@@jordancivic96 Middleton wasn't a defenseman. I think you mean Brad Park. But Leetch is undeniably #1 all time in NY. Not only the#1 Dman, but arguably the #1 player.
Leetch was the best NHL Defenseman of the 90s in my opinion. Won the Calder Trophy in 1989, Norris Trophy in 1992, Conn Smythe Trophy in 1994, Gold Medal Team USA MVP in 1996, Norris Trophy again in 1997 and lead the NHL in scoring for Defensemen in 2001. Just an absolute stud of a player. Also very humble and solid defensively. He could take over a game the way very few Defensemen in NHL history could. He was a game changer! The American version of Bobby Orr. I'd rank him the best American player ever along with Patrick Kane.
571 penalty minutes in his career while logging MASSIVE minutes. That is astoundingly low! People talk about how great Leetch was offensively but his defensive game doesn't get enough credit. Coffey had over 1800 penalty minutes and MacInnis over 1500. Leetch was great at BOTH ends of the ice. Fantastic player and a great teammate.
Met him a few years ago. I was playing a hockey game in Boston in 2018, and he was coaching his son's team who had the game after ours. I talked to him for a few minutes before their game, and he was just so incredibly nice and polite and fun to talk to. I felt like He was so down to earth that I didn't feel like I was talking to a hockey deity. He told me he had visited my country a few years back and wanted to get married ther and something like that. He autographed a jersey for me and I took some photos of us together. I was a huge fan before meeting him, but now I absolutely idolize him. Great player, and an even greater person. Endless respect!
I remember pretending like we were players like Leetch and Messier while playing street hockey as a kid. We tried to emulate their moves the best we could. The greats from the 90's were our heroes.
Thanks for doing this for my all time favorite defenceman. My favorite number is 2 and I modeled the way I played hockey after him. Closest thing to an idol I've had. Great guy too...
I watched a lot of hockey in the 90s and I put Leetch in the same class as Bourque. Career wise Bourque edges Leetch out but Leetch had a higher peak, no question. The run he had in 94 was and still is unmatched to this day.
Sauer was actually a very good defensemen who was getting better every year. He teamed with a young Marc Staal creating a terrific pairing. Unfortunately, and tragically, his career ended abruptly after incurring a devastating concussion.
Sauer was on his way to becoming a really solid 2nd pairing guy. And Staal was on his way to becoming a monster, but was never the same after the injury.
Took my mum to her first game at the garden in 01, they lost 3-2 to the Ducks in a fun game and everybody was really great to my mum who really enjoyed the experience. Who says New Yorkers are rude? We had a great time and a pleasure to watch players like Leetch.
I remember watching highlights of the first Rangers game after the trade. Chants of go Leach go and go Leafs go were getting belted out. Crowd looked so pissed about the trade. I honestly think he should have been a Ranger for his whole career
Yeah he should have, but I'm glad Canada got to witness his greatness for a little bit. To this day Leaf fans still talk about the short time Leetch was on the team and how impressed they were with him, which makes me happy.
A little added insult to injury, Leetch was traded to the Leafs on his birthday after being told previously that he wouldn't be traded. The only other American defenseman that might take away the title of best from him is Chelios. It's a close one.
Only 2 Defensemen in NHL history have won the Calder Trophy, Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy: Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch. I don't think I have to say anything else.
thanks THG for making this video about the exalted and almighty brian leetch. def one of my favorite all-time american-born players. was really happy for him getting the conn smythe in '94. just a great hockey player and human being. cheers from southern ontario 🍁
One of the best players to watch skate the puck from behind his own net, deep into the offensive zone untouched, with speed and skill, topping it off with a goal.
One of the most impressive stats about Leetch is his PIM numbers (Penalties in minutes). 571 over 18 seasons is RIDICULOUSLY low! Coffey had 1800 for his career and MacInnis had 1571! Leetch was so good at both ends of the ice and never had to sacrifice his offense to also be great defensively! A rare type of player, that's for sure.
