Leetch & Richter going into USA Hockey Hall of Fame

The secret of greatness is simple: do better work than any other man in your field - and keep on doing it.
— Wilfred A. Peterson

Leetch and Richter did "better work" for years for the New York Rangers. They richly deserve this honor. Here are some thoughts from others.

Craig Custance / Sporting News:
A stellar class for U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

I admit I'm not up to speed on the selection process for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, but its Class of 2008 is absolutely stacked. It's amazing these four are going in the Hall in the same year. Brett Hull, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch and Cammi Granato will all be inducted on Oct. 10 in Denver.

Granato will be the first woman inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, which is quite an accomplishment. It's hard to forget that gold medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

In January, I had the honor of covering Brian Leetch Night at Madison Square Garden where the Rangers raised his No. 2 to the rafters. It was one of the most touching and well-done ceremonies I've ever witnessed. You couldn't help but get caught up in the moment, and usually sportswriters hate pre-game ceremonies because it messes with our deadlines later that night. But that night was something special. I didn't mind rushing through my game story at 11 p.m...

----

Pucks on Broadway:
Deservedly So: Richter and Leetch Headed to U.S. Hall

Any casual reader of this blog knows how I feel about these two individuals... On the ice, both showed the same poise and outstanding character. Their numbers hang in the MSG rafters for a reason ...

So without going too on too much about this: congratulations to Brian Leetch and Mike Richter...

----

NY Rangers:
Richter, Leetch Enter U.S. Hall Together

Rangers' Dynamic Duo Were Mainstays on Team USA, Too ...

Both players have already had their numbers retired by the Rangers organization, which will also retire their former teammate and close friend Adam Graves' No. 9 during the 2008-09 season.

It is only fitting that Richter and Leetch should enter the U.S. Hall together. The two first met in the USA Hockey junior program, and were teammates in international play from the mid-1980s, when they represented their country in numerous junior tournaments, including the 1986 and 1987 World Junior Championships...

----

NY Post / The Blue Seats blog comments:
Leetch, Richter Inducted USA HOF

NO matter what else happens, or has happened, there will always be a somewhat nasty recollection in the minds of Rangers fans that Leetch was allowed to be pushed off the team in his final years, and shunted to Toronto and Boston. He should have retired as a Ranger. ( And if he had been with this Ranger team for the past couple of years of his playing career, you can bet that he would have done a lot more good for the kids coming up than Jagr could ever have thought of doing. I personally would love to see him sitting in that GM's chair - immediately... - Fran

---

I agree that Leetch should have retired in a Rangers uniform. The way Sather treated him, and showed no respect towards the Ranger fans and tradition was a disgrace. I know that reality is that its a buisness first, but there are exceptions to this rule, and Leetch was one of those exceptions. And it also wasn't like he had no value left as a player when Sather traded him. IMO, he would have been an asset to the D-men on this team in helping them with their game. I still feel that even today - Greg

-----

Newsday /Blue Notes blog:
Leetch, Richter headed to U.S. Hall of Fame — comments...

I think I'd rather have Leetch than Redden @ $6.5 million a year for 6 years. - Mike Hock

---

Leetch is definitely in my top ten all time Rangers. He also richly deserves to be in the US Hall of Fame with Mike Richter. Here's my top ten all time Rangers since 1946. - lennynyr

1. Bathgate
2. Ratelle
3. Messier
4. Leetch
5. Giacomin
6. Park
7. Graves
8. Gilbert
9. Worsley
10. Hadfield

Honorable mention to Ron Greschner, Harry Howell, Mike Richter, Jagr, Doug Harvey, Walt Tkaczuk.

----

ICINGS

Don't be surprised, the rich get richer...

James Mirtle:
The NHL's salary structure: The Rise of the middle class

With player payrolls maxed at $50 million per season, salary cap hockey is slowly squeezing out the NHL's hardworking middle class. It's a system that encourages general managers to throw big bucks at their stars, then try to fill the third scoring line with cheap spare parts or kids from the farm.
— Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post

The notion of a disappearing middle-tier of salaries for players comes right out of the NBA and NFL, where high-end players have, to a certain extent, received big dollars and left scraps for a lot of their teammates. Basketball, in particular, which had a few players getting the lion's share of the compensation, counteracted the trend by introducing a 'Middle Class Exemption' to its salary cap.

But the NHL's a different beast — and in more ways than one.

What we've really seen over the past few years, as salaries have risen along with the cap, is that more and more players are falling into that $2.5- to $5-million range. The giant cluster of players within the $1.5-million-and-under group, meanwhile, has shrunk...

---

James Mirtle:
What is the average NHL salary? -- this is the average based on players' hits against the cap for players with 10 or more games played ... the league's average's salary in 2003-04 was about $1.85-million

----

Related Articles by Categories