Henrik Lundqvist is the Greatest Ranger in History

I'll go resume to resume with this guy

 

Brian Leetch

Nine-time All Star

Two-Time All NHL 1st Team

Three-Time All NHL 2nd Team

Calder Memorial Trophy

Two-Time James Norris Memorial Trophy Winner (Finished top 10 in voting ten times [finished 11th 4 more times])

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner

Six-time Rangers MVP

Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award Winner

I think there was a Stanley Cup in there somewhere too, Flynn! LOL

He's also 4-0 all time in outdoor games!

What a weird but likely unbreakable stat.

What a weird but likely unbreakable stat.

Indeed. It's hard enough to even have the opportunity to play in four outdoor games, let alone win all of them.

 

RangersIn7's point about Richter's signature moments kind of makes the point aptly. Where was the Pavel Bure penalty shot stop? The robbing the Devils of a goal mere seconds before "MATTEAU MATTEAU!!!" Henrik made some big saves in the playoffs, but he also made some big whiffs. That game winning goal against Tampa in Game 7 of the ECFs in 2015 was atrocious. It was a softy from center ice. Granted, the team sucked that whole game and laid a massive egg on home ice. But Ben Bishop didn't make those mistakes. In fact, I would argue that in every playoff series we lost, it was heavily due in part to Henrik being outplayed by the other team's goalie. The Rangers turned scrubs into world-beaters (and we still do), but I can't remember a time we needed that huge save from Henrik in the playoffs and actually got it.

 

Maybe there is actually no factual basis for this claim, and my opinion is more than likely tarnished from the past few years of the shell of Henrik in net, but for me, he was never a "big game" goalie. When it mattered most, he couldn't get it done.

Henrik had loads of big saves in key moments during playoffs, and stood on his on several occasions to help us reach the final. He didn?t win a cup, so we don?t talk about them in the same way we do Richters. The way we view Richter is obviously somewhat skewed by the fact we did win the cup that year, and he was fucking incredible in the last two games against the Devils in particular. I?m not saying he wasn?t a great goalie, he clearly was and they don?t win the cup without him. But all it takes is the Bernie Nichols chance ricocheting in instead of out, or Nathan Lafayette not hitting the post with a gaping net and the narrative is very different. He let in a couple of mega softies to Dave Babych in the finals, which is never really talked about because they ultimately didn?t matter.

Leetch never willed bad teams to the post season. He was on all seven of those "Dark Ages" teams.

 

Hank did. Go look at the Conference Final rosters Hank has had. Look at his Stanley Cup Final roster. He's made chicken salad out of chicken shit in basically every single season he's played but for the last two years.

If you cut slack for Lundqvist not winning a Cup because of the surrounding cast, Leetch should be cut slack for the debacles before 1994 and after.

1992: the 60 foot floater, that Leetch had nothing to do with,and one thing that will always bother me about Richter.Richter had a run between the 1994 Cup and 1995 World Cup when he was arguably the best goalie in the world, and the rest of his career where he was pretty good, and then got hurt later in his career.

1993: Leetch breaks his ankle (drunkenly slipping on ice?), club goes into total disarray and misses the playoffs;

1995-1997; even with Gretzky for a bit, Neil Smith made quite the mess of things. And it got worse from there.

No knock on Lundqvist; the best goalie ever to play for this franchise. But Leetch is the best player in franchise history. I was too young to see Orr, but among and between the defensemen I did see play, Leetch has an argument that he was among the best. He is right there with Larry Robinson, Paul Coffey, Chris Chelios, Denis Potvin, Ray Borque, and Niklas Lidstrom. 9 All Star games, 2 Norris Trophies, Calder Trophy, and a Conn Smythe he won while injured.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/leetcbr01.html

Richter at the top of his game was elite. An absolute game stealer. It?s a testament to the athlete he was

 

But Richter didn?t have Hank?s consistency or sustained level of elite play.

Richter had 3 seasons of really elite play and 3 more where he was very good over an 8-9 year period.

 

Hank was basically elite for 10+ seasons consecutively

 

Richter?s signature moments though are bigger and better than Hank?s

1992 Kevin Stevens' 60 foot floater was a back breaker of epic proportions. Again, Richter had a run for 1994's finals through the 1995 World Cup when he was arguably the best. And a lot of the rest of his career where he was roughly his comparable, Chris Osgood. Lundqvist has a very comparable guy too; Roberto Luongo.

This is likely a conversation that can just be broken down to what generation of a fan you are. If you are old enough to remember Leetch in his prime, even the early years, you likely say Leetch. Not to mention a Conn Smythe on a team that went through excruciatingly difficult years with 1940 looming over their head.

I think you can say Leetch is 1 and Hank is 1a and make an easy case for that but in my mind as a bit older, its Leetch all the way. Leetch was also in the league in a time where you literally could mug someone and get away with it yet he still had over 70 points for a defenseman 7 times in his career in 3 different decades (88/89, multiple times in the 90s, 00/01), 2 Norris trophies, a Cup and a playoff MVP.

Winning that cup was huge for any fan that remembers how difficult it was with 48, 49, 50......54 years in between looming and the Islanders still recently finishing a dynasty). The "dark years" pale in comparison to what it was like prior to 1994 for this organization. You literally could win a game and still be mocked by opposing fans and players for not winning. Every year they did not win, it was just mounds of pressure building, mounds of questions of a jinx, and a constant retool of coaches, staff, and players. I think Leetch played for 5 different head coaches by time they won the cup 7 years into his career. Leetch was one of the only constants and was their best player that entire time. Easily. 2nd highest playoff points by a defenseman in a single postseason behind Coffey, tied for 2nd most goals in a single postseason behind Mr Coffey again, and a Conn Smythe. Give me that every day.