Gotta love Brian Leetch. Heck of a player and that's putting it lightly. May not have spent a long time as a Leaf, but still remember the time he was with the Leafs fondly.
@@brew1116 He didn't make that promise. A reporter asked him to "make a guarantee" and he jokingly said they would make the playoffs. He didn't just come out and say it on his own like he did in 94 against the Devils. Just accept the fact that Messier guaranteed victory and went out and got a hat trick against the Mickey Mouse team in New Jersey!
I love these types of videos! I’ve learned a lot about other players around the league, but I’m curious if you’ll do one on a previous Canuck? Or more interesting maybe, some of the super early NHLers like Joe Malone or Cy Denneny?
One fun fact I’ve always liked about him is that he is a Texas native, born in Corpus Christi. As a fellow Texan, I’m happy he won the cup to represent our home state.
He was captain of the 1996 USA World Cup winning team as well. For one night at the Garden instead of “Potvin Sucks” it was “Sather Sucks”!When that happens you know you screwed up!
"Brian Leetch" "Brian fucking Leetch" "I'd trade you for Chelios today if I could." Fucking Keenan, did what was necessary to get us that cup, and Fucking number 2 was the reason as a kid I played hockey...weeellll...Beukeboom was really but he was always paired with Leetch. What can I say, I liked to hit people and Jeff's name is fun to say!
Leetch is also the best defenseman in the history of Boston College despite playing only one season there. He might have won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s best player if North Dakota’s Tony Hrkac didn’t set the all-time points record with 116 the same year.
Hehe.. loved watching him.. still remember the 94 cup(well parts of it).. he was like def playing like a 2 way forward.. Also watched him when he played with Malakhov(former hab that i followed back then). Him and the king and Richter are the 3 names I come up with that played(almost) solely for the Rangers.
Fun Facts: Brian Leetch was traded to Toronto on his 36th birthday. Sather, at the 2004 Trade Deadline, dealt a Ranger to every Canadian team (6 trades).
@@b1hockeypodcast391 messier was overrated. and had most of his success with the oilers besides. the so-called "greatest leader in team sports" captained the last seven seasons of his career to zero playoff games. interesting that vancouver was a playoff team when he arrived, never made the playoffs with him, and was a playoff team immediately after he left. i'm sure messier and his gigantic ego would vote for himself, but leetch was the superior ranger.
Brian Leetch is rarely given the respect he deserves as one of the great all-time defenseman. Brilliant offensive flare and vision. Classy, quiet and unassuming off the ice. I recall him sitting beside Chris Rock on the Conan O'Brian show when Rock made a joke where he implied hockey was a white sport. He then looked at Brian who didn't know quite how to react.
He's always underrated. I think because he had a thinner frame and didn't throw the body around like a Chelios type, but he could hip check and was an amazing skater! Definitely Top 10 in my book.
@@amazinmets8439 For sure. A bigger factor might be that Brian was always a quiet and somewhat shy guy. Never had the urge to be the center of attention and never sought the spotlight. He was a quiet leader who went to the rink and did his job. Between his on-ice accomplishments and playing in NY, he could have been world famous if he adopted a Jeremy Roenick or PK Subban personality.
Jarkko Immonen had a decent career in Liiga and KHL; i guess he would have been ok for third, or even second line option in NHL too. Liiga totals 437 130 226 356 242 42 6 23 29 58 NHL totals 20 3 5 8 4 - - - - - KHL totals 323 90 121 211 118 73 15 23 38 26
Phenomenal player. One of the rare New York Ranger prospects that were developed and came up through the system and stayed a Ranger for all but 2 seasons of his career. Most of the 1994 team was imported.
