The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #2

Well, we are down to the top 2, and if you're like me, then there should be absolutely no doubt who is going to fill these final spots. So, without further ado, let's get to #2.

Nicklas Lidstrom

Pertinent Stats: 1412 GP, 237 G, 809 A, 1046 P, +431

Awards: Norris Trophy (6) - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008; Conn Smythe - 2002

Stanley Cups: 4 - 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008

Nicklas Lidstrom is not merely the best defenseman I have ever seen play for the Red Wings; he is the best defenseman I have ever seen play, and no one is a close second.

Lidstrom was yet another pickup in the 1989 draft, and to illustrate how great that draft was for the Wings, consider that 3 of them made it to this illustrious list, 2 are guaranteed Hall of Famers, and Konstantinov was headed there before his accident. What's scary for me is that every single team in the NHL had a shot at Lidstrom before the Wings got him; in fact, every single team passed on him twice. It's a fair bet that had scouts back then known how good Lidstrom was, he would not have lasted to the 53rd pick.

Lidstrom broke into the NHL in 1991-92 and was an immediate success, scoring 60 points as a defenseman while playing important minutes. He finished second in the Calder voting to some guy named Pavel Bure that year (yet another example of a Red Wing finishing 2nd in voting but going on to have a better career than the guy who won; bodes well for Jimmy Howard if you ask me). Over the early part of his career, Lidstrom could be counted on for 10-20 goals and 40-50 points. However, given that the Wings had Paul Coffey for 4 of those years, Lidstrom was not counted on to be the primary offensive threat on the blue line. This allowed him to do what he has done for his entire career: develop into the complete defenseman he is today. I would talk more about his career, but we've all seen what he has done and how he has mattered to the team. Plus, read Malik's Mt Puckmore piece; that pretty much echoes what I feel about him. What I want to do today is talk about my own impressions of the man, and how I feel he has benefitted the team.

Lidstrom's career has been marked by absolute consistency more than anything else. In a full 82 game season, his lowest point total was 38, and his highest is 80; he has scored between 7 and 20 goals; he has never had more than 50 PIM in any single season. I wish I could talk about him being flashy or bring up those "make you hold your breath" moments, but those are so few and far between with him. The only thing I can really say is that he does it all, and he does it better than anyone else, and has done so for his entire career. He's the type of defenseman that you want out on the ice in all situations: down a goal late in the game trying to tie it up; up a goal late in the game trying to preserve a victory; on the power play or killing a penalty; against the other team's top line or against a specific player. And the best part about it is that as long as he is on the ice, I feel a sense of comfort and relief knowing that he will not make a mistake that will hurt the team. He may not always make the best play, and he can occasionally get beat, but those instances are so few and far between that I'm more shocked than angry that he might have caused a goal against.

What says a lot about Lidstrom is that as far back as his 3rd and 4th seasons, Lidstrom was the anchor of the defense. On a team that was as star-studded and full of experience as the Wings were, for a young defenseman to come in and take control of the defense through his play and not due to his reputation or his outspokenness was impressive. And his play has been the same throughout his career; steady. The only other word or phrase that I can think of that would describe him would be "rock solid". He has maintained this level of play due to his style of play; he's not the biggest nor the toughest defenseman in the league, but there's no one smarter than he is. He has never been the type to throw his body around or try and make a big hit; but I imagine there is absolutely very little chance you are going to cause him to be out of position. His on-ice intelligence is what has separated him from the rest of the defensemen in the NHL and has allowed him to stay as good as he is at an age when many defensemen are starting to break down.

There are so many stats that illustrate his greatness: the 1000 points scored in a time of the NHL's history where defensive schemes were more complex and effective (the trap); most games played by any player born in Europe; most games played by a defenseman with only 1 team; first European-born defenseman to score 1000 points; to say that he was a trailblazer for European-born players would be an understatement. However, the stat that always gets me is the fact that he has never been a minus player; not once in his entire career has he been on the ice for more goals against than goals for. This is not due to his offensive prowess making up for his defensive deficiencies (Mike Green); as noted earlier, Lidstrom has spent almost his entire career being matched up against his opponent's best players. It's this stat that in my opinion shows just how good Lidstrom really is, especially when you consider the many great players that he has been facing. The other remarkable stat about Lidstrom is his durability: in an age with bigger, stronger players and relaxed rules making defenseman more targeted, he has missed 28 out of a possible 1,440 regular season games, and 1 was due to a ridiculous suspension for not attending the pre-All-Star Game festivities in 2009.

