| | TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch broke his right arm blocking a shot in the first period of Wednesday night's 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning and will miss at least four weeks.
| |  | | | Leetch |
Leetch twice blocked shots by Lightning left wing Fredrik Modin,
taking the first squarely off his right arm.
"You feel like you let your teammates and coaches down," said
Leetch, who had his injured arm in a cast and sling after the game.
Leetch wanted to return in the second period, but all that changed after X-rays indicated the break.
"It would get to where it would stop hurting for a little bit, but as soon as you made a move, it would hurt again," Leetch said.
He will return to New York and be re-evaluated Friday. He will not accompany the team for Friday's game at Florida.
"We'll miss him terribly, no question. He's our best player,"
Rangers coach John Muckler said. " Other people have to pick it
up. There's just no other way of doing it. You don't replace Brian Leetch."
The Rangers also lost defenseman Stephane Quintal (head) and center Tim Taylor to injuries. Quintal took a hard hit in his own zone by Tampa Bay center Darcy Tucker in the first period and did not
return. Taylor blocked a shot in his midsection and left with a rib injury.
New York spent nearly $60 million in the offseason to sign six
free agents, including Taylor, but are 7-12-3 after Wednesday night's win. The Rangers are fourth in the Atlantic Division, fueling persistent reports that Muckler will be fired.
Leetch, 31, is one of only three Rangers left on the roster from
the 1993-94 team that captured the franchise's first Stanley Cup
championship in 54 years. He has spent his entire career with
New York and last season signed a four-year, $35 million
contract that made him one of the NHL's highest paid players.
Leetch is fourth on the Rangers in scoring this season with two
goals and 10 assists in 22 games. He bounced back from a
miserable 1997-98 campaign and finished fifth among NHL
defensemen last season with 13 goals and 42 assists in 82 games.
But those numbers paled in comparison to the 102 and 78-point
efforts Leetch posted in 1992 and 1997, when he won the Norris
Trophy as the league's top defenseman.
He also captured Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff most valuable
player in 1994, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. And the
former U.S. Olympian was the 1989 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year.
Leetch ranks third on the team's career points list with 767. | |
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