brodeurrocks Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 TSN.ca Link If anyone cares..... The New York Rangers announced Thursday that the team will retire jersey No. 2 in honor of Brian Leetch in an on-ice ceremony on Jan. 24. "When we talk about what it means to be a New York Ranger, Brian Leetch is the player who exemplifies that model," said President and General Manager Glen Sather in a statement. "He is simply the greatest defenseman in the history of the franchise and gave the same effort when it came to helping the community off the ice. There is no higher honor to grant Brian then to have his number raised to the rafters of Madison Square Garden to join the other Garden legends." Leetch, who retired from hockey after a memorable 18-year career, holds the franchise record with 741 career assists and ranks second in career points (981) and games played (1,129). He also holds the Rangers record for goals by a defenseman, with 240. Leetch appeared in 1,205 career games with the Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins, registering 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points, along with 571 penalty minutes. He was a catalyst during the Rangers' run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Championship, in which he led the NHL with 11 goals and for 34 points and became first American born player to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy. Leetch will join Rod Gilbert (7), Eddie Giacomin (1), Mike Richter (35) and Mark Messier (11) as the only Rangers players to have their jersey numbers retired. Wayne Gretzky retired as a Ranger in 1999 and the NHL retired his trademark No. 99 throughout the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Great guy and a great player. Congratulations to Leetch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsadvoc8 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Great guy and a great player. Congratulations to Leetch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMONPETEYD Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 How do the rangers get away with retiring 3 players during a time where they had 1 great year and a few good years. Granted... Leetch is an HOFer, and out of the 3 I may say he deserves it the most... i dont think Richter and Messier deserve it at all. 1 yr does not make a retired number. Hell Messier left the rangers for the nucks and still got more money. Thats the difference between Devs and Rags. MacLean and Niedermayer will not have there jerseys retired becuase of disputes with Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 The Devs could have drafted him, but grabbed the stellar Neil Brady instead. I wonder if Leetch is going to skate around with the cup that night. My bet is he will. Should we make it a poll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Congrats to him. He was a great player. Won the Conn Smythe in '94, right? I don't hold any ill will towards Leetch, Messier, Richter, etc. The Devils have more then made up for 1994 in the years since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brodeurrocks Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 The Devs could have drafted him, but grabbed the stellar Neil Brady instead.I wonder if Leetch is going to skate around with the cup that night. My bet is he will. Should we make it a poll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njskaguy33 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 (edited) Good for Leetch...has always been a class act. It was unfortunate that the Rags had to screw him over by sending him to the Leafs after 17 years of faithful service. He could have retired a Ranger but I guess the Rags needed Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen and a 1st round pick that badly... Shameful... Edited September 7, 2007 by Bulletproof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycnjd Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I think this falls under the "Who Cares" category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devs4LIFE Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 In my opinion he doesn't deserve to have his number retired any more then Sarge, I mean i know Leetch won a lot of awards and broke records but other then that he didn't do anything for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 In my opinion he doesn't deserve to have his number retired any more then Sarge, I mean i know Leetch won a lot of awards and broke records but other then that he didn't do anything for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 In my opinion he doesn't deserve to have his number retired any more then Sarge, I mean i know Leetch won a lot of awards and broke records but other then that he didn't do anything for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 How do the rangers get away with retiring 3 players during a time where they had 1 great year and a few good years. Granted... Leetch is an HOFer, and out of the 3 I may say he deserves it the most... i dont think Richter and Messier deserve it at all.1 yr does not make a retired number. Hell Messier left the rangers for the nucks and still got more money. Thats the difference between Devs and Rags. MacLean and Niedermayer will not have there jerseys retired becuase of disputes with Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 (edited) You're kidding, right? That Cup meant a hell of a lot more to this city. Richter didn't deserve it? He won 300 games and was one of the greatest goalies the franchise had. How many more games would he have won if he didn't play on piles of dirt for the last part of his career? And Messier didn't? Man. Wow. You know what the difference in this capacity is. That despite our own arrogant GM and obnoxious owner who at least stays out of the way thankfully, they honor the right players who earned and deserve to have their numbers up in the rafters refusing to let petty differences get in the way. Isn't about time your stubborn GM stopped disrespecting a couple of the players who helped win those three Cups by handing out numbers to just anyone? MacLean and Niedermayer deserve to be retired. Lamoriello is a great executive but it's about time I'm truthful. He's far from perfect and his disrespect to both are sad. For what it's worth, Claude Lemieux should also get a night because the Devils probably don't win their first two Cups without him. If they can honor a loyal good guy like Ken Daneyko, then they can also honor one of their most money players who helped teach them how to win. Now this will probably sound off the alarms. Well, I guess that means it's almost the season. Don't let this get in the way Tomm. Congratulations on becoming a Dad! Edited September 7, 2007 by '7' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkirt Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 One Cup in a half-century, you can retire as many jerseys as you want. Three Cups in 9 years, and you have to be a bit more selective. Leetch was a fantastic player, and if the Rangers wish to honor him this way, then great for him and the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Isn't about time your stubborn GM stopped disrespecting a couple of the players who helped win those three Cups by handing out numbers to just anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxchaznjxx Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I think this falls under the "Who Cares" category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njskaguy33 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Ya, the Devils, in a barely over 25 year history, should have 5 numbers retired already and then 6 once Marty leaves. The Devils would never have any numbers for people to wear eventually. Retiring jerseys isn't something to be taken lightly but I guess it takes a class organization like the Devils to show that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxchaznjxx Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I disagree...I like the fact that the Devils are ultra selective in who they retire. I think Lou wants to honor people who are quintessential Devils, not just guys who were there when a Cup was won. People who when you say their name, a regular hockey fan thinks "Devils". Daneyko is the exception to that but he embodied who the Devils are as a team, so they had to retire him.Thats why Marty, aside from his HOF carrear, will get his number retired...and thats it. I can't think of anybody else I would retire right now. Hopefully players like Parise, Gionta and maaayybe Elias will get thier day, but only if they stay loyal to the team...and hopefully help us snag a few more Cups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyFan42 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Looks like some sarcasm meters need tweaking. 731 was being facetious, y'all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I guess I needed to start a new paragraph after the first sentence. Or people just didn't read past the first sentence, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonDevils Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 (edited) I think this falls under the "Who Cares" category. Edited September 7, 2007 by TrentonDevils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycnjd Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Hes one of the greatest defenseman of all time and deserves to be respected and honored by his organization. On top of being a great player, he was a stand up guy. Congratulations, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 In my opinion he doesn't deserve to have his number retired any more then Sarge, I mean i know Leetch won a lot of awards and broke records but other then that he didn't do anything for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonDevils Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 In my opinion he doesn't deserve to have his number retired any more then Sarge, I mean i know Leetch won a lot of awards and broke records but other then that he didn't do anything for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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