@@amazinmets8439 Definitely Richter along with Leetch were one of the few player allowed to play most of their years in New York w/o getting traded for an aging All-Star or win now player. Nemchinov was 28 by the time he got to the NHL, so I wouldn’t say the Rangers developed him. Zubov was nice offensively but prone to odd-man rushes. Rangers traded him after 3 seasons, which was a trend where the Rangers traded away their youth in hopes to squeeze another Cup. I don’t count Graves. Graves was 1/2 of the Adam Smashers (Adam Oates & Adam Graves). While Graves offense skills weren’t there, it was clear he was a hard hitter and good fighter. It was in Edmonton where he really started to show promise. I still thought Graves was a coward when he broke Mario Lemieux’s wrist on a dirty slash when the Rangers were eventually eliminated by the Penguins in 1992 playoffs. The New York Rangers have ONE Stanley Cup over the last 80 years. I prefer the modern Front Office who is more committed to stockpiling talent than hired guns. Exiting times to be a Ranger these days.
@@DrDetfink The Graves slash on Mario wasn't intentional. I think you know that. There is no other instance in Graves career of him being a dirty player. And that slash actually hurt the Rangers more than the Penguins in my opinion. Graves was an instrumental part of that 92 Rangers team. Penguins, even without Mario, still had a ton of firepower and were "motivated" after Lemieux got injured. It also messed up the Rangers lines. Rangers should have won the Cup in 92 but oh well.
@@94champs I was at that game Billy. You can’t convince me after I saw Lemieux carrying the puck, the Rangers were on their way out of the playoffs, you cannot convince me that Graves “accidentally” busted his wrist with an uncalled for slash. You could HEAR the break which stopped the “1940” chants. Saw him as a Detroit Red Wing as well when he was part of the “Adam Smashers” with Adam Oates. While he was no Joey Kocur or Bob Probert, he was always a physical guy and a temperamental one. Sorry. I can’t buy that one even as a Ranger fan.
@@DrDetfink Lemieux was notorious for not wearing padding in his wrist area. It was a normal chop at the stick like you saw 1,000 times a game and happened to hit him in a bad spot. There is no other instance of Graves being "dirty" in his career.
You forget tho, that trade would have worked out if sauer's career didn't end early because he was an excellent second pair guy. But i guess that's just wishful thinking at this point
...or Lundqvist who should’ve been on the rangers until the end. Lundqvist who would cost 800k more than Georgiev to have as a back up which would lead to no carry over of the buyout next season.
I agree with this. Leetch was the guy you wanted for a run to the Cup in his prime, not Bourque. Leetch was under more pressure than anyone can imagine in 94 and he came through big time. As great as Bourque was, I think he would have crumbled under that pressure.
The goal he scored on Brodeur in G7 of the '94 ECF should be remembered as one of the greatest goals of all time. Too bad it fell seven seconds short of being the 1-0 game winner.
@@matthewdaley746 Disagree - in G6 NJ had them on the ropes at 2-0 and should have been 5-0 if not for Richter. The Devils outshot & outplayed them until the Kovalev late 2nd period goal.
Legend, one of the best offensive D-men ever. One of the few on that 94 roster I really like. Too many erupt in almost religious hysteria on Messiers hattrick vs NJD, I'd say there wouldn't been a game 7 without Leetch. Would NYR even get past Wsh without Leetch? I'm so certain Van would be up 3-1 in the finals without Leetch. For a period in time he was up there on the same level as Bourque, Lidstrom, Potvin, Coffey no doubt.
@@amazinmets8439 Ray Bourque started his career with the Bruins in 79. Leetch was an inferior player to Bourque but by the 90s Bourque was in his 30s and had started to slow down a little.
Leetch had 571 PIM over 18 seasons. Coffey had 1800. MacInnis had 1571. Leetch was better than both those guys defensively and his plus/minus isn't very high because he played on bad teams the last 8 years of his career. Stop looking at plus/minus and start watching highlights of the player you're judging before making silly comments.
Using plus/minus as an indicator of good defense? You're a funny guy. Coffey had a high plus/minus and he blew chunks defensively. Leetch was terrific in his own end.
