Brian Leetch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Position | Defenseman |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
none Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | March 3, 1968, Corpus Christi, TX, USA |
| NHL Draft | 9th overall, 1986 New York Rangers |
| Pro Career | 1987 – present |
Brian Leetch (born March 3, 1968 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA) is a professional ice hockey defenseman in the NHL, though he is currently an unsigned unrestricted free agent. He is generally considered one of the top offensive defensemen in history, and arguably the best American defenseman as well; his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame after his retirement seems a virtual certainty. He has played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.
Although he was born in Texas, his family moved from there 3 months after he was born, eventually settling in Cheshire, Connecticut. This is where the youngster would begin to hone his hockey skills at the local ice rink, which was managed by his father. In high school he excelled in baseball and hockey first at Cheshire High School and then at Avon Old Farms. As a sophomore, his 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. The sport of hockey, however, is where he really excelled. As a sophomore at Cheshire, he scored 53 goals and 50 assists. In 2 seasons with Avon Old Farms he 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. 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-American defenseman for the Eagles.
Contents |
[edit] Professional career
After one season in the NCAA, he made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers in 1987, scoring 14 points in 17 games. In his first full year in 1988, he notched 71 points, including a rookie defenseman-record 23 goals, winning the Calder 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. 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 7-game Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks; Leetch became the first non-Canadian to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, and remains the only American to win it.
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Ice Hockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 2002 Salt Lake City | Ice Hockey | |
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 hand back the captaincy to Messier upon his return to the Rangers in 2000). 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 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, and a first-round pick in the 2004 draft, which became Lauri Korpikoski, and a second-round pick in 2005, which became Michael Sauer.
After the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Leetch was signed by the Boston Bruins to a one-year, $4-million contract. During this season with the Bruins, he scored his 1,000th career point.
In 1998, he was ranked number 71 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time.
During the summer of 2006, he had gotten many offers from teams such as the New York Rangers, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Edmonton Oilers. He has turned down many of those deals and is still a free agent today. He has yet to make up his mind if he will retire or play one more season in the NHL. It has been rumored that he may sign with a team for the conculsion of the 2006-07 NHL season, and playoffs.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1986-87 | Boston College | NCAA | 37 | 9 | 38 | 47 | 10 | |||||||
| 1987-88 | New York Rangers | NHL | 17 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988-89 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 23 | 48 | 71 | 50 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1989-90 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 11 | 45 | 56 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 16 | 72 | 88 | 42 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1991-92 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 22 | 80 | 102 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 4 | ||
| 1992-93 | New York Rangers | NHL | 36 | 6 | 30 | 36 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | New York Rangers | NHL | 84 | 23 | 56 | 79 | 67 | 23 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 6 | ||
| 1994-95 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 8 | ||
| 1995-96 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 15 | 70 | 85 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1996-97 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 20 | 58 | 78 | 40 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1997-98 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 32 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | New York Rangers | NHL | 50 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 21 | 58 | 79 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 10 | 45 | 55 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 51 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | New York/Toronto | NHL | 72 | 15 | 36 | 51 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 61 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 36 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 1205 | 247 | 781 | 1028 | 571 | 95 | 28 | 69 | 97 | 36 | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Mark Messier (first time) |
New York Rangers captains 1997-2000 |
Succeeded by Mark Messier (second time) |
| Preceded by Chris Chelios |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1997 |
Succeeded by Rob Blake |
| Preceded by Ray Bourque |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1992 |
Succeeded by Chris Chelios |
| Preceded by Patrick Roy |
Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy 1994 |
Succeeded by Claude Lemieux |
| Preceded by Joe Nieuwendyk |
Winner of the Calder Trophy 1989 |
Succeeded by Sergei Makarov |
Categories: 1968 births | American ice hockey players | Boston Bruins players | Calder Trophy winners | Conn Smythe Trophy winners | Living people | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | National Hockey League All-Stars | National Hockey League first round draft picks | New York Rangers players | Norris Trophy winners | Olympic competitors for the United States | People from Corpus Christi, Texas | People from Connecticut | Stanley Cup champions | Toronto Maple Leafs players | Winter Olympics medalists