Brian Leetch is the greatest Ranger in history, and it's not really even close. Come on. A homegrown 1000 point D-Man, with a Cup, Two Norris' and a Con Smythe.

Henrik Lundqvist is a goalie.

This is likely a conversation that can just be broken down to what generation of a fan you are. If you are old enough to remember Leetch in his prime, even the early years, you likely say Leetch. Not to mention a Conn Smythe on a team that went through excruciatingly difficult years with 1940 looming over their head.

 

I think you can say Leetch is 1 and Hank is 1a and make an easy case for that but in my mind as a bit older, its Leetch all the way. Leetch was also in the league in a time where you literally could mug someone and get away with it yet he still had over 70 points for a defenseman 7 times in his career in 3 different decades (88/89, multiple times in the 90s, 00/01), 2 Norris trophies, a Cup and a playoff MVP.

Winning that cup was huge for any fan that remembers how difficult it was with 48, 49, 50......54 years in between looming and the Islanders still recently finishing a dynasty). The "dark years" pale in comparison to what it was like prior to 1994 for this organization. You literally could win a game and still be mocked by opposing fans and players for not winning. Every year they did not win, it was just mounds of pressure building, mounds of questions of a jinx, and a constant retool of coaches, staff, and players. I think Leetch played for 5 different head coaches by time they won the cup 7 years into his career. Leetch was one of the only constants and was their best player that entire time. Easily. 2nd highest playoff points by a defenseman in a single postseason behind Coffey, tied for 2nd most goals in a single postseason behind Mr Coffey again, and a Conn Smythe. Give me that every day.

It sucks that I never really got to watch Leetch. Highlights and game replays sure but I was too young to watch and appreciate him while he was still a Ranger. I would just always reacquire him in NHL 07 and force him to play until he was like 47 while putting up like 120 points per season. Just the allure and the stories were enough to make me interested. A Liberty Leetch jersey has been my go-to oddly enough.

People are emotional because Hank just got bought out.

Hank?s resume was not all that impressive. 0 cups, 1 Vezina, 5 time all star.

I would take Leetch and don?t think it is even close.

Messier was the most important/significant.

Would sure be nice to be talking about LAF as the greatest in about 20 years after multiple cups. Not too much pressure.

People are emotional because Hank just got bought out.

 

Hank’s resume was not all that impressive. 0 cups, 1 Vezina, 5 time all star.

 

I would take Leetch and don’t think it is even close.

 

Messier was the most important/significant.

 

Would sure be nice to be talking about LAF as the greatest in about 20 years after multiple cups. Not too much pressure.

I really don't think there's any pressure on him. Panarin and Zib are the stars here, not Lafrenier.

I really don't think there's any pressure on him. Panarin and Zib are the stars here, not Lafrenier.

Agreed. I was talking about my tongue in cheek comment that he be the GOAT in 20 years.

It sucks that I never really got to watch Leetch. Highlights and game replays sure but I was too young to watch and appreciate him while he was still a Ranger. I would just always reacquire him in NHL 07 and force him to play until he was like 47 while putting up like 120 points per season. Just the allure and the stories were enough to make me interested. A Liberty Leetch jersey has been my go-to oddly enough.

He really was something special and a very quiet humble guy. What he did to earn the conn scythe was amazing to me. He was a little overshadowed by Messiers personality but Leetch was the mvp of that team by far.

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That's a hard, hard argument to win against the greatest game 7 goalie of all time. He is LUDICROUSLY good under the gun.

 

The problem here is that he was constantly, endlessly, almost as if fate conspired against him - in a position of having to play those game 7s.

His Game 7 record is even more impressive when you consider in almost all of those games, he had a weak offensive effort from the Rangers in front of him. How many of those Game 7 wins were one-goal games?

Brian Leetch is the greatest Ranger in history, and it's not really even close. Come on. A homegrown 1000 point D-Man, with a Cup, Two Norris' and a Con Smythe.

 

Henrik Lundqvist is a goalie.

I'm with you here. I think it's only being discussed because everyone is feeling extra sentimental about Henrik's Ranger career being over. As time passes, it will be evident that Leetch is still the best Ranger.

There's probably something to that. What if I revised to say Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest Rangers goalie in history?

I'd be inclined to agree.

There's probably something to that. What if I revised to say Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest Rangers goalie in history?

Easily. Ritcher is really the only real comparable since it was a different game when Giacomin was around but even Ritcher wasn’t nearly as good for as long or as consistently dominant year in and year out.

There's probably something to that. What if I revised to say Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest Rangers goalie in history?

I’m not even sure the second best goalie is in the same frame of reference.. I loved Richter, but Hank was on a different level. He is clearly and firmly on the Mt Rushmore of NY Rangers.. That honor, for an original 6 franchise, speaks volumes.

I'll go resume to resume with this guy

 

Brian Leetch

Nine-time All Star

Two-Time All NHL 1st Team

Three-Time All NHL 2nd Team

Calder Memorial Trophy

Two-Time James Norris Memorial Trophy Winner (Finished top 10 in voting ten times [finished 11th 4 more times])

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner

Six-time Rangers MVP

Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award Winner

Ahem.....and a cup (team accolade but it damn sure counts)