Lidstrom The Best Ever? Prove To Me Otherwise

I never saw Doug Harvey play, but I felt like I have.

Harvey, the seven-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, played in the neanderthal days of the league, when the number of franchises was six and a "western swing" meant games in Chicago and Detroit.

I feel like I know of Harvey's skill set because of my late father, who would go on and on to me about the chubby blue liner who played mainly for Montreal.

"He'd get maybe one, two goals a year," my dad would say, always giving me the same litany about Harvey. I'd heard the case over and over -- but all was good. "He could block shots, defend in front of his net. He was just a good defenseman," he would go on, emphasizing the word as if to besmirch those who "claim" to play the position nowadays. There was nothing fancy or flashy about Doug Harvey, my dad would drill into me. He was just a good defenseman.

Today, Harvey is one of only two defensemen who have won more Norrises than the Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom, who picked up Norris No. 6 last night in Toronto. Harvey has seven; the all-time leader, someone named Robert Orr, has eight.

I've written in this space that Lidstrom is modern day sports' answer to the Tigers' Mechanical Man, all-world second baseman Charlie Gehringer, who owned the position in the 1930s. Plenty has been written about how Lidstrom is never out of position, and rarely gets burned, and always seems to make the right play, etc.

He's just a good defenseman. Of course, he can produce points, too -- something defensemen didn't start doing until the late-1960s. Thanks to one man, that all changed.

Orr thrilled us -- and yes, I DID see him play in his prime -- with his revolutionary method of defending, which was based on the theory that you can't score if I have the puck, and you can't beat us if we overpower you with our offense. No defenseman had come up with the end-to-end rush until Orr came along. And no defenseman had come close to leading the league in scoring, until Orr did that, too. But his knees betrayed him, or else Orr would have won maybe 10, 11 Norrises.

It's plenty likely that Lidstrom will catch and surpass Harvey, thus tying Orr. And it's not bad money if you'd like to wager it on Lidstrom, when all is said and done, surpassing both of them and standing alone as the most-winning Norris defenseman of all time.


Doug Harvey


Which begs the question -- and you probably saw this one coming paragraphs ago.

Is Nick Lidstrom the best defenseman ever?

Actually, you're too late; I've already asked this, and answered it. In that same rant about Lidstrom being mechanical, I came to my own conclusion: Yes, Nick Lidstrom will go down as the best defenseman to ever lace up an NHL skate.

But you haven't seen Doug Harvey!!

No, but even dear old dad might agree with me here. He died in 1996, in the middle of Lidstrom's sixth NHL season. Not long enough to fully appreciate how good No. 5 is now. I mean, we all knew Lidstrom was good back in '96, but you can't tell me that he hasn't gotten better in the 12 years hence. Lidstrom does the things that had my dad mesmerized by Harvey. The only thing Harvey might have on Lidstrom is the propensity to block shots with his body, but some of that is because the difference in eras. Besides, I haven't seen where Lidstrom's infrequency in this area has cost the Red Wings anything to speak of.

I'm not normally one to declare today's star athlete better than those of yore. I can be curmudgeonly that way, I admit. But I'm just not seeing where Lidstrom -- who I've seen from the get-go -- could possibly not be doing something that someone else did -- which would, in turn, make that someone else better than he is. Forget the shot-blocking thing. That's nitpicking, and you know it. Who else has played this game, night in and night out, with the same monotonous level of excellence as Nick Lidstrom has? I'm talking every night.


Don Cherry's favorite: Bobby Orr


Sometimes these post-season awards can be handed out based on reputation. Multiple winners, regardless of sport, aren't always worthy. That's something else you already know.

But being a six-time Norris winner isn't the same as being a six-time Pro Bowler. Not even close. Lidstrom wins the Norris every year, because every year he's the best defenseman the league has to offer. Simple as that. What's more, he wins it every year because no one else is even close to him; no one to even challenge him and maybe break his streak, if even to keep things mildly interesting. He's not only the best, he's far and away the best.

Orr dominated his position for a time, but mainly because he was a pioneer of sorts. No one else did, or could do, what Orr did when he sprang his offensive skills on an unsuspecting league. And Orr would occasionally leave his position vulnerable, being caught up ice more than once. Of course, before his knees went bad, he had the speed to compensate at times.


Mr. Norris -- I mean, Lidstrom


Lidstrom dominates now in a league that is filled with offensive-minded blue liners, and tough stay-at-home ones, too. No disrespect to Harvey, but when he played, there were perhaps 24-to-30 defensemen who played every night in the NHL. Lidstrom plays in a league where 180-to-200 defensemen play regularly. So is it more impressive to be first among 30, or first among 200?

Harvey dominated in his own way. Orr dominated in his own, revolutionary way. And now Lidstrom dominates, in his mechanical, robotic, perfect way.

The only thing Harvey and Orr have on Lidstrom, in my opinion, is more Norris Trophies to their credit. Soon, they won't even have that.