Neids was a great shutdown guy. Just because he wasnt physical does not mean he is not good defensively.
Niedermayer was great defensively from 2003 until about the 08-09 season. Ducks fans were lucky enough to see Niedermayer at his absolute best, he left a lot to be desired the rest of his career though.
Over the course of their careers Niedermayer was probably slightly better defensively. But Leetch was on another level offensively, his 1028 points in 1205 games is something few defensemen can match.
Niedermayer is a top 2 favorite player for me but Leetch was unbelievable;
Surprised Nieds is dominating this poll. I guess fans today didn't see how Leetch could control the game and forget that he was solid in his own end as well.
This was very tough for me because I have always been a huge Leetch fan but Niedermayer was a better overall all defenseman in my opinion. So I vote Niedermayer but it's no disrespect to Leetch as they are both superb defensemen. The coast to coast goal against Detroit in the finals is still one of the greatest things I have ever seen in hockey. Spectacular!!!
Niedermayer is a top 2 favorite player for me but Leetch was unbelievable;
Surprised Nieds is dominating this poll. I guess fans today didn't see how Leetch could control the game and forget that he was solid in his own end as well.
I watched both in their prime and I think Leetch was better offensivley but Niedermayer was better at all other aspects of the game. Like I said this was tough because I was a huge Leetch fan and I really hated those Devils teams but Niedermayar was an exceptional two way defenseman.
Leetch had the offensive ability of Karlsson (this year) with much better defensive play. The man led the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring with 34 points. To put that in perspective, that's two less points than Malkin's dominant Conn Smythe winning post season.
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Exhibit A as to how hockey doesn't matter on ESPN:
Last night an ESPN program was discussing how the Detroit Pistons needed a hero citing the heroes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions and no mention of the Detroit Red Wings. All this despite the Red Wings probably being the most succesful team in Detroit right now.
This one really stumped me. I really had to think hard on this one. I think I would take Neidermayer, But Leetch is right beside him. Both have had excellent careers and are elite defenders. Great job OP on this one.
Leech in my opinion, and opinion is the least pure sense in human consciousness, but i have it in a higher regard, i just have this sense that he was a little better, i been reading a little about these, and checked stats and i got this sense, the sense of god, the all truthfulness or eternal truth if you prefer that. So ye, Leech is better.
