What I could remember I would go with Niedermayer - Pronger.
If I should stand against them in a game, I throw my stick far away and run for my life out of rink
Chelios - Lidstrom version 2002 seems pretty good, too. Also McInnis - Pronger.
Again... run for my life... Niedermayer - Pronger
If I should stand against them in a game, I throw my stick far away and run for my life out of rink
Chelios - Lidstrom version 2002 seems pretty good, too. Also McInnis - Pronger.
Again... run for my life... Niedermayer - Pronger
Nighthawks
Registered User
Where would Ivan "Ching" Johnson - Earl Seibert rank? Those are two hard nosed d-men. Johnson was considered the best open ice hitter of his day and Seibert was an excellent defensive defenseman, but also could rush the puck.
norrisnick
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Only the one time. That said, Lidstrom and Chelios was never a pairing apart from the PK.
funserious
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Gilles Meloche
I Moe I Moe
Big Chris Chelios fan so I loved the Chelios - Suter pairing when they were with the Hawks....always thought that Gary Suter was a pretty underrated dman
Orr and Park only played 10 games together.....made for a cool picture though:
If that picture was blown up and stood up on the ice, the other team would be so intimidated it would probably forfeit.
Konstantinov and Lidstrom together would have been on the list if it was not due to Vladdie's tragic injury. Together, they shut down the Flyer's Legion of Doom line in the finals. Lidstrom was just starting to come into his own and Vladdie was his perfect partner as one of the best open ice hitters and an under-rated puck mover. At the time, we did not know if Vladdie or Lidstrom was better.
If they had the chance to develop and play together for years it would have been unreal and domination.
If they had the chance to develop and play together for years it would have been unreal and domination.
Wasn't Shore more often paired with Lionel Hitchman? I was under the impression Hitchman was a mainstay with Shore for several years.
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
FTR Red was mostly paired with Leo Reise Jr
......and yes Johnston & Harvey spent quite a few seasons together at least to my knowledge
Clancy & Day
Clapper & Shore
Conacher & Coulter
Kelly & Reise Jr
Horton & Stanley
Orr & D Smith
Savard & Robinson
Johston & Harvey
McInnis & Pronger
Potvin & Persson
all dynamic duos no doubt
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
As I mentioned to you before, it's unlikely that Clapper and Shore played together. The two were only defensemen at the same time for two seasons: 1937-38 and 1938-39. The bio for Jack Portland states that he was Eddie Shore's partner, and he was only on the the team for three full seasons, '37, '38, and '39. He and Shore were shipped off at almost the same time in the 1940 season, too.
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
not if you're expecting me to say that those aren't great pairings.
But yeah, one more thing - are you just assuming Conacher and Coulter played together, or do you have some proof of that?
norrisnick
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No. Some PK time, but Nick when he started was paired with McCrimmon, then he let Coffey roam free for a few years, then was paired with Murphy. Konstantinov played with Chiasson and then mostly with Fetisov until the crash.
Canadiens Fan
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Johnson and Harvey were rarely if at all paired as a duo. Toe Blake pretty much rotated the other three (sometimes four) defenseman around Harvey and Johnson. If you watch some of the old games you'll see that there is rarely a moment where the Canadiens don't have either Harvey and Johnson on the ice, but rarely, if ever are they paired together.
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
I see the point and while I suppose he could have invariably been paired with Bouchard as much as St Laurent or Johnson maybe even perhaps Talbot the youngster of the group, it also makes sense that he spent a greater amount of time on the the ice with Johnson.
Dark Shadows may have a firmer grip on this than you or I as he is a witness and an afficiando of those "Flying Frenchmen"
Yup they are
Intuition/assumption of course, the teams two best D, short benches in the old days, short scheds that put bigger a premium on winning every game. Any coach I've ever known puts his best guys on as much as possible. There is unfortunately, not a lot of anecdotal evidence of this pairing nor of eithers career for that matter, as you well know
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therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
Canadiens Fan
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No offense to Dark Shadows who is knowledgeable about the topic, but having watched all of the available footage (including some unavailable to the general public), in addition to having comprehensively interviewed Red Fisher, Dick Irvin, Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Dickie Moore, Phil Goyette etc ... all (in the research for my Jacques Plante biography) I think I have some grasp of the issue.
In the course of my research I was also fortunate to be able to discuss Doug Harvey at length with Jean-Guy Talbot and 'Junior' Langlois (two Habs defensemen of the time) and it is from these discussions (and then a later check of the available footage) that I became aware of Toe Blake's penchant for not having Harvey and Johnson on the ice at the same time, and of rotating his other defensemen through them.
To repeat, according to the available footage, as well as the testimonials of Talbot and Langlois ... Harvey and Johnson were not a regular defense pairing.
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
Thats very cool, thanks for that and all the best with your book, is it your first?
Canadiens Fan
Registered User
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Thanks, the Plante biography was my first book, the second will be published this fall.
therealkoho
Him/Leaf/fan
Very nice review by the Toronto Star btw, I'll see if my local library has it and give it a read
