Devils Dominion
Now we Plummet
I'm trying hard not to be a homer, but I really think Leetch gets a raw deal when ranking defenseman.
He played on a horrible Rangers team for a long time and was only one of the few specks of gold on an otherwise unpolished turd. And I really think that that skews the view of him all-time. One of the best two-way guys around (and one who, for some reason, is bashed on defense a lot when in all reality he was about as steady as they come for an offensively geared player in his own zone).
If he had played on well constructed and even just decent teams, outside fo the few successful years the Rangers enjoyed in the early to mid 90s, he'd be ranked a lot higher than he's seen.
Nieds has proven that he is a better all-around player than Leetch ever was.
Leetch was all-offense and could not lead his team to the playoffs for about 6 seasons in a row. Nieds hands down better than Leetch.