Does Jere Lehtinen get the respect he deserves?

I know Dallas fans (and perhaps they're the only ones that truly matter) give him the respect he deserves, and even the league recognized him by awarding him the Selke trophy (three times). But whenever the general media, and other NHL fans discuss the Stars it's "Modano-this, Turco-that, and Guerin-the other". Rarely if ever do I see Lehtinen get credit, he's always overlooked and underrated. I think Epsilon (http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?postid=449376#post449376) put it best when he said "Lehtinen is really the glue that holds [Dallas] together."

But, as I'm generally a Canucks' fan (who likes the Stars however, bet you didn't think one existed), I feel that I'm probably not the expert on this subject, so I'd like to get your opinion on this. Thanks.

I have a mixed view on this.

I think in general, a lot of fans realize how valuable Lehtinen is to the Stars. It's not often you have a guy lead his team in goal scoring and win the Selke in the same year. I'd hesitate to put him in the same category as Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau defensively as he doesn't quite have the edge to his game that they did. However, he is one of the best forwards at playing the game positionally that I've ever seen.

On the other hand, your fanatical Stars fans talk about Lehtinen on a level with Modano, who is regarded as one of the game's top forwards (until this year :p). To other fans who don't get to see Lehtinen nightly and just what he brings to the team, that's like sacrilege. I guess to them it's like saying that Tikkanen was as important as Gretz on some of those great Oilers teams. This tends to lead people to say that Jere is overrated.

I personally think that within the hockey world, Lehtinen is judged pretty fairly. He is an elite 2-way forward, and most recognize him as such. When it comes to his position in the team, he does sometimes get overlooked, and that's partly because of the quiet way he goes about his business and his salary (and he took way less than he could have to stay in Dallas for many more years to boot). Other teams' fans especially might balk at elevating a quiet, consistent 2-way player to the level of 'superstar' players in team hierarchy, but it's not unusual for those types of players to be more important than many others. In a lot of cases, I don't put a ton of faith in the loudest of fans (like the ones that want Dallas to trade or fire everyone at this instant), so it doesn't bother me in the slightest that some might not feel he's that important.

That's an awsome post GLU..

However, I'd like to add my own little review:

Jere Lehtinen, IMO, is a rolemodel for the game of hockey. He's a flawless machine that's consistantly among our top players every shift, every night, every season, every year. You can count his off-nights over his entire career on just one hand. He's alot like Niklas Lidstrom.

The Stars and their fanbase value Lehtinen of high calibre and while fans around the league give him credit for winning a Selke and leading the team in goals, they have little to no clue what he trully means to the team. Even when not registering a point, Lehtinen is often the star of the game.

Lehtinen also never complains about the role he's supposed to do. Whether it is playing defense, offense or play goalie, he will always reply with a simple and somewhat shy, yes. He will accept anything as long as he plays. Also a very down to earth person as his character and especially his salary (he accepted the first offer he got, while he easily could have demanded Modano money) show, this in contrast to 99% of the rest of the league.

The Stars fanbase is differered in 2 groups, one adore Lehtinen and view him higher then Mike Modano (including me), and the other group see's him as a slightly less calibre. However, he's a superstar in both their minds are of the opinion Lehtinen is a top 25 player in general, and perhaps a top 10 forward as well, like THN rankings showed. So this definitely is no overrating Lehtinen anything.

Lehtinen turns every line into gold and will contribute and provide offense from anywhere, disregarding his linemates. He's our MVP, like he has been for a few years and obviously him being out hurt this team tremendously.

That's an awsome post GLU..

However, I'd like to add my own little review:

Jere Lehtinen, IMO, is a rolemodel for the game of hockey. He's a flawless machine that's consistantly among our top players every shift, every night, every season, every year. You can count his off-nights over his entire career on just one hand. He's alot like Niklas Lidstrom.

The Stars and their fanbase value Lehtinen of high calibre and while fans around the league give him credit for winning a Selke and leading the team in goals, they have little to no clue what he trully means to the team. Even when not registering a point, Lehtinen is often the star of the game.

Lehtinen also never complains about the role he's supposed to do. Whether it is playing defense, offense or play goalie, he will always reply with a simple and somewhat shy, yes. He will accept anything as long as he plays. Also a very down to earth person as his character and especially his salary (he accepted the first offer he got, while he easily could have demanded Modano money) show, this in contrast to 99% of the rest of the league.

The Stars fanbase is differered in 2 groups, one adore Lehtinen and view him higher then Mike Modano (including me), and the other group see's him as a slightly less calibre. However, he's a superstar in both their minds are of the opinion Lehtinen is a top 25 player in general, and perhaps a top 10 forward as well, like THN rankings showed. So this definitely is no overrating Lehtinen anything.

Lehtinen turns every line into gold and will contribute and provide offense from anywhere, disregarding his linemates. He's our MVP, like he has been for a few years and obviously him being out hurt this team tremendously.


Great post, man! :bow:

Three little letters- M V P
He's the glue that holds the team together.
No one on that bench dares dog-it when he's at work.

That's an awsome post GLU..

However, I'd like to add my own little review:

.........................

Lehtinen turns every line into gold and will contribute and provide offense from anywhere, disregarding his linemates. He's our MVP, like he has been for a few years and obviously him being out hurt this team tremendously.

Great post.

I would LOVE to have Lehtinen wearing the Bluenote!!!! :handclap: :yo: ;) :bow: :rolly:

Lehtinen has always been a my fav. Star. I just love home much effort he gives out on the ice, night in and night out. I always watch him on the ice because he plays the game so well, you wanna model your game after his. He is, without a doubt, the Stars MVP. And you can see how much we miss him on the ice. It's not the same team without him out there. He may not get a hell of a lot of respect from other NHL fans, but you can bet your last dollar that every Dallas Star fan and every NHL team know to watch out for #26 when he hits the ice. He will never be had in a trade and if the Stars traded him, they'd be pretty stupid to do such a thing.

Speaking as an outsider (Wings fan) but as someone who has seen their team compete against the Stars many a time, I can honestly say that I have as much respect for Jere Lehtinen's game as any player I have ever seen. If you were asking me to pick players for a playoff team, Jere Lehtinen would make the top 10 every time. Lehtinen is the kind of player who you don't build your team around, but who can hold your team together. In that respect, he's one of the ultimate "glue guys", comparable with players like Niklas Lidstrom, Adam Foote, Mike Peca, and others. I think he should be headed to the Hall of Fame when he retires, provided he keeps playing the way he has over the course of his career.

If you want proof that Lehtinen doesn't get the respect he deserves, wait until he comes back from his injury and this team improves 150%. Then when people finally wake up and "get it", maybe then he will start getting more respect.
I know, you think that one player can't make that much difference, but we are talking about a "defense first" player here. That is something this team is desperate for right now.


AnGrY HaB
:joker: