Four years later, Rangers making things right by Leetch
The New York Rangers organization tried to make amends with Brian Leetch when he first returned to Madison Square Garden a couple of years back.
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| Brian Leetch and family watch as the Rangers retire his No. 2. (AP) |
Leetch looked as humbled as he always did that night, but admitted to still being disappointed at how his departure had gone down. Rangers general manager Glen Sather, facing a fourth consecutive non-playoff season with the team he was brought in to save, had shifted into blow-it-up mode as the 2004 pre-lockout trade deadline approached, and desperately moved any veteran he could for prospects and draft picks.
Leetch, who had spent his entire career with the Rangers was considered one of the greatest American-born players ever, was cast aside as a result, without any advance notice -- and on his 36th birthday no less.
"I thought it all could have been handled better," Leetch said in an interview.
The Rangers are making amends. Leetch, who retired in 2006, took part in a ceremony Thursday to raise his No. 2 to the MSG rafters. The event preceded the Rangers' game against Atlanta, which became the hottest ticket of the season in New York and put Leetch's number next to those of Rod Gilbert, Ed Giacomin, Mark Messier and Mike Richter, rarified company with a team that has one of the NHL's longest traditions. "This kind of tribute is important because he was such a special athlete here in New York," said former teammate Adam Graves. "I think anyone who knows hockey and has watched the Rangers knows how great a player he was, but what he meant to this organization and this city is really unique."
Leetch was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was 19 when he broke in with the Rangers after playing in the 1988 Olympics. He was drafted ninth overall out of a Connecticut prep school in 1986, and played one season at Boston College before joining Team USA program, but for all his apparent talent, Leetch was considered a controversial draft pick for the Rangers. At issue was his size, because he was projected as a top-two defenseman and was barely six feet tall in an era when teams sought big players.
But Leetch was a dazzling skater and his penchant for joining and leading rushes helped silence the doubters quickly when he got to New York. Leetch played the final 17 games that season for the Rangers, who didn't make the playoffs, and he scored 14 points. The next season he became the team's first rookie of the year in 15 years.
Leetch went on to finish with eight New York franchise records, 11 All-Star Game appearances and two Norris trophies as best defenseman. All told, he scored 247 goals and 781 assists in 1,205 regular season games and another 28 goals and 69 assists in the playoffs. But while his career was marked by consistency, by the time he gets to the Hall of Fame in the next few years it will be defined by 1994 when the Rangers broke the jinx and won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. Leetch, the drafted and developed product, claimed the playoff MVP award during the Cup run, picking up 11 goals and 34 points in 23 games. It was the kind of magical postseason that legends are made of, especially in a place like New York -- but because of his typically self-effacing manner, Leetch never really got the credit that teammates like Messier and Richter did.
"I think he always preferred it that way," said Mike Keenan, who coached the 1994 Rangers. "Brian's the kind of guy who likes to stay in the background and just do his job.
"He's the consummate professional, a guy who did his job well and always stayed on an even keel. You could never tell if he had the greatest game of his life or the worst one -- he was always the same. Aside from his great talent, that's something a coach can really appreciate."
His teammates appreciated him, too. Leetch was generally known for offense, but the Rangers who played with him insist that his ability to play in his own end and particularly to block shots were critical parts of his game.
"I think he was always really under-rated as a defensive player," Richter said. "His game was just so complete."
And with the retiring of his number, so is his place in Rangers history. Leetch might still harbor some resentment at the team's current management for making him finish his career elsewhere, but he said this week his time in New York was memorable and that the ceremony means a great deal to him.
"The fans, they are the ones who have made the Rangers organization what it is and have passed on that allegiance to their kids, and they're the ones who have seen me come here as a rookie and improve as a player and be part of the history of winning the Stanley Cup," Leetch said. "I want to make sure they understand how thankful I am not only for the night, but more for all the years I had playing in front of them at the Garden."
No doubt, the feeling was always mutual.
