IIHF Hall Of Fame Induction 2023
Brian Leetch
Player
Born Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, March 3, 1968
Leetch came from a lineage of offensively-talented defenders that stretched from Bobby Orr to Denis Potvin to Paul Coffey. © USA Hockey
There is a clear lineage that carries through from Bobby Orr to Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey and on to Brian Leetch. The premier defenceman of his generation, Leetch was an offensive defender who could skate, shoot, and pass. He was unquestionably the greatest American blueliner in the game’s history, and he was a winner at the highest levels.
Although Leetch was drafted 9th overall by the New York Rangers in 1986, he earned his reputation early on not through junior hockey or college but through high school at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. He played only one year at Boston College before committing to the U.S. Olympic team for the 1987-88 season, and after playing at the Calgary Games he joined the Rangers for what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career.
In his first full season, Leetch scored 23 goals and recorded 73 points, winning the Calder Trophy with a team that was on the rise. In just his fourth season, 1991/92, he had 102 points, winning the Norris Trophy and becoming only the fifth defender in NHL history to eclipse the century mark. To this day, no one has done it since.
The 93/94 season was one for the ages in New York. Although there were several members of the dynastic Edmonton Oilers on the Blueshirts—notably Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, and Glenn Anderson—it was Leetch who was the dominant performer in those playoffs, leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup victory since 1939 and ensuring the team’s place in New York’s sporting history. Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his tremendous playoffs, the first non-Canadian to be so honoured since the trophy’s inception in 1965.
Although Leetch was drafted 9th overall by the New York Rangers in 1986, he earned his reputation early on not through junior hockey or college but through high school at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. He played only one year at Boston College before committing to the U.S. Olympic team for the 1987-88 season, and after playing at the Calgary Games he joined the Rangers for what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career.
In his first full season, Leetch scored 23 goals and recorded 73 points, winning the Calder Trophy with a team that was on the rise. In just his fourth season, 1991/92, he had 102 points, winning the Norris Trophy and becoming only the fifth defender in NHL history to eclipse the century mark. To this day, no one has done it since.
The 93/94 season was one for the ages in New York. Although there were several members of the dynastic Edmonton Oilers on the Blueshirts—notably Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, and Glenn Anderson—it was Leetch who was the dominant performer in those playoffs, leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup victory since 1939 and ensuring the team’s place in New York’s sporting history. Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his tremendous playoffs, the first non-Canadian to be so honoured since the trophy’s inception in 1965.
During the first half of his career, Leetch was also a frequent and reliable representative for his country in international play. Even while at Old Avon he was playing the World Juniors (three times in all, 1985-87), and he also played at the 1987 World Championship as a teenager. After his Olympic experience, he played at the 1989 Worlds, but it was in the 1990s when IIHF/ NHL best-on-best tournaments were scheduled that Leetch turned in his greatest play.
In 1991, he played for Team USA at the Canada Cup, the fifth incarnation of a tournament the Americans had never fared particularly well in. But in the era following the 1980 Miracle on Ice, Leetch wasn’t alone in developing into a world-class player, and that 1991 team included Mike Richter, Chris Chelios, and Brett Hull. Canada beat the U.S. in the finals, but five years later, at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey, this same core turned the tables on the favourites, beating Canada, 5-2, in game three of the ’96 finals. Leetch wore the “C” for USA at that historic victory, the most important between 1980 and today.
Back in New York, Leetch also wore the “C” when Messier left for Vancouver, and he stayed with the team until 2004, becoming a consistent offensive leader even as the team missed the playoffs several years running. He finished his career in Toronto and Boston, retiring in 2006 after 1,205 regular-season games and 1,028 points. He is one of only eight defenders to reach 1,000 career points.
Leetch’s final international events were the 2002 Olympics on home ice, where the U.S. won a silver medal, and the 2004 World Cup, where the team wasn’t able to recapture the glory of ’96 and finished fourth. Nevertheless, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, and for the NHL’s centennial in 2017 was named one of the Top 100 players of all time. His number 2 was retired by the Rangers, in 2008.
A class act from start to finish, Leetch was a standout on the blue line and an offensive force throughout his career, both for his NHL team and his country. Few players in the game’s history can call themselves his peer.
In 1991, he played for Team USA at the Canada Cup, the fifth incarnation of a tournament the Americans had never fared particularly well in. But in the era following the 1980 Miracle on Ice, Leetch wasn’t alone in developing into a world-class player, and that 1991 team included Mike Richter, Chris Chelios, and Brett Hull. Canada beat the U.S. in the finals, but five years later, at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey, this same core turned the tables on the favourites, beating Canada, 5-2, in game three of the ’96 finals. Leetch wore the “C” for USA at that historic victory, the most important between 1980 and today.
Back in New York, Leetch also wore the “C” when Messier left for Vancouver, and he stayed with the team until 2004, becoming a consistent offensive leader even as the team missed the playoffs several years running. He finished his career in Toronto and Boston, retiring in 2006 after 1,205 regular-season games and 1,028 points. He is one of only eight defenders to reach 1,000 career points.
Leetch’s final international events were the 2002 Olympics on home ice, where the U.S. won a silver medal, and the 2004 World Cup, where the team wasn’t able to recapture the glory of ’96 and finished fourth. Nevertheless, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, and for the NHL’s centennial in 2017 was named one of the Top 100 players of all time. His number 2 was retired by the Rangers, in 2008.
A class act from start to finish, Leetch was a standout on the blue line and an offensive force throughout his career, both for his NHL team and his country. Few players in the game’s history can call themselves his peer.
