Lidstrom ranks above Bourque, equal with Harvey.
That puts him at about number 7-8 of all-time NHL greats.

Posted by w2j2 on 10/17/09 at 10:32 AM ET

Silly, silly question.

The answer is “yes.” Duh.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 10/17/09 at 10:42 AM ET

OK- Sub question.  Rank the Wings..

How first, don’t even try to tell me otherwise.

Then Yzerman or Lidstrom?

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 10/17/09 at 10:45 AM ET

Howe
Yzerman
Sawchuk
Lidstrom
Everyone else who is also great after those.  I really think the order is irrelevant.  When people ask me about the greatest anything I always give ‘em a top 3 if I can, a top 5 otherwise, but it’s never in any particular order.

Does anyone else think that after Datsyuk, Z, Lidstrom and Ozzie retire, that our rafters will be filled with retired jersey’s and we’re gonna be pressed to come up with enough numbers to give new players?  Especially during pre-season?

Don’t forget about the unofficial retiring of No. 16.

Pick any number you want.  Except 1, 7, 9, 10, 12, 19, 5, 13, 16, 40 or 30.  Oh and the Mule’s 93.

Posted by Sullyosis from A hateful lair in Post Apocalyptic US (or Arizona) on 10/17/09 at 11:08 AM ET

bring in the roman numbers,that solves it
joking aside,13 and 40 will probably be in the rafters,dont know about 30 (he REALLY should have saved goal number 2 in game 7,that was horribly weak goaltending when it mattered the most)

Posted by Edillac from jesenice,europe on 10/17/09 at 11:28 AM ET

Plus there are always things like pi, e, and i.  Roman numerals could get unwieldy - I can’t see a jersey with XLIII or XCVI on it, let alone something as unwieldy as LXXXVIII.

I’d put Lidstrom at the top, not for reasons of logic, but because he has always been my favorite player.  Pure sentiment.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 10/17/09 at 11:37 AM ET

To answer the article’s main question, no doubt in my mind.  He’s easily the third-best defenseman in history, maybe the second best.  Yes, I agree it’s hard to judge against others playing the same position in different eras—his impact on his position may not be as much as those that came before him.  However, he’s in a league that has so many more high-caliber players than in those previous eras, and he’s dominated a trophy that has at least 180 annual participants vying for it.  Winning it 6 times in this era is a MUCH more difficult feat than either Harvey or Orr winning their trophies as much as they did, simply because to be the best now requires someone to beat out much tougher competition than in eras past.

So despite Lidstrom’s playing not necessarily having the IMPACT Orr or Harvey had, his consistency and domination of the position in this era is what sets him apart.  Also, let’s not forget Lidstrom’s durability in this era - more injuries and harder-hitting than any other.  He’s sat out fewer games due to injury than anyone has.  That’s not because of luck, either.

To answer Paul:

Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom.  1, 2, 3.  I could technically make an argument to put Lidstrom ahead of Yzerman, in terms of dominating his position, his consistency, and his durability, but I think Yzerman’s impact on the legacy of the Detroit Red Wings team cannot be overlooked.  He changed the course of the franchise in ways no one else has.  So I’ll keep him at #2, Lidstrom at #3.  The rest, who knows, I’m too young to properly rate Sawchuck, Abel, Lindsay, Delvecchio, Aurie, etc.  I could be way off in not putting some of them higher on the list, but I’m just rating from what I’ve been able to experience.

Posted by BuzzFledderjohn on 10/17/09 at 11:43 AM ET

Lidstrom is 3, since the original six era began.

Third best Red Wing:  Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom....
Third best NHL defenseman. Orr, Harvey, Lidstrom....

Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 10/17/09 at 12:34 PM ET

it would be difficult to argue that Lidstrom has had a similar impact on the way the game is played as did those two revolutionary defensemen…

I don’t know about Harvey as much as I should, so I’ll leave Lidas’s comparison to him alone. However, Orr helped revolutionize the game by being a very dynamic and exciting presence on the ice. One of the first and great roamers who had the skating ability to jump deep into plays and still get back.

Lidstrom’s impact on the game is much harder to notice but I don’t think it’s any less revolutionary. If you watch a game live, you will see how much he controls the game, how much he looks like a father playing with a bunch of kids. A master of the home-run pass, even when there was a two-line pass rule, and shooting without ever looking at the puck, he simply does things other players can’t do. Babs calls them “Nickisms,” and watching either Kronwall or Ericsson try to replicate some of his passes shows how much separates very talented players from King Lidas.

But I’ve grown up with Stevie Y and Lidas as the benchmarks for greatness, as others grew up with Howe, Orr, Harvey, Bossey etc.

Posted by Osrt on 10/17/09 at 02:44 PM ET

I think the article is actually a really fair assessment. I think Lidstrom ranks good as the third-best D-man of all-time—the idea of Shore being better just because of the Hart Trophies doesn’t tell the entire story. But honestly, it’s really splitting hairs… third or fourth, whatever. Orr is obviously first, and between Harvey, Shore, and Lidstrom, I say roll a three-sided die.

For Wings… the order has to be 9, 19, and then 5—but I think you could make fair arguments for any order of those three. Howe was such a dominant force for so long, and like Orr, did things nobody else previously did. Yzerman rescued the Wings from the worst part of their history. And Lidstrom has been the rock of the team since 1996 (even more so than Yzerman), and has carried his game through two major eras with equal success in each. And he’s only gotten better with age, for the most part.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 10/17/09 at 03:46 PM ET