Who are the top defensemen in NHL history? I break it down and compile my list like nobody ever has!

I can’t begin to imagine what the social media reaction would have been in 1979 when Bobby Orr made it official and said his knee would not allow him to play anymore. We had a sampling of it with the out pouring of respect and adulation heaped on Nick Lidstrom after his retirement in 2012 and all of the commentary was well deserved may I add. He had a spectacularly consistent steady career playing at the highest level, winning both individually and on teams all the while garnering tremendous respect and admiration from his teammates, coaches and opponents. One of the twitter posts I really liked at that time came from David Perron of the St. Louis Blues who tweeted, ‘if everybody played the game the right way, like Nick Lidstrom, there would be no more concussions.’ Other than incidental contact he’s probably right. Then again, being able to play that way is not in the mindset or more importantly on the resume of most NHL’ers, even a lot of the good ones.

Having said all that, he was no Bobby Orr. There was one Orr and nobody before him or since nor likely in my remaining days will ever do what that man did on the ice albeit in just a little less than a decade of actual playing time. Bobby Orr is not only the greatest defenseman by far, he’s the greatest hockey player ever in the world to put on skates. Five Orr’s would beat five of anybody else. One Orr beats all. He was beyond dominant. He could do it all, he was the prototypical five tool hockey player. He had no peers with his skating, nor his passing. His shot was a laser and accurate, he could hit and he was deceptively strong. He was a willing and accomplished fighter, nearly 50 in his NHL career including a penchant to riot in his younger days when he jumped in to a bench to fight Larry Hillman but above all of that was his hockey sense. Given that he did it all at both ends of the ice to me he was unparalleled in his day and in my view unmatched in history. Robert Gordon Orr, greatest player of all time in hockey history. Case closed.

If you did not see him play I’m sorry, your comment is not as valid. I can’t make the case for Howie Morenz that Eddie Shore did up until his death, stating that Morenz still was the greatest he ever saw. I’ve interviewed Howie Morenz Jr, I’ve interviewed his best friend and linemate Aurel Joliat, I interviewed the man brought to the Habs to replace him on the ice and who some still think is the greatest coach of all time, Toe Blake. To a man, they told me Bobby Orr was the greatest they ever saw but to Shore, it was Morenz. I have to respect that given who it’s coming from. All I can say is definitively who I’ve seen since 1966, the best player was Bobby Orr.

So, what about defensemen now that Lidstrom has retired. The debates have dominated many discussions, where does he fit in on the all-time list? I have compiled a list that’s a bit different but will arrive at the inevitable conclusion. I go through the respective era’s, by decade and give you the best defensemen of all time. Give it a read, all comments are welcome.

1920′s.  Harry Cameron, Sprague Cleghorn, George Boucher, King Clancy, Herb Gardiner. 

All phenomenal defensemen for their era with history dripping from their names. This will be the case throughout the decades. Cleghorn and Boucher made Dave Schultz look like a choir boy. King Clancy may have been the best utility player in the history of the game of hockey. He was a multi Cup winner and his excellence continued into the 1930s. Gardiner was a Hart Trophy winner with the Habs in 1927 but by far in my estimation, the number one defenseman from the 20′s was Harry Cameron from Pembroke, Ontario who played his best hockey with the Toronto St. Pat’s. He played 121 NHL games scoring 88 goals. He also was a big time scorer in the NHA, the league that was the forerunner of the NHL and he’s believed to be the first player to have recorded a ‘Gordie Howe hat trick’ in NHL history. He was a Cup winner and is in the HHOF. Best of the 1920′s-Harry Cameron. 

1930′s. Eddie Shore, Babe Siebert, Ebbie Goodfellow, Ching Johnson, Art Coulter.

This decade is not even close. With four Hart Trophies to his credit and a reputation that he lived up to nightly, Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins born in Fort Qu’Apelle, Saskatchewan but who grew up in Cupar, SK, stands as one of the best defenseman in NHL history. He was a Cup winner, he was arguably one of the toughest players in NHL history, and he once had five altercations and fights in in one game against the Montreal Maroons who were bent on sending him to the hospital. They were successful but he took two of them with him. Had there been a Norris Trophy in his era he would have certainly won it multiple years in a row. He was an all-star eight of the first nine years they had a team, only missing 1936-37 due to injury. Ching Johnson and Art Coulter combined for a decade of excellence for the New York Rangers making 8 all-star teams extending through 1939-40. Coulter became the 2nd Captain in NYR history in 1937. Ebbie Goodfellow started the decade as a forward but switched to defense, was named team captain, his first of two stints and became the first Red Wing to win the Hart Trophy. He also was a three time all-star and a three time Cup winner.