@@shanegrant42 thanks!! Now has anybody ever played for the six 1967 expansion teams? Not after they moved or folded, but the actual six expansion teams.
He's a legend in this city. Arguably the greatest defenseman to ever put on a Rangers uniform. Nice jersey btw.
Arguably?
He's definitely their greatest defenseman ever, not even a debate really.
@@nyrgaming3091 I think the best you could do is make a case for guys like Harry Howell or Brad Park as the 2nd and 3rd greatest
@@jordancivic96 Middleton wasn't a defenseman. I think you mean Brad Park. But Leetch is undeniably #1 all time in NY. Not only the#1 Dman, but arguably the #1 player.
@@keving4408 Yep, that's my bad. Corrected
I absolutely love Brian Leetch. Probably my favorite Ranger of all time.
He was better than any Defenseman of his era during his peak, and that includes Bourque, MacInnis, Stevens or whomever. Leetch was an absolute beast.
Got to meet him in 1990, great guy. Man he loved to do that hip check along the boards. haha
Leetch was the best NHL Defenseman of the 90s in my opinion. Won the Calder Trophy in 1989, Norris Trophy in 1992, Conn Smythe Trophy in 1994, Gold Medal Team USA MVP in 1996, Norris Trophy again in 1997 and lead the NHL in scoring for Defensemen in 2001. Just an absolute stud of a player. Also very humble and solid defensively. He could take over a game the way very few Defensemen in NHL history could. He was a game changer! The American version of Bobby Orr. I'd rank him the best American player ever along with Patrick Kane.
571 penalty minutes in his career while logging MASSIVE minutes. That is astoundingly low! People talk about how great Leetch was offensively but his defensive game doesn't get enough credit. Coffey had over 1800 penalty minutes and MacInnis over 1500. Leetch was great at BOTH ends of the ice. Fantastic player and a great teammate.
One of my all-time favourites. 🙏🏻
He was one hell of a defenseman.
Met him a few years ago. I was playing a hockey game in Boston in 2018, and he was coaching his son's team who had the game after ours. I talked to him for a few minutes before their game, and he was just so incredibly nice and polite and fun to talk to. I felt like He was so down to earth that I didn't feel like I was talking to a hockey deity. He told me he had visited my country a few years back and wanted to get married ther and something like that. He autographed a jersey for me and I took some photos of us together. I was a huge fan before meeting him, but now I absolutely idolize him. Great player, and an even greater person. Endless respect!
In my lifetime, I've only seen a few Ranger players who could literally win a game by themselves: Lundqvist, Jagr, Messier, and Leetch.
I like it, i just don't think Hank belongs on that list, in the end we didnt win with him , I feel he gets too much love sometimes
@@ggagoots
Dude you're lost
Messier, Leetch, Zubov, Graves. Damn good team
Kovalev, Teekenen , Richter , Anderson , Larmer , Lowe
adding the great one later on
I guess it had to be Tikkanen getting misspelled 😋
@@pale_saint The language of Teekinese
@Johnny Dong I spelled it wrong on purpose , he speaks the language of teekinese
He also Captained Team USA to their 1996 World Cup Victory.
@Alvalanker Richter MVP of the whole tourney!
@@damets Leetch could have been MVP as well, he was AWESOME that tourney!
I remember pretending like we were players like Leetch and Messier while playing street hockey as a kid. We tried to emulate their moves the best we could. The greats from the 90's were our heroes.
shannon your knowledge is 10/10. awesome content
Thanks for doing this for my all time favorite defenceman. My favorite number is 2 and I modeled the way I played hockey after him. Closest thing to an idol I've had. Great guy too...
You should have circled that 23G in his rookie year. NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman.
And in only 68 games.
also should have circled 91-92, was the last time a d-man scored 100 points in the NHL
Brian leetch was an amazing player for being born in a city with almost no minor hockey teams
He didn’t grow up there. Just born in Corpus Christi. He grew up in Connecticut where hockey is pretty common.
