Big Phil
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2003
- 31,703
- 4,148
Sure his Norris voting wasn't great before winning it for 2 reasons.
His PP usage wasn't top tier and we all know points matter in Norris voting.
He also played under the shadow of Scott Stevens who was everyone's dream player in the clutch and grab era, whee the Devils could corral a player and line them up for that famous Scott Stevens hit (which would be illegal today and for good reason).
Niedermeyer was playing top pairing MPG (24 MPG) form his second season onwards from the data we have.
The first season is 24:40 in 98-99 but if we use the ESGF and ESGA and SOG and compare backwards it's pretty clear he was getting top pairing MPG from 93-94 and probably pretty close to it in 92-93 as well.
I can see why most would take Leetch in his peak and prime (I would too) but careerwise there isn't a huge gap overall IMO.
Leetch really gets the nod in peak and prime for his elite PP QB liability and that's the real difference between the 2 guys.
I am not sure what you mean. He was on the PP from his rookie season onwards. All you have to do is look at the PPF while on the ice. His rookie season he was on the ice for 36 power play goals. I am not sure what it was with him. Was he too timid to reach his potential because a better defenseman like Stevens was there? That sounds like a realistic theory until you realize Brian Rafalski came in 1999 and between 1999-'03 can you say with certainty that Niedermayer was the better defenseman? I can't. Rafalski was a fine defenseman but he wasn't elite during this timeframe. He peaked at 9th in Norris voting in 2001. Good, but not elite. And we are talking about someone who I don't even think Niedermayer was as good as on his own team.