LEETCH, CAMMI HONORED
THESE are the 10 Days of New York Hockey Celebration, 10 days that commenced with Al Arbour’s return to the Coliseum on Saturday and will be capped by Mark Messier’s and Scott Stevens’ induction into the Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday.
Ten days that featured yesterday’s Lester Patrick Award luncheon in midtown, at which Brian Leetch, Cammi Granato, Stan Fischler and John Halligan were honored for outstanding service to U.S. hockey.
It’s probably only a commentary on nature that Granato, the greatest female player in U.S. history, never got the opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup.
If you don’t know Granato, you know her brother, Tony, the popular winger who began his NHL career with the Rangers, and you know her husband, Ray Ferraro, the center who played for both the Rangers and Islanders.
How much of an impact has Cammi Granato made on hockey, as the leading scorer in the national U.S. Women’s program’s history and captain of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the sport’s inaugural Olympic competition in the 1998 Nagano Games?
So much so that Ferraro is known as Cammi Granato’s husband and Tony is known as Cammi Granato’s brother.
Fischler, a civic and hockey treasure, probably has done as much to promote the game as a writer and broadcaster in the States as any individual extant.
Halligan, the universally admired public-relations executive who has worked for both the Rangers and NHL for the last 44 years, was instrumental in conceiving this award, named for original Ranger legend and patriarch Patrick.
And of course, Leetch, who played for the Rangers way back when they actually scored and could score more than a goal or two a game. This is the official first year of the rest of Leetch’s life, following the summer announcement confirming his retirement after an 18-year NHL career during which he carried himself with grace while gaining essentially every honor possible.
Leetch, whose No. 2 will be raised to the Garden roof on Jan. 24, is on a two-man short list with Chris Chelios as the greatest American-born hockey player ever. He played in three Olympics, capturing a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.
And he was captain of the greatest U.S. hockey team of all time, the 1996 World Cup championship squad that defeated Canada in a best-of-three final by winning the final two games in Montreal.
“I don’t know that anyone could ever compare anything to 1980,” Leetch said, referring to Herb Brooks’ Miracle on Ice, “but 1996 ranks right up there. For me, I haven’t given any thought to my legacy, I don’t feel that far removed. It just all goes by so quick.”
