. Jeremy Roenick
8 Chris Chelios
9. John Leclair
10. Phil Kessel

Hull was born in Canada

 

[Eisen]

Best American is between Chelios, Brimsek and Kane. Chelios comes out on top for me, Brimsek and Kane quarrel over second.

 

[JofaBucket87]

Hull was born in Canada

Yeah but he was conceived in Mexico so it evens out.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Fun fact about Chelios - since the Norris trophy was first awarded (in 1954), he has more normalized* votes for that trophy than all but four defensemen. He's only behind Ray Bourque, Nicklas Lidstrom, Bobby Orr, and Doug Harvey. I'm not saying he's the 5th best defenseman ever, but as great as Chelios was, I think he's still underrated. (He suffers from Gordie Howe syndrome - he played for so many years past his peak that, as a result, his peak gets downplayed and forgotten).

* Normalized so each year is worth the same number of votes.

 

[Mrb1p]

Kane is the greatest American player of all time.

/thread