Brian Leetch
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2009
Leetch with the New York Rangers in 1997
Born (1968-03-03) March 3, 1968
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
National team  United States
NHL Draft 9th overall, 1986
New York Rangers
Playing career 1987–2006
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2002 Salt Lake City Ice hockey

Brian Joseph Leetch (born March 3, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 18 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. He has been called one of the top defensemen in NHL history.

Leetch accumulated many individual honors during his 18-year career. He was a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's best defenseman (1992, 1997) and was the first American-born winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his performance during the Rangers' run to the 1994 Stanley Cup championship. Leetch is one of only six NHL defensemen to score 100 points in a season with his 102-point campaign in 1991–92. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1989 and his 23 goals that season remain an NHL record for rookie defensemen.

Leetch's number 2 was retired by the Rangers on January 24, 2008. During the ceremony, longtime teammate Mark Messier referred to Leetch as the single "Greatest Ranger of All Time." Leetch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2009, his first year of eligibility. In 2017 Leetch was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1] He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2023.

Biography

Early life

Leetch was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, but was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut, where his family moved when he was three months old. He first learned to play hockey at a local ice rink managed by his father, Jack. In high school, he starred in baseball and hockey, first at Cheshire High School, and then at Avon Old Farms. As a sophomore, Leetch's 90 mph fastball helped the Cheshire Rams baseball team to a state championship and, as a senior at Avon Old Farms, he set the school record for strikeouts in a game with 19. Hockey, however, was the sport in which he most excelled. As a sophomore at Cheshire, he scored 53 goals and 50 assists, earning All-state honors.[2]

In two seasons with Avon Old Farms, Leetch scored 70 goals and 90 assists in 54 games. These numbers were especially remarkable for a defenseman. NHL scouts were starting to take notice and the New York Rangers chose Leetch as their first-round pick (9th overall) in 1986, making him the first player drafted that year who did not play major junior hockey. Following in the footsteps of his father Jack, Brian enrolled at Boston College in the fall of 1986, and, like his father, would become an All-America defenseman for the Eagles.

Playing career

After one season at Boston College, he played for the US Olympic team at the 1988 Games in Calgary, making his NHL debut, eight days later, with the New York Rangers on February 29, 1988, versus St. Louis. Leetch tallied his first NHL point in the game with an assist on Kelly Kisio's goal. He finished out the 1987-88 season with 14 points in 17 games. In his first full NHL season (1988-89), Leetch notched 71 points, including a rookie defenseman-record 23 goals, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as well as being selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

As the Rangers slowly developed into a championship-caliber team, Leetch won increasing respect from fans for his quiet demeanor and entertaining, offensive-minded play. In 1992 he became the fifth defenseman in history, and the only American defenseman, to record 100 points in a season and was awarded the Norris Trophy. Leetch was the last NHL defenseman to record 100 points for season until Erik Karlsson reached the mark in 2022–23. On March 21, 1993, Leetch suffered a broken ankle after slipping on black ice after stepping out of a cab.[3] The injury caused Leetch to miss the rest of the season, prompting a Rangers slump that caused them to miss the playoffs.[3] In 1994 he again matched his career-high of 23 goals in the regular season as the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy. That year, the Rangers' 54-year championship drought ended with a seven-game Stanley Cup Finals victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Leetch became the first non-Canadian to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, and remained the only American to do so until Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins in 2011. Leetch was the second player in NHL history (after Bobby Orr) to win the Calder Trophy, the Norris Trophy, and the Conn Smythe Trophy in his career. Only Cale Makar has matched this feat since.

Following the Rangers' Cup win in 1994, Leetch remained a fan favorite and team leader, serving as Captain from 1997–2000 after the departure of Mark Messier to the Vancouver Canucks (he would return the captaincy to Messier upon Messier's return to the Rangers in 2000).

In 1996, Leetch captained the victorious American team at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey.

Leetch playing for the New York Rangers in 1997

In 1997, he again won the Norris Trophy and the Rangers made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. The next years, however, were marked by disappointing team performances that saw the Rangers miss the playoffs every year.

After the Rangers

In 1998, Leetch was ranked 71st on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.[4] On June 30, 2003, as a pending free agent, his rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jussi Markkanen and a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft. The Oilers did not sign him, and he signed a two-year contract to return to the Rangers a month later.[5] After the especially unsuccessful 2004 campaign, the Rangers traded most of their high-priced veterans; Leetch was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs just prior to the trade deadline for prospects Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen, a first-round pick in the 2004 draft, which became Kris Chucko (pick was later traded to the Calgary Flames), and a second-round pick in 2005, which became Michael Sauer.

Leetch was set to play the 2004–05 season with the Maple Leafs, however, due to the 2004–05 lockout, the last year of his contract expired, and he became a free agent. Leetch signed a one-year, $4-million contract with the Boston Bruins before the 2005–06 season.[6] Although the Bruins failed to make the postseason, Leetch scored his 1,000th career point as a member of the team.[7]

Throughout the 2006–07 season, Leetch received contract offers from several NHL teams, but accepted none.[8][9] On May 24, 2007, Leetch officially announced his retirement, bringing his 18-year NHL career to an end.[10]

On September 18, 2007 Leetch was announced as one of the four recipients of the 2007 Lester Patrick Trophy.[11][12]

On January 24, 2008, the New York Rangers retired Leetch's number 2 jersey, joining fellow 1994 Stanley Cup Champion teammates Mark Messier and Mike Richter, as well as Rod Gilbert and Eddie Giacomin in the rafters of Madison Square Garden. On that night, his friend, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees congratulated Leetch for the honor of having his number retired with a video that ended with Jeter saying "So congratulations, from one number 2 to another."[13] Leetch also had the honor of announcing during his ceremony that the New York Rangers would retire his friend and former teammate Adam Graves' number during the 2008–09 season, joining Leetch and the other greats above the Madison Square Gardens ice.[14]

On October 10, 2008, both Leetch and Richter were inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Denver.[15] Both of them also played for the silver medal-winning U.S. ice hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics.[16]

On June 23, 2009, it was announced that Leetch would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was honored during the November 6–9 induction weekend alongside Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille.[17] The induction made it the third year in a row that a member of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup team has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, following Messier in 2007 and Glenn Anderson in 2008, who was also inducted along with one of the on-ice officials when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, Ray Scapinello.