Even noting his steady play, there have been some impressive moments in his career. One of the goals that I will always remember is the one he scored on Ron Hextall in Game 4 in 1997; a harmless looking shot that gave the Wings the lead and really settled them down in that game. The other goal that I remember is the long shot on Dan Cloutier in Game 3 in 2002 against Vancouver; pure luck or planned shot? I'm going to say it was planned, just because he is that awesome. But like I said earlier, those moments are few and far between. What I remember most about him is his lifting of the Conn Smythe in 2002, the first time a European-born player had done that; any one of his six Norris Trophies; being presented with the "C" after Stevie retired. But the image that I have in my head whenever I think of Lidstrom is the one from 2008 when he was lifting that beautiful silver trophy over his head. For me, it was so amazing to see that because it cemented his status as the greatest defenseman of his time, and maybe ever (I'm not going to get in to that debate, because it's just too much). More importantly, from a Wing perspective, it showed how much of a leader he was in that he was able to get the Wings to a Cup when all of the mainstays from the previous winners had left. After Yzerman retired and Shanahan left as a free agent, Lidstrom remained on the team as both a link to the glory days and the leader of the future. When the Wings won the Cup that year, it showed me that regardless of who is on the team, the Wings will always do what they can to contend; I've seen other franchises fall into mediocrity after a player of Yzerman's talent and importance retires or moves on. In a sense, I feel that Lidstrom retiring will be harder on the franchise than Yzerman was, although I can't pinpoint why that is.

I feel like I have so much more to say about Lidstrom but not enough time or space to say it in. I can't begin to describe just how freaking amazing he has been time and again throughout his entire career. Like I said at the beginning of this post, he's the best defenseman I've ever seen, Red Wing or otherwise. Whenever I watch him play, I just sit back and count my blessings that I was fortunate enough to have witnessed the entire career of one of the greatest defensemen in the history of the NHL, and that he spent that career playing for the team that I love. There's only one player that I feel was better and meant more to me than Lidstrom (any guesses on who that might be?), and if I do this list in 10 years, Lidstrom's spot won't change. There was never any question that when I made this list, Nicklas Lidstrom was going to be the second Greatest Red Wing of My Time.

The Greatest Red Wings of MY Time - #5

Before we get in to today's post, some congratulations are in order. We have received word that George Malik has joined Kukla's Korner as another blogger. If you're not familiar with George, shame on you; long before I discovered all of the different Wing blogs, I was reading George for updates on MLive.com. He will be a welcome addition to KK, and we look forward to his frequent posts about everything that's happening in the Red Wing universe.

Having said that, man am I getting tired of the lack of news. What is a blogger to do? It's too early for season previews, and I just don't care where Tomas Kaberle ends up, as long as it is somewhere where they have eyebrow tweezers on sale for cheap. Luckily for me, I am continuing my series, and this week will mark numbers 5 through 1. I'm going to bet there will be absolutely no surprises this week, but it will be fun to talk about them anyway. So let's start with #5.

Henrik Zetterberg

Pertinent Stats: 506 GP, 206 G, 269 A, 475 P, +131
Awards: Conn Smythe - 2008
Stanley Cups: 1 - 2008

I really considered doing a "5A" and "5B" for Datsyuk and Zetterberg, because they are so close together in terms of their abilities and achievements. However, I put Hank at #5 because I think he's done just a tiny bit more than Datsyuk. He's also my current favourite player on the team, so that helps as well.

