FanHouse Brian Leetch

The main press box for Rangers games at Madison Square Garden is in the lower bowl, behind one of the goals. It is here where the perfect imagery can be found to illustrate the magical play of Brian Leetch, who enters the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.

In this press box sit men and women, some who have been to thousands of games, some perhaps new to the hockey beat. Either way, it can often be a jaded lot. But when Leetch plied his craft as a defenseman for the Rangers from 1988 until 2004, there were countless moments when his artistry made those four rows of tables one of the grandest places to be in sports.

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Before Bobby Orr entered the NHL way back in 1966, the idea of a defenseman scoring 100 points would have been considered lunacy. After all, forwards were rarely coming within spitting distance of the century mark, and defensemen were never really used as offensive weapons. Orr, of course, changed all of that, and not only became the first rearguard to ever lead the NHL in scoring, he eclipsed the 100-point plateau an unthinkable six times.

Only four other defensemen have ever accomplished the feat (Paul Coffey, Al MaCinnis, Brian Leetch and Denis Potvin) while only Coffey did it more than once (five times).

Will we ever see another one?

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There are many different ways to celebrate the 4th of July holiday: You can cross state lines and purchase hundreds of dollars worth of illegal fireworks. You can stuff your face with food, whether it be for fun or in the name of "competition." You can spend quality time with family and friends. You can combine all of the above and stuff your face with food, in the presence of family and friends, while you dodge the local police and set off hundreds of dollars worth of illegal fireworks.

You can also spend a few minutes and watch a bunch of random videos that feature American-born hockey players.

Enjoy.

The NHL's Hall of Fame class of 2009 features a reunion of the Detroit Red Wings' 2001-02 Stanley Cup Championship team, and the completion of the best father-son duo in the history of the league. On Tuesday afternoon, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch were announced as the newest members of hockey's most exclusive club.

New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was also elected as a builder.

Not really any surprises here, as they make up one of the best quintets to ever enter Toronto.

During the Penguins' game 4 win on Thursday night, captain Sidney Crosby finally had his bust-out game of the Stanley Cup Final, recording a goal (the eventual game-winner) and an assist in Pittsburgh's 4-2 win to tie the series at two games apiece. The performance helped him eclipse the 30-point mark this postseason, joining his teammate, Evgeni Malkin, who is currently the leading scorer in the playoffs with 35 points, putting the duo in some elite, historic company.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Tonight the New York Rangers raised another banner to the rafters. Next to Crybaby and Mike Richter defenseman Brian Leetch saw his number raised to the rafters. Leetch is the third member of the team's 1994 Stanley Cup victory to have his number honored and by far one of the classiest guys around (That's coming from an Islander fan, by the way.). He also revealed that the Rangers planned to retire Adam Graves' number, another member of the Cup winning team. Four guys getting their numbers retired for one Cup win? Good thing the Rangers didn't win a few while they were at it, the rafters might be full. But honestly, they all deserve the honor they are receiving.

Of course there was a game to be played, one which the Rangers were naturally expected to win for Leetch. They came through by not blowing it (but came close), as they defeated the Thrashers 2-1 in a shootout. Brendan Shanahan had the lone goal in the skills competition, and Henrik Lundqvist needed to make only 17 saves to ensure the victory.

On the other side, the Thrashers lost their fifth in a row and goalie Johan Hedberg was thrown to the wolves and faced nearly double the shots that Lundqvist did. But, I think it's worthy to note, he did not have to face the rain from Mark Messier's tear ducts. The Thrashers did manage a point in the game and a bright spot was their goal from Marian Hossa who now has 22 on the season and six in his last six games. Hossa won't be in the All-Star Game though, as teammate Ilya Kovalchuk is the team's lone representative. Hossa will join teammate Ilya Kovalchuk in the All-Star Game this Sunday. FINAL (SO): Rangers 2, Thrashers 1.

After the jump: Steve Downie is a victim? No way! The Sens get back to their winning ways, Pascal Leclaire continues his domination of hockey pucks, Toronto loses (Oh no we were wrong! Trade Sundin!) and some other games were played. Or something. Who cares. I said jump dang it!

If you were to vote for the greatest New York Rangers player of all time, who would you choose? Mark Messier, Mike Richter, Ron "Donkey Schlong" DuGuay? Wayne Gretzky, even with his short tenure?

All good players, yes, but none of them could possibly compare to Brian Leetch, who easily gets my pick as THE #1 player in Gotham's history. Not only was Leetch one of the best defensemen of all-time, but he was the classy face of the league's prime-time franchise. While Messier, and his massive ego, got the press, it was Leetch's fine play the drove the Rangers' Stanley Cup machine.

So, it was pretty much a no-brainer for the Rangers to announce that they are going to be retiring Brian Leetch's #2.

When we talk about what it means to be a New York Ranger, Brian Leetch is the player who exemplifies that model," Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said. "There is no higher honor to grant Brian than to have his number raised to the rafters of Madison Square Garden."

Now, I really have to disagree with Sather about Leetch being the 'model' of the Rangers franchise. Given the Rangers' 50+ year Stanley Cup drought prior to their big win in 1994, and their long playoff drought not long afterward, Leetch is anything, in my opinion, like the 'typical' New York Rangers player. While Leetch worked his ass off and carried himself with class and dignity, the modern New York Rangers have been sullied by divas like Jaromir Jagr, or well-paid under-performing dudes like Chris Drury, Bobby Holik, and Eric Lindros.

No, Brian Leetch was the rare New York Ranger that wasn't blinded by the bright lights of Broadway, and the Rangers' players ought to look up at Leetch's #2 and try to emulate the former Rangers great.

Brian Leetch, the smooth skating defenseman who spent most of his famed career with the New York Rangers, officially announced his retirement this morning.

"I have been fortunate to be an NHL player since 1988," Leetch said in a statement. "I missed being in the NHL this past season, but believe it was the right time for me to stop playing."

In 1,205 games, he scored 247 goals with 781 assists -- one of only seven NHL defenseman to record 1,000 points.

Leetch is also the only American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after helping the Rangers end a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994.

I certainly believe it was more of a case of nobody wanting Leetch than Leetch wanting not to play hockey.

Even after scoring 32 points in 61 games with the Bruins in 2005-2006, no teams took a flyer on Leetch last season, thanks to salary cap restrictions and the perception that the 'New NHL' had passed Leetch by. I'm not sure why any team wouldn't have wanted Leetch, except maybe, perhaps, Brian wanted too much dough and didn't want to move out West.

There is no doubt that Leetch is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and one of the classiest individuals to play the game. While Nicklas Lidstrom is the defensemen defined with playing excellent defence while taking few penalties, Leetch was also excellent at staying out of the penalty box. Leetch averaged less than .5 PIMs every game, which is astounding for a defenseman who played as much as he did every night.

As a Canucks fan, I'll never (painfully) forget his Conn Smythe performance in 1994, where he put up 34 points and a +19 in 23 games for the cup-winning Rangers. I could never be mad at a guy like Leetch, but it was hard to like a guy who broke my heart like he did.