The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #15

We will continue our series in a moment, but first, word is coming that Little Brother is going to be making a decision on Niemi today on whether to keep him or let him walk. As you may have heard, Niemi was awarded $2.75M by the arbitrator on Saturday, which is a lot less than most people thought he'd get. Although he did win a Cup, I'd say he was more along for the ride than a driver of the bus, and it's not like he can point to his years of high-level play. Personally, I think we've seen the last of Niemi in the Indian Head, since they would have announced his signing at the Hawks Convention this weekend. However, I believe they sign him and try and trade him, so they can at least get something. Which means that, if the rumours are true, Marty Turco may be a Hawk by week's end.

Please make it so.

I don't have anything against Marty Turco. In fact, I understand a lot of Wing fans like him given the fact he went to U of M. But we're all aware of Turco's past against the Red Wings, particularly at the Joe, his own personal house of horrors. The Red Wings represent some sort of evil monster that he can't slay, and I'm not sure that facing them more is going to turn that around. The idea of the Wings playing against him 6 times a year brings a smile to my face, and with the turnover on the Hawks' roster this offseason, I think the team in front of Turco would be as good as any of the Stars teams he played for, not necessarily better. I'm pencilling in 5 wins if this all comes to fruition.

But enough of that. Time to move on to #15.

Paul Coffey

Pertinent Stats: 231 GP, 46 G, 193 A, 239 P, +72
Awards: Norris Trophy - 1995

First, to metaltje: either you stole my list or you're in my head, and for your sake, I hope it's the former. I was quite shocked to see your comments on the Ray Sheppard post, especially because you had some great foresight into where my list is going. Kudos to you. I will say that the order of players from 19 to 1 has been completed, so keep your guesses coming.

In my sheltered life as a non-Leaf fan in Toronto, I was not exposed to a lot of different players, especially in the late '80s. I knew the names of other players from reading boxscores or hearing them on the local sportscasts. But the familiarity I have with most of the players now was non-existent back then. But one thing I did know was that Paul Coffey was a stud defenseman. When the Wings got him, I knew immediately that they had acquired a great player, even if he was on the back 9 of his career. He was obtained in a fairly big trade that sent Jimmy Carson out to LA, and Coffey immediately fit in with the Wings, racking up 30 points in 30 games over the rest of that season. Even though the Wings lost to the Leafs in the 1st round that year (excuse me while I wipe away yet another tear due to that memory), he was absolutely awesome, scoring 11 points in 7 games. Let that sink in for a second: 11 points in 1 playoff series. Throughout his brief stint with the Wings, he was an amazing offensive defenseman, ultimately scoring at a better-than-a-PPG pace. The playoffs were no exception, as he had 50 points in 49 playoff games with the Wings. Whether the Wings won or lost (and they never won the Cup), you couldn't say it was due to Coffey's lack of offense.

While Coffey was not the dynamo he was when he was an Oiler, all of the traits that we associated with him were present. The speed was still there, in spades. 4-on-4, there was no one else you wanted out there, and he could generate offense on the penalty kill as well. He could still score, as evidenced by his numbers. He actually led the Wings in scoring in '94-'95 during the lockout season and won the Norris that year. He followed up his great regular season with 18 points in 18 games as the Wings got to the Finals. He also had the experience of being part of the great Oiler dynasty of the '80s and winning 2 Cups with the Penguins in the early '90s. All told, Coffey won 5 Cups in his career, although he never won one with the Wings.

However, even though Coffey brought a lot to the table, one thing that was never his strongest area was his defense. Around this time, the Wings were still very much a finesse team, and Coffey fit in perfectly with that scheme. But over the course of Bowman's time with the team (remember he took over in 1994), he wanted the team to get grittier and tougher. Coffey was just not the right type of player to continue in that system, and he was traded with Keith Primeau and a 1st round pick to get Brendan Shanahan. When you think about it today, that trade was a major blockbuster, and benefitted the Wings immensely, as we're all aware. As for Coffey, he bounced around a few teams after that, and never reached the level he was at while with the Wings or before that.

For me, besides Lidstrom, Coffey was the best scoring defenseman I have seen in a Wing uniform, and when Coffey was at his absolute best, I would even say he was better than Lidstrom offensively. Too bad that his defense was not up to par with his offense, or else we might have been talking about the defenseman the Wings have had; I'm pretty sure this honor will be bestowed on someone else (Aaron Ward, come on down!) Had Coffey played longer in Detroit, he would have been higher on this list. But, given that he was only here for 3 1/2 years and did not win a Cup, he's going to end up as #15 on my list of Greatest Red Wings of MY Time.