Best Defensive Wingers

[Professor What]

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?

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[tabness]

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.

 

[VanIslander]

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.)

 

[WarriorofTime]

Hossa, great analytics

 

[frisco]

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

 

[Gorskyontario]

Steve Larmer

 

[Overrated]

CSSR played a strictly defensive LW and Jiri Holik was the best LW.

 

[JackSlater]

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.

 

[rnhaas]

He retired well before I was born but some Leafs fans will say Pulford.

 

[Plural]

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?

 

[Mandar]

I’ll throw Jan Erixon’s name out there

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I don't think there's anyone better than Jere Lehtinen.

 

[MadLuke]

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]

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.

 

[VanIslander]

I watched Hossa's 100-point season in Atlanta because i had caught a HNIC broadcast between my Canucks and his previous Senators and thought WTF is that?!!

He should have won the Hart in Atlanta. He was as effective without the puck as with it. He owned every shift: causing turnovers, blocking shots, taking away passing opps, really a Forsberg-like presence - always impactful.

Hossa and Bonk weaved magic previously in Ottawa i had to tune in for. Then Hossa goes to Atlanta - ugh - and i had to search out broadcasts (though i gladly bought that Thrashers long-sleeve tee).

 

[DitchMarner]

Not that he's one of the best defensive wingers ever, but Alfie was good defensively for a scorer. The same can be said of Elias.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

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.

Add Eddie Westfall.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

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.

Ramsay, in 1070 games for the Sabres, was +324.

On the same team, Gilbert Perreault played 1091 games, was +41.

 

[NyQuil]

Daniel Alfredsson ended up as the player of choice for 3 on 5 penalty killing despite not being a centre.

Chris Drury on Daniel Alfredsson during the fierce days of the Buffalo-Senators rivalry:

"In the first period, Alfredsson gets one of his three breakaways. Biron makes the save. The puck goes in the corner. Alfredsson goes and hits a guy, then he's the first guy back into the other end, and he hits our guy below the goal line -- all in 14 seconds. If I had that clip on tape, I'd show it a hundred times to my team."

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

not to be that guy, but alex burrows was an all timer

i’ve never seen anyone dominate defending a 5-on-3 like him

another great defensive winger who had some success with the sedins (although only briefly) was arvedson

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Jere Lehtinen. Good luck getting a cross ice pass anywhere near him through. His positioning was terrific.

Niklas Sundstrom had a few years where I’d have ranked him as a top 10 defensive Winger.

Magnus Arvidsson was really underrated. Had a lot of Lehtinen in his game but with worse hands.

Steve Larmer was top notch and probably deserved a Selke.

Mark Stone would have been terrific in any era. Very solid defensive play.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Marchand has to be in the discussion

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Marchand has to be in the discussion

No, he doesn't.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

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

a weird assortment of that kind of defensive winger that passed through buffalo in the early to mid-90s

bob errey too, and randy wood also was pretty good two ways but less of a specialist than the others

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Not to say there weren’t some great defensive forwards but sometimes I wonder if a lot of those cases is a reputation being developed and acknowledged and that building upon itself more than the actual play