I watched a lot of hockey in the 90s and I put Leetch in the same class as Bourque. Career wise Bourque edges Leetch out but Leetch had a higher peak, no question. The run he had in 94 was and still is unmatched to this day.
Sauer was actually a very good defensemen who was getting better every year. He teamed with a young Marc Staal creating a terrific pairing. Unfortunately, and tragically, his career ended abruptly after incurring a devastating concussion.
Sauer was on his way to becoming a really solid 2nd pairing guy. And Staal was on his way to becoming a monster, but was never the same after the injury.
Brian Leetch was one of the reasons I began watching hockey. Him and Richter were my idols when I was a little kid.
Easily in top 10 defensemen of all time
Oh ABSOLUTELY and I hate it when he's ranked lower than that. Leetch was truly DOMINANT and extremely underrated.
My favorite all-time Ranger he was absolutely amazing
Love you man thank you for everything you do♥️♥️
Took my mum to her first game at the garden in 01, they lost 3-2 to the Ducks in a fun game and everybody was really great to my mum who really enjoyed the experience. Who says New Yorkers are rude? We had a great time and a pleasure to watch players like Leetch.
I remember watching highlights of the first Rangers game after the trade. Chants of go Leach go and go Leafs go were getting belted out. Crowd looked so pissed about the trade. I honestly think he should have been a Ranger for his whole career
Yeah he should have, but I'm glad Canada got to witness his greatness for a little bit. To this day Leaf fans still talk about the short time Leetch was on the team and how impressed they were with him, which makes me happy.
A little added insult to injury, Leetch was traded to the Leafs on his birthday after being told previously that he wouldn't be traded.
The only other American defenseman that might take away the title of best from him is Chelios. It's a close one.
Leetch was better than Chelios. Would Chelios have lead the Rangers to a cup in 94? Nope! There's your answer.
Only 2 Defensemen in NHL history have won the Calder Trophy, Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy: Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch. I don't think I have to say anything else.
thanks THG for making this video about the exalted and almighty brian leetch. def one of my favorite all-time american-born players. was really happy for him getting the conn smythe in '94. just a great hockey player and human being.
cheers from southern ontario 🍁
One of the best players to watch skate the puck from behind his own net, deep into the offensive zone untouched, with speed and skill, topping it off with a goal.
MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT DOC!! The man is a living legend and always will be
One of the most impressive stats about Leetch is his PIM numbers (Penalties in minutes). 571 over 18 seasons is RIDICULOUSLY low! Coffey had 1800 for his career and MacInnis had 1571! Leetch was so good at both ends of the ice and never had to sacrifice his offense to also be great defensively! A rare type of player, that's for sure.
he's still underrated, probably because he was American and played for the Rangers most of his career. He was an absolute monster of a player.
His end to end rushes were among the best for any dman in history.
Great player, great man. He was definitely the stand out player for the Rangers Stanley Cup.
Gotta love Brian Leetch. Heck of a player and that's putting it lightly. May not have spent a long time as a Leaf, but still remember the time he was with the Leafs fondly.
My all-time favorite Rangers player!
My favorite player, thanks for doing this video!
I remember when messier made that speech when he promised to win rangers the cup
Do you remember a couple years later when he promised they would get back to the playoffs, and they didn't? What a leader.
@@brew1116 He didn't make that promise. A reporter asked him to "make a guarantee" and he jokingly said they would make the playoffs. He didn't just come out and say it on his own like he did in 94 against the Devils. Just accept the fact that Messier guaranteed victory and went out and got a hat trick against the Mickey Mouse team in New Jersey!
@@brew1116 butthurt Nucks fan?
@@GooseGumlizzard Nailed it.
I love these types of videos! I’ve learned a lot about other players around the league, but I’m curious if you’ll do one on a previous Canuck?
Or more interesting maybe, some of the super early NHLers like Joe Malone or Cy Denneny?
One fun fact I’ve always liked about him is that he is a Texas native, born in Corpus Christi. As a fellow Texan, I’m happy he won the cup to represent our home state.
