Lidstrom was like a Gretzky on defense, he doesn't rely on anything more than his brains to anticipate plays, break up offenses, and makes plays. He didn't have to be as fast as Orr, nor did he have to be physical like Stevens. But he should be considered the greatest defenseman of all time.
As a diehard Blackhawks fan, I always was jealous of Detroit for having this guy. Hands down the most complete defenseman to ever play in the NHL, and an even better human being.
The part of his game that doesn’t get mentioned enough is how rarely he would take a penalty. He was one of the greatest D men ever in his own end, and managed to do that without putting his team shorthanded, or injuring himself as he battled people surgically rather than brutally. That is one more element of his perfection. Whenever he did take the occasional penalty, it was often to prevent a goal as a last ditch effort, as someone else probably made the mistake that lead to the scoring chance.
He also rarely had to absorb a nasty hit, he was one of the best ever at remaining in control and rarely putting himself in a dangerous spot. That was a big part of his durability, constant awareness and elusiveness.
By a small margin the number of goals he scored in his career is greater than the number of penalties he took. You can imagine a finesse forward doing that, but how on earth does a Norris trophy winning defenseman do it? To put it into perspective, Niedermayer, arguably the most similar to Lidstrom of this generation took penalties at more than a 2:1 rate to his goals. Bourque and Leetch were closer to 1:1 and got more time on the highlight reel, but neither were as mistake free in their own end.
I wonder if we'll ever see another defenseman get 3 or more Norris trophy. Among the active defensemen, only Keith and Karlsson have 2 and I don't see them winning another one… I guess Makar for sure, and maybe Hedman and/or Josi could do it
I forget how many SECOND PLACES or otherwise years he COULD/SHOULD have won, lost to someone else great, like a Pronger…but EARLY on it always felt like the anti European, slow giving way of the old guard kept him down….*So he wouldn’t surpass Bobby Orr, who was of course fantastic any unique.
Just confirmed—Orr had 8 of these awards. Just saying. Orr was the freak, ick was Mr. Perfect, or “The Perfect Human”, as teammates said of him.
For my money Lidstrom is the best all-around defenseman in NHL history. No one was better positionally or at reading the play. He was just always in the right place, never got caught pinching and he always made it look so easy. He's just a Rolls Royce. Scored and assisted a lot for a D-man. Was never injured and was a tremendous leader. 7-Norris trophies, Conn Smythe, 12xAll-star, Olympic gold medalist, and 4 cups
Fun fact! over here in sweden we didn't really know Niklas at all, it was not untill he did play for Tre Kronor we notes this guy! its strange how good he was, but he never did play in SHL that why we din''t know him
Nick, Stevie, Zetterberg, Larkin. We have been blessed the last 30 years. Larkin is helping reshape this team, Yzerman is back home, Nick is head of player operations. Seider is out next #5 Raymond will evolve into our new Datsyuk and the Love Larkin possesses for this team will make them unstoppable again in the next 2 years. Husso, Kubalik, Perron the pieces are falling into place. God hears us now! LGRW!!!!!
He reminds me a lot of Tom Brady. Both underrated early on, tall and wrangly, super intelligent, sees the game, humble, perfectionists, consistent at highest level
22 Comments
As someone born in 2002 he was the best defenseman that played when I was a little kid. Hands down. Top three defenseman of all time.
Stand up man on and off the ice… 👏
I remember when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played at JLA and they brought Lidstrom out on stage after he had retired.
He received a larger ovation than the band… great human being and one of the best players to ever wear the winged wheel.
Lidstrom was like a Gretzky on defense, he doesn't rely on anything more than his brains to anticipate plays, break up offenses, and makes plays. He didn't have to be as fast as Orr, nor did he have to be physical like Stevens. But he should be considered the greatest defenseman of all time.
As a diehard Blackhawks fan, I always was jealous of Detroit for having this guy. Hands down the most complete defenseman to ever play in the NHL, and an even better human being.
With his skill set, he could have played to an NHL caliber until he was 50.
Best dman of all time
The part of his game that doesn’t get mentioned enough is how rarely he would take a penalty. He was one of the greatest D men ever in his own end, and managed to do that without putting his team shorthanded, or injuring himself as he battled people surgically rather than brutally. That is one more element of his perfection. Whenever he did take the occasional penalty, it was often to prevent a goal as a last ditch effort, as someone else probably made the mistake that lead to the scoring chance.
He also rarely had to absorb a nasty hit, he was one of the best ever at remaining in control and rarely putting himself in a dangerous spot. That was a big part of his durability, constant awareness and elusiveness.
By a small margin the number of goals he scored in his career is greater than the number of penalties he took. You can imagine a finesse forward doing that, but how on earth does a Norris trophy winning defenseman do it? To put it into perspective, Niedermayer, arguably the most similar to Lidstrom of this generation took penalties at more than a 2:1 rate to his goals. Bourque and Leetch were closer to 1:1 and got more time on the highlight reel, but neither were as mistake free in their own end.
I wonder if we'll ever see another defenseman get 3 or more Norris trophy. Among the active defensemen, only Keith and Karlsson have 2 and I don't see them winning another one… I guess Makar for sure, and maybe Hedman and/or Josi could do it
SHOUT!!!
Greatest of all time, Seider is the next
Lidy was a class act. top 3 defenseman all time. 4 time champion. hell of a career 5, well done
I forget how many SECOND PLACES or otherwise years he COULD/SHOULD have won, lost to someone else great, like a Pronger…but EARLY on it always felt like the anti European, slow giving way of the old guard kept him down….*So he wouldn’t surpass Bobby Orr, who was of course fantastic any unique.
Just confirmed—Orr had 8 of these awards. Just saying. Orr was the freak, ick was Mr. Perfect, or “The Perfect Human”, as teammates said of him.
I miss theses guys playing and watching magic every time they took to the ice …especially #5
For my money Lidstrom is the best all-around defenseman in NHL history. No one was better positionally or at reading the play. He was just always in the right place, never got caught pinching and he always made it look so easy. He's just a Rolls Royce. Scored and assisted a lot for a D-man. Was never injured and was a tremendous leader. 7-Norris trophies, Conn Smythe, 12xAll-star, Olympic gold medalist, and 4 cups
7 time best def!! is CRAZY
Growing up a Pens fan, the Red Wings were kinda a rival. But I'd be lying if I said that Lidstrom and Datsyuk weren't my 3rd and 4th favorite
Fun fact! over here in sweden we didn't really know Niklas at all, it was not untill he did play for Tre Kronor we notes this guy! its strange how good he was, but he never did play in SHL that why we din''t know him
Imagine Nick, Datsyuk and Zetterberg in a 3 on 3 OT situation. Deadly.
Nick, Stevie, Zetterberg, Larkin. We have been blessed the last 30 years. Larkin is helping reshape this team, Yzerman is back home, Nick is head of player operations. Seider is out next #5 Raymond will evolve into our new Datsyuk and the Love Larkin possesses for this team will make them unstoppable again in the next 2 years. Husso, Kubalik, Perron the pieces are falling into place. God hears us now! LGRW!!!!!
this made a grown man cry
He reminds me a lot of Tom Brady. Both underrated early on, tall and wrangly, super intelligent, sees the game, humble, perfectionists, consistent at highest level