Greatest Defenceman of All Time #8

[justsomeguy]

Voted Clancy - gotta have a leprechaun. One of the greats, both as a player and afterwards. Possibly the best storyteller the game has produced. Don't think anyone ever loved the game more than he did.

Add Jean-Claude Tremblay

 

[John Flyers Fan]

After this season, Lidstrom will likely have 4 Norris Trophies and counting and a Conn Smythe. The guys you mention have 5 combined and zero Conn Smythes. Those guys are all great and it's a arguable who was the best of them, but it's kind of hard to overlook those facts.

Lidstrom is a great player, no doubt about that, but I think he's benefited by the lack of other premiere defenseman in his age group.

Defenseman born 1948-62 (Orr-Chelios)

Orr - 48
Park - 48
Lapointe - 48
Robinson - 51
Salming - 51
Potvin - 53
Howe - 55
Carlyle - 56
Wilson - 57
Langway - 57
Fetisov - 58
Bourque - 60
Coffey - 61
Murphy - 61


Defenseman born the 7 years before and after Lidstrom (63-77)

MacInnis - 63
Stevens - 64
Housely - 64
Leetch - 68
Desjardins - 69
Blake - 69
Lidstrom - 70
Zubov - 70
Foote - 71
D. Hatcher - 72
Neidermayer - 73
Gonchar - 74
Pronger - 74
Redden - 77



The 1970's were a very poor decade for producing defenseman. Lidstrom is a lock Hall of Famer, but other than him only Niedermayer and Pronger have legit chances to make be inducted, and they certainly aren't locks.

Part of the problem was defenseman drafted is here are the defenseman selected in the top 6 from 1985 - 1995

C. Wolanin - 3
D. Murzyn - 5
Z. Zalapski - 4
S. Andersen - 5
G. Wesley - 3
W. McBean - 4
C. Joseph - 5
C. Leschyshyn - 3
A. Bennett - 6
S. Neidermayer - 3
S. Lachance - 4
R. Hamrlik - 1
M. Rathje - 3
D. Kasparitis - 5
C. Pronger - 2
E. Jovanovski - 1
O. Tverdovsky - 2
B. Berard - 1
W. Redden - 2
A. Berg - 3

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Voting for Fetisov, but I think he, Park, Cheli and Coffey are all real close.

Add Salming.

 

[Darth Milbury]

Voted for Lidstrom.


Add Langway.

 

[JWINK19]

Once again, vote for Pilote, add Clapper.

 

[Jumptheshark]

how is lidstrom beating coffey and why is coffey so far down the list

Orr, Harvey, Coffey and Bourque reinvented how the game was played for a defencemen

 

[norrisnick]

how is lidstrom beating coffey and why is coffey so far down the list

Orr, Harvey, Coffey and Bourque reinvented how the game was played for a defencemen

By being a better defenseman?

Coffey took the position somewhere it really shouldn't be. It worked with the players that surrounded him and the state of the league at the time, but being a 4th forward is very rarely glowing praise for a defenseman.

 

[joe_shannon_1983*]

Voted Lidstrom.

Add Clapper.

 

[ArchieIsGod]

By being a better defenseman?

Coffey took the position somewhere it really shouldn't be. It worked with the players that surrounded him and the state of the league at the time, but being a 4th forward is very rarely glowing praise for a defenseman.

thats why the norris winner is almost always the d-man that puts up the most points

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

thats why the norris winner is almost always the d-man that puts up the most points

Actually it isn't. In the 70's, yes there was that tendency, but since then it sometimes has, but not "almost always", and even if the top offensive guy tended to win in the 70's, those guys were also tremendous defensive players as well. There has been more a tendency to tremendous all around play. Coffey and Langway (for opposite reason Coffey won) are the exceptions, not the rule.

 

[kovy1335]

how is lidstrom beating coffey and why is coffey so far down the list

Orr, Harvey, Coffey and Bourque reinvented how the game was played for a defencemen

Because there are alot of Coffey haters here. I think he should have been 6, but I am not even sure he'll get 9th. My guess is alot of the people infatuated with Lidstrom will switch over to Chelios.

 

[norrisnick]

Because there are alot of Coffey haters here. I think he should have been 6, but I am not even sure he'll get 9th. My guess is alot of the people infatuated with Lidstrom will switch over to Chelios.

Guess why they hate Coffey? Go on guess.

 

[kovy1335]

I know perfectly well why, and you know that I don't agree with it.

 

[Larmar]

Paul Coffey. No comments. He is more better then Lidstrem. Nobody of defencmans scored 47 per season

 

[12# Peter Bondra]

Paul Coffey. No comments. He is more better then Lidstrem. Nobody of defencmans scored 47 per season

A very different type of game was played back then though.