THG is one of my favorite online sports channels.
What do we think? Get Shan to 200k by the start of next season?
Greatest Ranger ever. Also it’s a damn shame with Michael Sauer very good player, brutal concussion.
He was captain of the 1996 USA World Cup winning team as well.
For one night at the Garden instead of “Potvin Sucks” it was “Sather Sucks”!When that happens you know you screwed up!
"Brian Leetch"
"Brian fucking Leetch"
"I'd trade you for Chelios today if I could." Fucking Keenan, did what was necessary to get us that cup, and Fucking number 2 was the reason as a kid I played hockey...weeellll...Beukeboom was really but he was always paired with Leetch. What can I say, I liked to hit people and Jeff's name is fun to say!
LOL trading Leetch for Chelios? No way the Rangers win the Cup in 94 if that happened. No disrespect to Chelios, but he's no Leetch.
Greatest player of all time born in Texas. ABSOLUTE BEAUTY
also Canada cup1991 runner-up With Team usa and world cup 1996 victory with team usa
He was the Captain of the Champion World Cup team in 96 too, and he was fantastic!
he is the best Rangers defenseman they ever had for a reason. what a legend.
He is the best New York Ranger for a reason!
Leetch is also the best defenseman in the history of Boston College despite playing only one season there. He might have won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s best player if North Dakota’s Tony Hrkac didn’t set the all-time points record with 116 the same year.
I suppose that was a good omen, as he didn't have to worry about the 'Hobey Baker Curse.'
You Mean 2-Time World Cup Of Hockey Champion And 98 Olympic Hockey Gold Medalist.
One of the best D's ever, such a reliable player. Surely it has to be rare to see a defenseman regularly put up points like that in the playoffs?
Leetch was the reason I choose the number 2 to wear as a defensemen. New York legend and icon, great on and off the ice.
Met him a few times when I was a kid. Got his autograph.
Hehe.. loved watching him.. still remember the 94 cup(well parts of it).. he was like def playing like a 2 way forward..
Also watched him when he played with Malakhov(former hab that i followed back then).
Him and the king and Richter are the 3 names I come up with that played(almost) solely for the Rangers.
I assuming there's going to be a video about, or mentioning Mike Emrick soon?
Fun Facts: Brian Leetch was traded to Toronto on his 36th birthday. Sather, at the 2004 Trade Deadline, dealt a Ranger to every Canadian team (6 trades).
Nice video. I would like to learn more about how the Oiler's team came together and the GM's that did it.
Greatest Ranger of all time
What about Messier?
@@b1hockeypodcast391 no its Leetch. Leetch was home-grown and played 17 seasons with them.
@@smithfan22 I guess, but you could also make a case for Hank as the rangers GOAT
@@b1hockeypodcast391 Eddie Giacomin Enters the chat
@@b1hockeypodcast391 messier was overrated. and had most of his success with the oilers besides. the so-called "greatest leader in team sports" captained the last seven seasons of his career to zero playoff games. interesting that vancouver was a playoff team when he arrived, never made the playoffs with him, and was a playoff team immediately after he left.
i'm sure messier and his gigantic ego would vote for himself, but leetch was the superior ranger.
Brian Leetch is rarely given the respect he deserves as one of the great all-time defenseman. Brilliant offensive flare and vision. Classy, quiet and unassuming off the ice. I recall him sitting beside Chris Rock on the Conan O'Brian show when Rock made a joke where he implied hockey was a white sport. He then looked at Brian who didn't know quite how to react.
He's always underrated. I think because he had a thinner frame and didn't throw the body around like a Chelios type, but he could hip check and was an amazing skater! Definitely Top 10 in my book.
@@amazinmets8439 For sure. A bigger factor might be that Brian was always a quiet and somewhat shy guy. Never had the urge to be the center of attention and never sought the spotlight. He was a quiet leader who went to the rink and did his job. Between his on-ice accomplishments and playing in NY, he could have been world famous if he adopted a Jeremy Roenick or PK Subban personality.
