Red Wings

Is Nicklas Lidstrom the 2nd Best Defenseman of All Time?

If you judge strictly on the basis of Norris Trophy wins, Nicklas Lidstrom is the second best NHL defenseman of all time.

Obviously Norris wins are not the only criteria we should use when evaluating NHL D, so in this episode we look at his entire career and try to figure out where he ranks all time.

Listen to us talk about Nick Lidstrom here:

Does Pavel Datsyuk Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Pavel Datsyuk was arguably the best two-way forward of his era, able to dominate other teams defensively without taking many penalties, while scoring enough to sometimes rank in the Top 10 in league scoring. He was the NHL’s first “Corsi God,” a player who drove possession so well that, once the NHL started tracking possession numbers, Datsyuk was simply the best player in the league by those metrics.

However, Datsyuk does not have the gaudy offensive numbers of other NHL Hall of Famers, and he was often played as the second best forward on his own team.

So where does Datsyuk rank all time? Listen to us talk about Pavel Datsyuk here:

Does Sergei Fedorov Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Sergei Fedorov had a couple great seasons and a very long career. Yet he was inducted very quickly, as if he was a no-doubter. Did Fedorov deserve that treatment?

Listen to us discuss Fedorov’s case here:

Does Marian Hossa Belong the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Marian Hossa combined long-term offensive productivity with defensive dominance on the wing, does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

He has the career numbers given when he played but he never dominated offensively and he was never awarded the Selke.

Listen to us discuss Hossa’s case here:

Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor’s Career

NHL: 1939-43, 1945-8; 7 seasons, 6 quality (by modern standards of PPG)
Totals:
- 87G,
- 180A for
- 267P in
- 323 games;
- 23.0 PS
Per Game: Taylor didn’t score enough to make these leader-boards. However, at his banning, among players who played at least 300 games, Taylor was
- 6th All Time in APG and
- 12th in PPG
Era: Of the 30 players to play in at least 300 games between 1939 and 1948, Taylor is
- 16th in Goals,
- 15th in GPG,
- 8th in Assists,
- 6th in APG,
- 11th in Points,
- 10th in PPG,
- 14th in OPS,
- 20th in PS and Games Played
82-game average: 22G, 46A for 68P
3-year peak (1942-47): 50-game average of 19G, 33A for 52P
Playoffs: 6G, 18A for 24P in 33 games
Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
  - 106G,
  - 263A for
  - 369P
  - Adjusted 82-game average: 27G, 67A for 94P
- VsX: Doesn’t qualify for the adjustement
Trades:
- Traded at 27 to Detroit for Harry Watson (23) – our 15th Greatest Maple Leafs Trade of All Time
- Traded at 28 to Boston for Bep Guiidolin (21)
- Traded at 28 to the Rangers with Future Considerations (Pentti Lund and Ray Manson) for Grant Warwick (26)

Dave Trottier

Career

NHL: 1928-39; 11 seasons, 6 quality[1. By modern standards of PPG]
121G, 113A for 234P in 446P; 31.2 PS
Era: Trottier is 14th in Goals, 13th in GPG, 16th in Assists and APG, 16th in Points, 15th in PPG, 16th in Offensive Point Shares, 19th in Point Shares and 23rd in Games[2. Of the 23 players to play at least 400 games between 1928 and 1939]
82-game average: 22G, 21A for 43P
3-year peak (1931-34): 48-game average of 17G, 17A for 34P
Playoffs: 4G, 3A for 7P in 31 games
Adjusted: 210G, 303A for 513P
Adjusted 82-game average: 39G, 56A for 94P
Traded twice at the end of his career.

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Larry Aurie

Career

NHL: 1927-39; 12 seasons, 5 quality[1. By modern standards of PPG]
147G (22nd All Time at his retirement), 129A (24th) for 276P (21st) in 489 games (25th), 10.2 PS
At his retirement, Aurie was 20th in GPG[2. Minimum 300 games]
Era: Aurie is 10th in Goals, 8th in GPG, 13th in Assists, 12th in APG, 11th in Points and PPG, 14th in OPS and Games, and 18th in PS[3. Of the 25 players to play in at least 450 games between 1927 and 1939
82-game average: 25G, 21A for 46P
3-year peak (1934-37): 48-game average of 19G, 23A for 43P
Playoffs: 6G, 9A for 15P in 24 games
Adjusted: 257G, 320A for 577P
Adjusted 82-game average: 43G, 54A for 97P
Never traded.

Continue reading “Larry Aurie”

Syd Howe

Career

NHL: 1929-46; 17 seasons, 12 quality
237G (6th All Time at his retirement), 291A (2nd) for 528P (1st[1. Howe was the career leader in points from 1944-45 to 1946-47]) in 698 games (4th); 55.8 PS (21st)
At his retirement, Howe was 8th in GPG, 2nd in APG and 5th in PPG[2. Minimum 500 games, 34 qualifying players]
At his retirement, Howe was 15th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Era: 2nd in Goals and GPG, 1st in Assists, APG, Points and PPG, 3rd in OPS and Games, 5th in PS[3. Of the 6 players to play in at least 600 games between 1929 and 1946, as only 3 played in 650 games over that span]
82-game average: 28G, 34A for 62P
3-year peak (1942-45): 50-game average of 25G, 35A for 59P
Playoffs: 17G, 27A[4. Howe was the career leader in playoff assists in 1944] for 27 points[5. Howe was the career leader in playoff points from 1944 to 1946] in 44 games
Adjusted: 343G, 506A for 849P
Adjusted 82-game average: 40G, 59A for 100P
Traded once in his prime, traded to the AHL[6. I.e. waived] at the end of his career, claimed in a dispersal draft.

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Ebbie Goodfellow

Career

NHL: 1929-43; 14 seasons, 3 quality as a forward, 7? of 11 quality as a D[1. By Defensive Point Shares]
134G, 190A (12th All Time at his retirement) for 324P (19th) in 557 games (14th); 54.9 PS (18th); 54.9 PS
At his retirement, Goodfellow was 19th All Time in GPG, 7th in APG and 13th in PPG[2. Minimum 500 games – 31 qualifying players]
Era: Goodfellow is 5th in Goals, Assists, Points and Games, 4th in GPG, PPG and OPS, 3rd in APG and PS[3. Of the 5 players to play in at least 550 games between 1929 and 1943]
82-game average: 20G, 28A for 48P
3-year peak (1938-41)[4. Playing defence]: 48-game average of 9G, 15A for 23P, 5.5 PS
Playoffs: 8G, 8A for 16P in 45 games
Adjusted: 230G, 453A for 683P
Adjusted 82-game average: 34G, 67A for 101P
Never traded.

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Cecil Dillon

Career

NHL: 1930-40; 10 seasons, 8 quality[1. By modern PPG standards]
167G (14th All Time at his retirement), 131A for 298P (17th) in 453 games; 43.7 PS
At his retirement, Dillon was 11th All Time in GPG, 23rd in APG and 12th in PPG[2. Minimum 300 games]
At his retirement, Dillon was 18th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Era: Dillon is 2nd in Goals, GPG, Points and PPG, 5th in Assists and APG, 3rd in OPS and PS, 6th in Games[3. Of the 8 players to play in at least 450 games between 1930 and 1940]
82-game average: 30G, 24A for 54P
3-year peak (1933-36): 48-game average of 19G, 16A for 35P
Playoffs: 14G, 9A for 23P in 43 games
Adjusted: 288G, 295A for 583P
Adjusted 82-game average: 52G, 53A for 106P
If the qualifier is set to 300 games, Dillon is 23rd All Time in Adjusted PPG
Traded once within the NHL.

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