Zetterberg was yet another of the late-round draft picks that turned into a superstar. In his case, he was picked 210th overall in 1999 in what was deemed to be a throwaway pick. He joined the team in 2002-03 as a rookie the year after the Wings won the Cup, and enjoyed immediate success. He tallied 22 goals and 44 points that year, impressive totals for a rookie, but had the Calder stolen from him by Barret Jackman (as an aside, what is it with impressive Wing rookies losing the Calder? Yzerman to Barrasso; Zetterberg to Jackman and Howard to Myers? Seems to be a bit of a conspiracy if you ask me). The next season saw him miss time due to a broken leg, but after the lockout Zetterberg seemed poised to make the jump to become one of the leaders of the team. Since the lockout, he and Datsyuk have been the go-to guys in terms of scoring, and together form one of the most dynamic and dangerous lines in hockey.

There is no question in mine or anyone else's mind that Zetterberg is the next captain of the Red Wings. A lot of people thought he might get named after Stevie retired, but I think Hank was still a little young, and he needed time to grow into his role. However, once Lidstrom does end up hanging up the skates, I don't think it will be long before there's a press conference announcing the passing on of the "C" to Zetterberg. Really, who else on the team would be a good fit for captain? The only other person I could think of would be Datsyuk, but it seems to me that Zetterberg is more of a "leader" of the team than Dats is; perhaps that is due to Pavel's quiet nature or the fact he is not as media friendly as Hank is; either way, Zetterberg as captain seems right and natural, and I think he'll be a good ambassador and representative of the franchise, as every captain has been in the past.

Where Zetterberg is slightly ahead of Datsyuk is in his playoff performances. In 2005-06, through the tears, it was obvious to me that Hank was probably the best forward on the ice for the Wings that year, racking up 6 goals in 6 games and being the only Wing that could score with any regularity. Since then, he's been a better-than-a-point-per-game player for the Wings, including 15 points in 12 games last year. However, by far his best performance was in 2007-8 when he racked up 27 points in 22 games, including the Cup-winning goal off Fleury's butt in Game 6. His point totals combined with his strong two-way play got him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. However, his defining moment wasn't any of his goals or assists; it was the excellent work he did on the 5-on-3 in Game 4 with the Wings clinging to a one-goal lead. That kill was the turning point of the series, as it kept the Pens from tying the game (and possibly the series) headed back to the Joe for Game 5. Want to relive that shift? I know I did:



Like Datsyuk, Zetterberg is known throughout the league for his two-way play. I've often told people that Hank and Pavel are essentially the same player, but Pavel is just a little "flashier" in terms of the things he can do. But I've asked myself the question of who is more "important" to the team between the two of them and my brain keeps telling me that it is Zetterberg. I just feel that if the team lost Datsyuk for an extended period of time, the Wings would be in deep trouble, but if they lost Zetterberg for the same amount of time, it would be even worse. Am I wrong in thinking that? I still believe that Lidstrom is more important to the team than either one, but I just get the sense that the team has a better chance of competing if they have Zetterberg instead of Datsyuk. I look no further than the Finals in 2009: Zetterberg's dominance of Crosby should have led to a repeat championship except for Max F------ Talbot. While he was assigned the duty to cover Crosby and Malkin when possible, he was able to keep them relatively in check while kicking in 3 points. After Game 4, it was quite obvious that he was probably exhausted, yet he never let that on and never complained.

I guess Zetterberg gets this high on the list not only for what he has done in his relatively short career with the Wings, but also for the potential greatness that has yet to occur. I can't think of another player on the Wings right now that seems like he is going to impact the franchise as much as Hank will. I have no doubts that when his career is over, we will speak of him with the same reverence that we do for Yzerman and Lidstrom; as one of the true "greats" of the franchise. He continues to be not only one of the best players on the team, but in the NHL itself. Like I said earlier, he's my current favourite player, so that bumps him up on the list. I love what he brings to the team, and the fact that he is a guy that the Wings can count on to produce in the playoffs. Sure, his wedding photo was a little weird; but any guy who can frustrate The Face of the NHL so much that he does the following is ok in my books.



The 4 guys ahead of him were all amazing, and if I update this in 5 or 10 years, he might end up higher. But for now, he will have to be happy knowing he is #5 on the list of the Greatest Red Wings of My Time.