Jarkko Immonen had a decent career in Liiga and KHL; i guess he would have been ok for third, or even second line option in NHL too.
Liiga totals 437 130 226 356 242 42 6 23 29 58
NHL totals 20 3 5 8 4 - - - - -
KHL totals 323 90 121 211 118 73 15 23 38 26
Phenomenal player. One of the rare New York Ranger prospects that were developed and came up through the system and stayed a Ranger for all but 2 seasons of his career. Most of the 1994 team was imported.
Zubov, Leetch, Kovalev, Richter, Nemchinov, Karpotsev, were all home grown. And Graves didn't emerge as a star until he came to NY.
@@amazinmets8439 Definitely Richter along with Leetch were one of the few player allowed to play most of their years in New York w/o getting traded for an aging All-Star or win now player. Nemchinov was 28 by the time he got to the NHL, so I wouldn’t say the Rangers developed him. Zubov was nice offensively but prone to odd-man rushes. Rangers traded him after 3 seasons, which was a trend where the Rangers traded away their youth in hopes to squeeze another Cup. I don’t count Graves. Graves was 1/2 of the Adam Smashers (Adam Oates & Adam Graves). While Graves offense skills weren’t there, it was clear he was a hard hitter and good fighter. It was in Edmonton where he really started to show promise. I still thought Graves was a coward when he broke Mario Lemieux’s wrist on a dirty slash when the Rangers were eventually eliminated by the Penguins in 1992 playoffs. The New York Rangers have ONE Stanley Cup over the last 80 years. I prefer the modern Front Office who is more committed to stockpiling talent than hired guns. Exiting times to be a Ranger these days.
@@DrDetfink The Graves slash on Mario wasn't intentional. I think you know that. There is no other instance in Graves career of him being a dirty player. And that slash actually hurt the Rangers more than the Penguins in my opinion. Graves was an instrumental part of that 92 Rangers team. Penguins, even without Mario, still had a ton of firepower and were "motivated" after Lemieux got injured. It also messed up the Rangers lines. Rangers should have won the Cup in 92 but oh well.
@@94champs I was at that game Billy. You can’t convince me after I saw Lemieux carrying the puck, the Rangers were on their way out of the playoffs, you cannot convince me that Graves “accidentally” busted his wrist with an uncalled for slash. You could HEAR the break which stopped the “1940” chants. Saw him as a Detroit Red Wing as well when he was part of the “Adam Smashers” with Adam Oates. While he was no Joey Kocur or Bob Probert, he was always a physical guy and a temperamental one. Sorry. I can’t buy that one even as a Ranger fan.
@@DrDetfink Lemieux was notorious for not wearing padding in his wrist area. It was a normal chop at the stick like you saw 1,000 times a game and happened to hit him in a bad spot. There is no other instance of Graves being "dirty" in his career.
Can you do your next video about Jason Blake? He was a stud in 06-07 where he scored 40 goals with my islanders
You forget tho, that trade would have worked out if sauer's career didn't end early because he was an excellent second pair guy. But i guess that's just wishful thinking at this point
He’s a defenseman we are talking about. Some of these forwards today don’t get the points he but up
Can you please do a Guy Lafleur career video:)
One of the happiest Days of my life🗽🍎🏒1994 Cup
Can you do the career of Jarome iginla or Miikka Kiprusoff
...or Lundqvist who should’ve been on the rangers until the end. Lundqvist who would cost 800k more than Georgiev to have as a back up which would lead to no carry over of the buyout next season.
This guy could skate.
Lets see a video on Modano. Shame babcock never gave him his 1500th game
Can you do Jágr next?
Last defensemen to hit 100 pts in a season as well. Also mike sauer had his career cut short because of a major concussion.
Brian leetch is the 🐐🐐🐐🐐
He was The premier defensemen of that time, more so than Bourque, Macinnis,kev Hatcher, etc
@@covidisahoax2438Bourque was good, but from '92 on, Leetch was THE man.
