Brian Leetch was one of the greatest offensive defensemen of his era, perhaps even of all time.
That’s what we discuss on his episode of our podcast – where Leetch ranks all time, with multiple long discussions of his role in the 1994 Rangers’ Cup run.
Listen here:
Leetch’s stats:
Brian Leetch’s Career:
- 1987-2006; 18 seasons, all quality
- Totals:
- 247G (9th D All Time, 2nd American D),
- 781A (7th D, 3rd American skater) for
- 1028P (8th D, 2nd American D),
- +25 in 1205 games (5th American D);
- 146.6 PS (12th D All Time);
- 27:03 ATOI (since 1998-99)
- Among all NHL D, Leetch is 13th All Time in GPG, and 7th All Time in APG and PPG
- Leetch is 2nd All Time among American NHLers in APG
- Leetch is 8th All Time in OPS among NHL D (6th at his retirement)
- Draft: 9th overall in 1986; in his draft class, Leetch is
- 5th in Goals
- 1st in Assists and Point Shares
- 2nd in Points
- 9th in Plus/Minus
- 3rd in Games Played
- Era: Of the 25 D to play in at least 1,000 games between 1987 and 2006, Leetch is
- 2nd in Goals
- 5th in GPG
- 2nd in Assists (by 1 assist)
- 2nd in APG
- 1st in Points
- 3rd in PPG
- 20th (6th last) in Plus/Minus
- 2nd in Offensive Point Shares
- 13th in Defensive Point Shares
- 3rd in Point Shares
- 82-game average: 16G, 53A for 70P, +2; 10 PS
- 3-year peak (‘91-’94): 20G, 68A for 88P, +12; 12.6 PS
- Retired two years before possession stats were tracked
- Playoffs: 28G, 69A for 97P, +2 in 95 games; 28:29 ATOI (13 games)
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 252G (11th D All Time), 787A (7th D) for 1039P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 17G, 54A for 71P
- Per Game:
- 8th D All Time in Adjusted GPG
- 5th D All Time in Adjusted APG
- 5th D All Time in Adjusted PPG
- VsX:
- Doesn’t qualify for Goals, 821A, 956P
- Haven’t figured out Defense PG leader-boards for D
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at 35 as an expiring contract for Jussi Markkanen (28) and a 4th round pick (re-signed with New York immediately)
- Traded at 36 (on his birthday!) with the above mentioned 4th round pick for Maxim Kondratiev (21), Jarkko Immonen (almost 22), a 1st round pick (Kris Chucko), and a 2nd round pick in 2005 (Michael Sauer).
Brian Leetch’s Accomplishments:
- Conn Smythe (‘94)
- 2 Norris (‘92, ‘97)
- Top 5 in Norris voting an additional 5 times
- Calder (‘89)
- Back Check MVP (’92)
- Top Player:
- Top 5 Player (by PS) once (‘92),
- Top 10 player four times (‘91, ‘94, ‘97)
- Top 5 Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘94),
- Top 10 twice (‘97)
- Goals:
- Single-season totals:
- 20 goals five times (1 of only 9 D ever),
- 15 goals nine times (1 of only 9 D ever)
- Single-season totals:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Assists once,
- Top 10 five times
- APG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in APG once,
- Top 10 twice
- Single-season totals:
- 80 assists once (1 of only 3 D ever),
- 70 assists three times (1 of only 4 D ever, 1 of only 16 players ever),
- 50 assists six times (1 of only 9 D ever),
- 40 assists ten times (1 of only 10 D ever)
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Top 10 in Points once
- Single-season totals:
- 100 points once (1 of only 5 D ever),
- 80 points three times (1 of only 7 D ever),
- 70 points seven times (1 of only 5 D ever),
- 50 points twelve times (1 of only 8 D ever)
- Top 10 in Plus/Minus once
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star twice,
- 2nd Team three times,
- 1st Team All Rookie
- Three Stars:
- Rookie of the Month once.
- 9 All Star Game appearances.
- VsX:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists: 50th All Time
- Points: 156th All Time
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists: 52nd All Time
- Points: 134th All Time
- Best 7 Seasons:
Brian Leetch’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Player (won MVP, led playoffs in assists and points) on one Champion (‘94 Rangers)
- Best D (by points) on one Final Four (‘97 Rangers)
- Olympics:
- Top 2? D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘02 USA)
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