Blake hit

[crosskore 0]

Hes comparing him to the old leetch that he sees in the old ranger footage.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

Thats exactly what I'm doing. Relax JR I wasn't cutting him up. He's a great defenceman. I was just saying that's what I noticed, its not just him ethier, it's the whole NHL. Less risks = less fun, thats how I look at it. Then again it does win championships...

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

I'm not just basing him on the time I saw him play last year. Im talking like 2000 to about now. Even before his injury he was becoming more passive. Anyways the point I was trying to get accross was teh fact that yes Leetch can throw hip checks well. Everyone who watched him play in the 90's knows that. I was stating that he just doesn't use them as much anymore, and my guess would be that the systems of the teams he plays on has somewhat to do with that. The point I was making about the game is not aimed at Leetch alone, he was more of a scapegoat in my whining there. I was saying that it just seems that more and more players are plaiyng this passive style, and that makes the game boring. If more guys took chances it would be alot more fun to watch. I just watched an '89 Flames - Canucks game and there were guys taking chances all over the place and the game was insanely fun to watch, even though I already knew the outcome. Sometimes now I can barely even watch a full game without getting bored of watching the same thing over and over.

[43%burnt 0]

leetch was insane in '94. his end to end rushes are legendary. not going for the hit all the time is smart hockey. you're just going to get burnt everytime if you just go out there head hunting. knowing when to do it seprates the greats from the third liners. just watch lidstrom play, he might be the best at playing a controlled defensive game.

[LkptTiger 1]

I've seen Rafalski throw some good ones.

Meh...

I'm a huge Devils fan and have often stated that Raffy should try to avoid any kind of physical confrontation. He's a great hockey player, but, when he tries to run a forward, he usually only succeeds in taking himself out of the play.

You're right, though. Once every blue-moon he'll throw a nasty one.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

43%, I'm not saying he should go out head hunting. Just saying that the occasional gamble could help out. Just my .02

[beaucoup_fish 0]

Hey guys, lay offa Dan. He was just offering his opinion on the matter, and there's nothing wrong with that. He didn't make any extraordinarily stupid comment, so leave him alone.

JR - just because he's been watching Leetch for 1/2 year in Toronto, it doesn't mean he's never seen Leetch play elsewhere. Your word isn't the be all and end all of NHL discussions on this board, nor is anyone else's. Give the dude a break.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

Wah.

[Chadd 916]

Gambling to make a hit in the defensive zone is the worst time to take a risk, ask any fan who has Kasparitis on their team. I'm all for pressing the play offensively and taking a risk to score, but taking a risk to make a big hit is dumb.