Best Defensive Wingers

Professor What

Registered User
Sep 16, 2020
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Gallifrey
It's been over 20 years since a winger won the Selke Trophy. Most of the time when people think of defensive forwards, their minds automatically go to centers. But I'd like to have a discussion about some of the best defensive wingers in the sport's history. Obviously, guys like Bob Gainey and Jere Lehtinen come to mind, but I don't want to flood with too many names to start with.

Who are some of your picks?
 

tabness

be a playa 🇵🇸
Apr 4, 2014
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5,142
Shawn Burr unheralded guy on the Wings. Had some others roll through, Kevin Miller and Bob Errey for example, but Burr was the guy who really paid his dues. Maltby obviously gets more of the love since he was on the glory days teams on the grind line.

Europeans surprisingly well represented in the eighties, Kurri and Tikkanen Finnish Oilers, Sinisalo too if you squint a bit (more of a team dynamic to that though). Sweden sent over a couple good ones too, Erixon and Gustafsson. These guys are mostly converted centers though.

Craig Ramsay got a lot of love for being on a less heralded team on the seventies Sabres. Definitely something there from what I've seen though I feel he's too poor a skater to actually live up to some of the reputation he gets.

Don Marshall and Claude Provost got lots of notoriety for being on the dynasty Habs in the fifties.

Especially in a very reputation heavy thing like this, lots has to do with how much success and publicity the team has especially if the players don't got as good stats. Probably were lots of unsung guys on less successful teams who could hang but will never get the credit. Nick Libett on the Dead Wings for example.
 
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VanIslander

20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
Sep 4, 2004
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South Korea
A guy who was criminally overlooked for Selke consideration was 11-year Bruin P.J. Axelsson.



(Yet the only tribute video i could google was his scoring - not the many takeaways and intercepted passes that led to rushes for goals.)
 
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frisco

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame...
Sep 14, 2017
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Some off the top of my head:
John Tonelli
Jari Kurri
Gaetan Duchesne
Kelly Miller
Don Marcotte
Dirk Graham
Colin Patterson
Dave Hannan
Dave Tippett
Wayne Presley

My Best-Carey
 
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JackSlater

Registered User
Apr 27, 2010
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I'm thinking that a lot of answers would have to come from the 1960s and earlier, when wingers were responsible for checking the opposite winger. Provost and Marshall already mentioned, could likely add Dumart, Pavelich, Metz, I'm sure many others I cannot call to mind.

In more recent times I'd say that Lehtinen is the best. Stone has been good lately, if a bit gimmicky with the takeaways, among star wingers.
 

Plural

Registered User
Mar 10, 2011
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I always wondered Lehtinen's reputation (deserved surely) about defensive prowess. I was young during his career and didn't catch a lot of his games since we rarely got games in Finnish TV. He never realle seemed to hustle that much. Not lazy by any means, but never got the impression of him being high energy player who covered ice/opponents with effort and speed. His 3 Selke trophies tell a story but was his game more refined and smart than hustle and work?
 

MadLuke

Registered User
Jan 18, 2011
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Hossa and when he was playing wing Zetterberg were 2 impressive one.

In the less big star name, one that brought confidence when on the ice to me was Hagelin, so much speed (and will to use it defensively), seem to often played on Rangers and other team playing good defense, could play on the pk, for that much of a speedster not specially small.

1.79 goal against by 60 at 5v5 for the 2016-2018 playoff combined has a pens, only 26 shots against, a constant near the top forward of his team in +/- and corsi.

141 playoff games, not a bad career at all.
 

Davenport

Registered User
Dec 4, 2020
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Toronto
Here are three names from the "good old days": Ron Stewart, Ron "Chico" Maki and Jim Roberts. Stewart had size, sandpaper and excellent skating ability. Shutting down the winger across from him was his forte. Maki was an offensive star in junior, with St. Catharines. In Chicago, he impressed with what he could do without the puck. Roberts defensive ability was displayed in Montreal and St. Louis.
 

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