Best of the 1930s; Eddie Shore 

1940′s. Earl Seibert, Jack Stewart, Flash Hollett, Babe Pratt, Bill Quackenbush.

Earl Seibert, spells his name ‘ei’ not ‘ie’ as in Babe Siebert above. Amazing how many times over the years I’ve had to correct people on that as the spelling was so similar. Seibert was from a small town named Berlin, Ontario. A massive man by that era’s standards, 6’2′′, over 200 pounds who was a Cup winner on two different teams and a ten time all-star. He’s in the HHOF, deservedly so. Flash Hollett was the first defenseman with a twenty goal season which he did with Detroit in 1945, Babe Pratt scored a Stanley Cup winning goal for Toronto and won a Hart Trophy. Bill Quackenbush was a three-time all-star, a Lady Byng Trophy winner, first defenseman to win that award. Best of the 1940′s-Earl Seibert.

1950′s. Doug Harvey, Red Kelly, Bill Gadsby, Tom Johnson, Marcel Pronovost.

Much like the 1930′s, this one is a no-brainer. Doug Harvey still has to rank on anybody’s top five list given his dominance, his awards and all-star berths, his Stanley Cups and the respect with which his peers spoke of him. Red Kelly had an interesting career in that he is probably in the number two slot behind Harvey in this decade then in a controversial trade that eventually saw him move to Toronto in 1961, he finished his career as a center and a damn good one. Like all of the top D men before him Harvey was as tough as he was good. He nearly killed Red Sullivan, (Sullivan was administered last rites) he fought anybody yet he was incredibly skilled as a skater and passer. He was the second last playing coach in NHL history with the New York Rangers, a seven time Norris trophy winner, an eleven time all-star. Best of the 1950′s-Doug Harvey.

1960′s.Pierre Pilote, Bobby Orr, Tim Horton, Jacques Laperriere, Allan Stanley.

You can see where this gets really interesting. I could certainly have slid Harry Howell into the four or five hole. Some would argue that Orr was the most dominant D man in this decade as well but to be fair over the majority of the years of the 1960′s with three Norris trophies himself and a Stanley Cup with Chicago I’m going with the Kenoagmi kid, Pierre Pilote. Pilote shared the same birthday as his long time defense partner Moose Vasko, December 11th albeit different years but Pilote born in Kenoagmi, Quebec, once told me that he tried to put somebody on a stretcher every game. Fans of the NHL today or more importantly those who abhor the violence would shrivel into tiny balls of fear had they seen the game ‘back in the day.’ Pilote led the NHL in pim’s one year and backed down from no one. And he was extremely skilled as evident by his Norris trophies and eight consecutive all-star berths. Best of the 1960′s-Pierre Pilote.

1970′s. Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Larry Robinson, Brad Park, Borje Salming.

Bobby Orr was born in Parry Sound, Ontario and in the 1960′s he whetted everybody’s appetite for the decade ahead. I remember a show on TV in 1969 called ‘here comes the 70′s’ basically showing us what we could expect from the brand new decade. Nobody in sports was prepared for what Bobby Orr was going to bring to the table. I say everything there is to say about him in the preamble above. He had no equal. Serge Savard once said,’ there was everybody else in the league, then there was Bobby Orr.’

Bobby Clarke was quoted much along the same lines. I do feel a real special mention should go to Borje Salming. For those of us who watched him break in with the Leafs in 1973, it was his sheer will to compete that allowed him to survive the decade coupled with his incredible talent. Being the first real European to break the NHL barrier, to take the physical abuse and punishment and to play the way he did at the level he did was a real testament to his character. Incidentally Brad Park was a six-time runner up for the Norris Trophy and an absolutely unreal defenseman. Potvin and Robinson simply have to be in anybody’s top ten list of all time, no question. Best of the 1970′s-Bobby Orr.

