Doesn't change the fact he said Leetch may have been the best Defenseman of his era, which means he's acknowledging others have him rated as such. So at the very least, he's on par with the guys you mentioned. In the case of Stevens and Chelios, many would rate Leetch higher.
Put Leetch on Coffey's Edmonton teams and he'd have multiple 100+ point seasons while playing significantly better defense. Bourque? I'll give him his respect, but lets be honest. He never carried Boston to the promise land and at the end of the day, that's what people remember the most. In 1990 the Bruins had the best record in the league, just as the Rangers did in 1994. Bourque and that Bruins team should have won, but they came up short.
As for your little "mid April to mid June 1994" comment, I'd like to remind you that from 1989 through the entire 90s:
*Leetch won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) setting a record for goals by a rookie Defenseman
*Was 2nd to Bourque for Defensemen points per game in regular season scoring
*1st in points per game in the playoffs (and the ONLY Defenseman to average over a point per game during that time frame),
*Won 2 Norris Trophies
*Was the best player and Captain on the Gold Medal USA team
*Won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the most PRESTIGIOUS award in the NHL
*Had a 100 point season (the last Defenseman to do so)
Additionally, Leetch:
*Is one of 3 Defensemen in NHL history to average over a point per game in the playoffs
*Is one of 5 Defensemen in NHL history to record a 100 point season
*Is one of only 2 Defenseman in history to win the Calder, Conn Smythe and Norris Trophies. The other? Bobby Orr.
That's a stretch a wee bit longer than mid April to mid June 1994. A stretch, by the way, that Ray Bourque never had and would sell his soul for. And that's nothing against Ray. He was a fantastic player. But I just find it funny how you're actually trying to use Leetch's 1994 Conn Smythe run as some kind of "dig" against him. Like it was a fluke or something. Especially considering some of the guys you rate above him never had such a run in them for their entire careers. Makes no sense to me, but whatever.
If Leetch was traded to the Red Wings in 1998, there would be no debate whatsoever about him vs. Stevens and Chelios. The only reason those 2 are even in the same conversation as Leetch was because the Ranger teams Leetch played on from 1998-2004 were absolutely dreadful.
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