I agree with this. Leetch was the guy you wanted for a run to the Cup in his prime, not Bourque. Leetch was under more pressure than anyone can imagine in 94 and he came through big time. As great as Bourque was, I think he would have crumbled under that pressure.
The goal he scored on Brodeur in G7 of the '94 ECF should be remembered as one of the greatest goals of all time. Too bad it fell seven seconds short of being the 1-0 game winner.
@@matthewdaley746 Disagree - in G6 NJ had them on the ropes at 2-0 and should have been 5-0 if not for Richter. The Devils outshot & outplayed them until the Kovalev late 2nd period goal.
Casually scrolling TH-cam , see a vid of my favourite player. Click on it
That opening 😄
Legend, one of the best offensive D-men ever. One of the few on that 94 roster I really like. Too many erupt in almost religious hysteria on Messiers hattrick vs NJD, I'd say there wouldn't been a game 7 without Leetch. Would NYR even get past Wsh without Leetch? I'm so certain Van would be up 3-1 in the finals without Leetch. For a period in time he was up there on the same level as Bourque, Lidstrom, Potvin, Coffey no doubt.
He had more playoff points per game in the 90's than Bourque did. Ray came in 2nd. That's how good Leetch was.
@@amazinmets8439 Ray Bourque started his career with the Bruins in 79. Leetch was an inferior player to Bourque but by the 90s Bourque was in his 30s and had started to slow down a little.
Inferior player? Did Bourque ever win a Conn Smythe? Nope. Leetch did.
You should do a best American players video
When I got a finally got a Rangers shirt. there was only one name I wanted on the back Leetch.
Just got this guys jersey in chel 21
Maple Leafs Legend Brian Leetch
Former Leaf Brian Leetch hell yeah
Question is if his defense was issue that his plus minus sucked
Leetch had 571 PIM over 18 seasons. Coffey had 1800. MacInnis had 1571. Leetch was better than both those guys defensively and his plus/minus isn't very high because he played on bad teams the last 8 years of his career. Stop looking at plus/minus and start watching highlights of the player you're judging before making silly comments.
Using plus/minus as an indicator of good defense? You're a funny guy. Coffey had a high plus/minus and he blew chunks defensively. Leetch was terrific in his own end.
Nightmares from 94'
NEVER should have to wear another
sweater
Sather was and still is an idiot.
Be wary of the Leetch.
last defenceman to score 100 points in a season
Iggy next ?
Or Thornton as a Shark...
Should of been captain in 94
I forgot he played with the Bruins
Let it stay forgotten , seeing him in Bruins colours made me want to puke
@@Christhegreatbro Leetch as a Bruin = 🤮
Easily the Greatest Ranger.
A CT product I might add.
Old Avon Farms H.S.
Has any player ever played for all original 6 teams?
As far as I know, only one! His name was Vic Lynn. There is a (brief) Wikipedia article on him that you can check out!
@@shanegrant42 thanks!! Now has anybody ever played for the six 1967 expansion teams? Not after they moved or folded, but the actual six expansion teams.
How was he defensively?
Very underrated defensively. One of the best hip checks in the game! Rarely made any mistakes and played smart, positional defense.
He was terrific defensively. 571 career PIM. Almost never took bad penalties or caught out of position. Nasty hip checker too.
As a BU grad and Diehard Devils fan. Leetch is one of my least favorite players ever. But he still has my respect.
Oilers Legend Brian Leetch
Wow
should've retire as Ranger :/ Lundqvist too.
Maybe the King will return on a 1 day contract
Top 5 d man of all time no doubt
Orr
Coffey
Borque
Leetch
Potvin
Lidstrom?
Forgetting Lindstrom!
Leetch over Chelios?
@@TheHockeyGuy dang so that's means leetch is top 7 not 5 my bad
@@b1hockeypodcast391 yea I really forgot my bad