In August 2015 Leetch became manager of player safety in the NHL's Department of Player Safety, leaving after one season.[18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84Cheshire High SchoolHS28524910124—————
1984–85Avon Old FarmsHS2630467615—————
1985–86Avon Old FarmsHS2840448418—————
1986–87Boston CollegeHE379384710—————
1987–88United StatesIntl5013617438—————
1987–88New York RangersNHL17212140—————
1988–89New York RangersNHL682348715043252
1989–90New York RangersNHL7211455626—————
1990–91New York RangersNHL801672884261340
1991–92New York RangersNHL8022801022613411154
1992–93New York RangersNHL366303626—————
1993–94New York RangersNHL8423567927231123346
1994–95New York RangersNHL4893241181068148
1995–96New York RangersNHL8215708530111674
1996–97New York RangersNHL82205878401528106
1997–98New York RangersNHL7617335032—————
1998–99New York RangersNHL8213425542—————
1999–2000New York RangersNHL507192620—————
2000–01New York RangersNHL8221587934—————
2001–02New York RangersNHL8210455528—————
2002–03New York RangersNHL5112183020—————
2003–04New York RangersNHL5713233624—————
2003–04Toronto Maple LeafsNHL152131510130886
2005–06Boston BruinsNHL615273236—————
NHL totals 1,205 247 781 1,028 571 95 28 69 97 36

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1985 United States WJC 7 0 0 0 2
1986 United States WJC 7 1 4 5 2
1987 United States WJC 7 1 2 3 6
1987 United States WC 10 4 5 9 4
1988 United States OG 6 1 5 6 4
1989 United States WC 10 3 4 7 4
1991 United States CC 7 1 3 4 2
1996 United States WCH 7 0 7 7 4
1998 United States OG 4 1 1 2 0
2002 United States OG 6 0 5 5 0
2004 United States WCH 5 0 1 1 6
Junior totals 21 2 6 8 10
Senior totals 55 10 31 41 24

Awards and achievements

Award Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team 1986–87 [19]
All-Hockey East First Team 1986–87 [20]
AHCA East first-team All-American 1986–87 [21]
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 1987 [22]

New York Rangers awards

  • MVP: 1989, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003
  • Players' Player Award: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Frank Boucher Award: 2001
  • Crumb Bum Award: 1994
  • Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award: 1997
  • Good Guy Award: 2002
  • Ceil Saidel Memorial Award: 2002, 2003
  • #2 jersey retired by New York Rangers on January 24, 2008

Records

NHL records

New York Rangers regular season records

  • Most assists, career: 741
  • Most goals by a defenseman, career: 240
  • Most points by a defenseman, career: 981
  • Most assists, single-season: 80 (1991–92)
  • Most points by a defenseman, single season: 102 (1991–92)
  • Most power-play goals by a defenseman, single-season: 17 (1993–94)

New York Rangers playoff records

  • Most assists, career: 61
  • Most points, career: 89
  • Most assists, one year: 23, 1993–94
  • Most points, one year: 34, 1993–94
  • Most goals by a defenseman, career: 28
  • Most goals by a defenseman, one year: 11, 1993–94

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ 1984 Connecticut All-State Ice Hockey
  3. 1 2 Brooks, Larry (February 7, 2015). "Lundqvist isn't alone: The injuries that altered Rangers' history". New York Post. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kay, Jason. "The Top 100 NHL players of all-time, throwback style". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  5. ↑ Litsky, Frank (July 31, 2003). "Hockey; The Rangers Sign Leetch To a Two-Year Contract". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Bruins sign defenseman Leetch to one-year deal". ESPN. Associated Press. August 3, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Montreal beats Bruins, 4-3; Leetch notches 1,000th point". NHL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Leetch: Remember me as a Ranger". NHL.com.
  9. ↑ Zinser, Lynn (May 25, 2007). "Brian Leetch Retires From Hockey". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Leetch officially retires from NHL". TSN.ca. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Leetch, Granato, Fischler and Halligan selected as recipients of 2007 Lester Patrick Award". NHL.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Leetch, Cammi Granato Among 4 Winners of Lester Patrick Award". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. November 7, 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Rangers raise Leetch's No. 2 to rafters of Madison Square Garden". NHL.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ "No. 2 Goes to The Garden Rafters; No. 9 Next". New York Rangers. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008.
  15. ↑ Eichel, Matt. "US Hockey Hall Of Fame Inducts Richter, Leetch, and Hull". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "The new Hall of Famers". NHL.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Hockey Hall of Fame Announces 2009 Inductees". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. June 23, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Leetch, Burke join NHL Department of Player Safety". NHL.com. August 22, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Hockey East All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  22. ↑ "2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  23. ↑ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.519, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
  24. ↑ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 228. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  25. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew (9 December 2022). "IIHF honours international mix for Hall of Fame '23". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  26. ↑ Potts, Andy (28 May 2023). "Celebrating a century of legends". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "Leetch Inducted Into IIHF Hall of Fame". USA Hockey. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
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