The Detroit Red Wings are a franchise with a storied history that include a slew of legendary players. The defensemen that have played for the Red Wings have won numerous accolades for their efforts. Here is a look at the top scoring defensemen in Red Wings history.
Nicklas Lidstrom
GP: 1,564
G: 264
A: 878
PTS: 1,142
Nicklas Lidstrom is the greatest defenseman in Detroit Red Wings history. I had the luxury of watching Lidstrom play live numerous times. When watching Lidstrom in action, the biggest thing I noticed was how few mistakes he made when he was on the ice.
Lidstrom was a 3rd round selection, #53 overall in 1989 and played his entire 20 year career in Detroit. He served as an alternate captain for eight years then took over as captain for the final six years of his career.
Every year Lidstrom was in the NHL, the Red Wings made the playoffs. In 1991-92, Lidstrom was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. During his career, Lidstrom was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game 12 times. He was awarded the James Norris Trophy as the NHL’s Best Defenseman an incredible seven times. Lidstrom was on four Detroit Stanley Cup Championship teams. In 2001-02, Lidstrom won the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL Stanley Cup MVP.
Lidstrom’s career points rank him 6th all-time for a defenseman in NHL history. In 263 playoff games, Lidstrom scored 183 points, 2nd all-time behind Paul Coffey. He also played the 2nd most playoff games for a defenseman in NHL history behind Chris Chelios.
Currently, Lidstrom is the 3rd highest scoring Swedish born player in NHL history behind Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson. Playing for Sweden internationally, Lidstrom played in four Olympic Games, three World Championships, one World Junior Championship and three World Cups.
In 2013-14, Lidstrom was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. On March 6, 2014, Lidstrom became the first defenseman in Red Wings history to have his number retired. In 2015-16, I was fortunate enough to watch Lidstrom’s Hall of Fame ceremony at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.