1980′s. Raymond Bourque, Paul Coffey, Mark Howe, Rod Langway, Doug Wilson.

As you’ll see in my top ten list at the conclusion of this, I think very, very highly of Ray Bourque. In the decade of the 1980′s and 1990′s he may have been thee overall best point man on the power play with all due respect to Al MacInnis’s shot or Doug Wilson’s who both had cannon’s, Bourque, from Montreal, Quebec, possessed the ability to read plays both on defense and as an offensive defenseman just a bit better than anybody else who played in this decade. A Cup winner only in the end with Colorado, still, a champion with the Norris Trophy on five occasions and a remarkable nineteen time all-star including the first team in his rookie year. Coffey was just too good offensively to be ignored on this list and if you want to acknowledge one play only defensively it would be the semi-final 1984 Canada Cup, overtime, Canada vs Russia, Coffey breaks up the 2 on 1 and then leads the charge and eventually took the shot that was deflected home by Mike Bossy putting Canada in the final. Mark Howe did the reverse of players like Dit Clapper, Red Kelly and Doug Mohns in moving from forward to D and he did it excellently. Rod Langway was so good defensively that he won back-to-back Norris trophies and Doug Wilson, also a Norris Trophy winner and a three time all-star and the first captain in San Jose Shark history. Best of the 1980′s-Ray Bourque. 

1990′s. Raymond Bourque. Scott Stevens, Chris Chelios, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch. 

Not sure about you guys but for me, I was hard pressed to not pick Bourque again for this decade. Obviously selecting players that had a career morphing over the particular time period you are using as a guide line will present us with some anomalies. Still, I’m comfortable picking him again in this decade. Chelios was the Gordie Howe equivalent when it came to longevity and excellence. He was a first time and first team all-star in 1989 with Montreal and a first team all-star in 2002 with Detroit. Another five times fell in between. Also book ended were his Stanley Cups, 17 years apart. Scott Stevens may have been the most feared, skilled defenseman since Pierre Pilote. His hits on Kozlov, Lindros and Kariya stand the test of time. MacInnis put a whole new dimension into a shot from the point and a compete level that was off the charts. Brian Leetch was once called ‘the greatest Ranger of all time’ by Mark Messier. A tremendous array of defensemen but in the overall decade of the 1990′s, I have to pick-Best of the 1990′s-Ray Bourque again. 

2000′s. Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Rob Blake. 

The biggest compliment I can pay Nick Lidstrom is that some of the old timers that I’ve talked to about him and his career say that he is the closest thing they’ve seen to Doug Harvey since the day Doug retired. Ironically they shared the same number of Norris Trophies with seven each. Lidstrom simply has to go down as one of the best ever, no question. As mentioned above, just a steady, consistent high level of play for what seemed like an eternity for the Detroit Red Wings.

Born in Vasteras, Sweden, I recall him telling me once at the end of a scrum media scene in Ottawa how important players like Borje Salming were to him wanting to make a career in the NHL. A twelve time all-star, four time Cup winner and immeasurable respect league wide, definitely number one of the 2000s to date.  Chara has revolutionized the position from a physical point of view. At 6’9′′ and with his skating ability and cannon for a shot he was and on some nights still is the most intimidating entire package currently on skates anywhere in the world. Niedermayer will go down at this juncture of time as the all-time most winning hockey player. No matter where he went, he won. Memorial Cup, World Juniors, World Championships, World Cup, Olympic Gold, Stanley Cup, Chris Pronger possessed one of the most ultimate compete levels and a tremendous pedigree of winning at the NHL level. He also was a Hart Trophy recipient. I always thought extremely highly of Rob Blake. Tremendous physical strength, Blake used to remind a bit of Tim Horton. Great offensively, a physical power house who did not fight much (33 in his NHL career) and who was also a Cup finalist with LA and a winner with Colorado. Best of the 2000′s-Nick Lidstrom. 

My all-time top ten list. 

1) Bobby Orr  2) Doug Harvey  3) Eddie Shore  4) Denis Potvin  5) Nick Lidstrom  6) Ray Bourque  7) Larry Robinson  8) Scott Niedermayer   9) Paul Coffey   10) Brad Park.