Ya, absolutely. I think ultimately though and while its never been publicly stated, Bowman very likely felt that Coffey simply by approach to the game far too much of a Free~Lancer and Opportunist. I suppose on some levels maybe even puck selfish at times. Refused to be saddled & bridled. Certainly the divide was fairly substantial between the two and eventually the split acrimonious. Well documented. Coffey's not said much about it in intervening years but he did talk of Lidstrom in a 2012 article on Kuklas Korner that was fairly illuminating.
Dont believe the posters suggesting the bolded above Rhiess. Ray Bourque wouldve bought into Bowmans system in a heartbeat without any problems whatsoever. In fact its too bad he didnt get that opportunity though if your a Bruins fan, maybe not huh? Rip him out of the Boston line~up through those years not so good for Bean Town. Bourque to Bowman, Im sure if Detroit had somehow managed to acquire him the comparisons to Orr would be like a river, a torrent, with that kind of supporting cast? Absolutely. Imagine he & Lidstrom paired? Or Salming & Orr on Detroits back end during Scottys reign & into the 00's?
Same sort of dynamic. Lidstrom did everything well, was bigger, longer reach than Coffey, Chelios & Bourque and played the angles like a Professor that negated his need for the kind of physicality of a guy like Bourque or Orr at times. Nick did everything well in using his size advantage & playing in reverse triangulations. He didnt need to step into anybody because he had the wheels combined with the size, was just tremendous with his stickwork, positioning. They couldnt beat him to the outside & if forced inside to the boards he'd just sort of gently ride them into the boards forcing a turnover & collecting the puck himself or forcing a harmless shot from the perimeters. He in fact did almost everything to the reverse of how Defenceman are taught in North America, certainly in Canada. Personally I preferred playing with mobile, smart & savvy guys like Lidstrom on my Defence as they werent the type who fully committed with physicality & checks. Got tied up, then caught out of position. Scramble back.
The other interesting thing about Lidstrom, and there are many, was his shot. 98% of the players you face as as you know as a Goalie yourself have a Sweet Spot on their blades, mid~way point. Lidstrom, this guy was just plain "out there" using the tip of his blade, sometimes the heel, points in between. For a Goalie facing such, total Nightmare. You cant get a bead or read on where that puck might be headed. Lidstrom could zing one in at you at 100mph from the tip of his blade which had a slight sharp hook on it (unusual) doing obviously very strange things to the pucks flight path. I faced Orrs' & Napiers, plenty of others Howitzers, Slapshots, Flick & Wristers, all of them with the exception of a very very few always shooting from the Sweet Spot on their blades.
In reading, projecting trajectory from your crease in the split second youve got before release, usually not hard to tell where that pucks headed. As an old Goalie once said of Bobby Hulls Slapshot; "the puck on his blade upon moment of impact looks like the size of pea then vanishes". Quite a common phenomena in fact when you hit Major Jr through Pro. You dont always see the puck in flight, it does in fact vanish and not just from screens. You could have a clear view but the speed combined with dips or risers, plays optical tricks, can screw you up big time like the odd Whiffer you see going in from a shot from behind Center & almost every Goalie who's ever played has had that happen.... So theres that & more when considering Lidstrom, and indeed some pundits have claimed Nik Lidstrom was the Greatest Red Wing of All Time, ranking him 3rd Greatest Defenceman All Time behind Orr & Doug Harvey, some though putting him ahead of Harvey. Personally I put Lidstrom in the #3 Spot BUT interchangeable with Bourque who simply wasnt (with the exception of Colorado but there, entirely different set of circumstances, end of career, Mercenary act) ever provided with the kind of Bench Boss & Supporting Cast his talent deserved. So absent that, history being what it is, I do rank Nikki Lidstrom over Ray Bourque. For Lidstrom, the perfect storm. For Bourque, well, you know that story.
I never seem to get any responses when myself or others mention it.
