Is Nick Lidstrom underrated or overrated

[slapKing]

For Lidstrom, do you feel he is underrated or overrated or is he rated perfectly

 

[JaegerDice]

He’s generally considered one of the 10 best to ever play the position, and that’s an accurate assessment.

Correctly rated.



….I will say, his final Norris was a joke.

 

[JackSlater]

He was overrated right after he retired but he's pretty properly rated now, and for what it's worth I generally rank him as the #3 defenceman ever. You still see or hear people overrate him a bit these days but it isn't egregious.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Overrated when he is called the best defenseman not named Bobby Orr

 

[Albatros]

Bobby Orr is incredibly overrated by some, Lidström not really.

 

[Mulletman]

The only thing Lidstrom did right was be lucky enought to play his whole career with Detroit, who had elite hall of fame players or very good players that Lidstrom could leetch off of. If Lidtrom had played his whole career in Edmonton instead, he wouldn't have been half the player he is considered to be today...

 

[Boreal01]

He’s generally ranked accurately as most people list him as being a Top 5 defenceman of all time

His last Norris was undoubtedly undeserved and there are solid cases to be made for other players in 2007 and 2002 but even then he’d have 4 Norris wins to his name which would still be enough to place him in the Top 10

 

[stevo61]

The only thing Lidstrom did right was be lucky enought to play his whole career with Detroit, who had elite hall of fame players or very good players that Lidstrom could leetch off of. If Lidtrom had played his whole career in Edmonton instead, he wouldn't have been half the player he is considered to be today...

Congratulations on the worst post ill read today

 

[Dingo]

he also could have had Norrises earlier than he did. took a long time to get appreciated because he played a conservative game. his last Norris was possibly an apology.

 

[jcs0218]

He was overrated right after he retired but he's pretty properly rated now, and for what it's worth I generally rank him as the #3 defenceman ever. You still see or hear people overrate him a bit these days but it isn't egregious.

Exactly my thoughts.

When he retired, there was a segment of hockey fans who were ranking him as the greatest defenseman of all time. Or at least saying Lidstrom had a valid argument against Orr.

That has quieted down over the last 8-10 years, and he is now considered top 5 (although his ranking tends to be anywhere from 2 to 5).

I think there are really 5 defensemen who all could have an argument for the #2 spot: Lidstrom, Bourque, Harvey, Shore, and Potvin.

 

[wetcoast]

The only thing Lidstrom did right was be lucky enought to play his whole career with Detroit, who had elite hall of fame players or very good players that Lidstrom could leetch off of. If Lidtrom had played his whole career in Edmonton instead, he wouldn't have been half the player he is considered to be today...

Sure I recall Lidstrom joining that dynasty the Wings had in 1992.

It's not like the Red Wings had 22 more points in his rookie season than the year before right?

Well actually they did.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Went with slightly overrated. I’ve heard some pretty brutal overrating from a small sub sector of fans but the vast majority rate him rather fairly

 

[T REX]

The only thing Lidstrom did right was be lucky enought to play his whole career with Detroit, who had elite hall of fame players or very good players that Lidstrom could leetch off of. If Lidtrom had played his whole career in Edmonton instead, he wouldn't have been half the player he is considered to be today...

Link?

 

[Mulletman]

Link?

Here's a list of the Detroit Redwings roster during Lidtrom's entire run from 19991-91 to 2011-12: NHL Stats
9 Hall of fame players besides Lidstrom amongst the top 30 point producers during that timeframe. Plus a lot of other very good players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg as well, who still could end up going to the Hall of fame...

Here's Edmontons list from the same timeperiod: NHL Stats
Top producer is Ryan Smyth with 595 points. And the best player record is from possible future hall of famer Dough Weight with 577 points in 588 games. Besides that there's only a few good players spending 1 year in Edmonton and a few other midcarders like Horcoff, Hemsky and Arnott. Lidstrom in Edmonton during the same timeperiod would've ended his career somewere in the 750 career point range and instead been seen as a good defenseman wasting his career in Edmonton and not as a top 5 defenseman of all time, with some putting him in the top 3...

 

[DowJones]

The only thing Lidstrom did right was be lucky enought to play his whole career with Detroit, who had elite hall of fame players or very good players that Lidstrom could leetch off of. If Lidtrom had played his whole career in Edmonton instead, he wouldn't have been half the player he is considered to be today...

I rate this post 0/10 Mulletmans.

 

[sdf]

Midlerated

 

[treple13]

Here's a list of the Detroit Redwings roster during Lidtrom's entire run from 19991-91 to 2011-12: NHL Stats
9 Hall of fame players besides Lidstrom amongst the top 30 point producers during that timeframe. Plus a lot of other very good players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg as well, who still could end up going to the Hall of fame...

Here's Edmontons list from the same timeperiod: NHL Stats
Top producer is Ryan Smyth with 595 points. And the best player record is from possible future hall of famer Dough Weight with 577 points in 588 games. Besides that there's only a few good players spending 1 year in Edmonton and a few other midcarders like Horcoff, Hemsky and Arnott. Lidstrom in Edmonton during the same timeperiod would've ended his career somewere in the 750 career point range and instead been seen as a good defenseman wasting his career in Edmonton and not as a top 5 defenseman of all time, with some putting him in the top 3...

In today's news, good teams are better than bad teams and players benefit from it. Should we play this game with Gretzky as well?

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Lidstrom and Bourque were the greatest Defensemen to ever play hockey, period. Orr would have held that title if he had been healthy/played at that level for 20+ seasons, but his skating style prevented him from doing that. Nick and Ray were literally perfect - high IQ, high scoring, clutch, locker room leaders, longevity. Neither one had ANY weakness in their game.

 

[Pavels Dog]

The kind of player that almost anyone who didn't watch the Wings play extensively is going to underrate.

Even at the tail end of his career closing in on 40 he was shutting down superstars like Crosby, Kane and Ovechkin..

 

[Voight]

Overrated when people try and rank him ahead of Bourque.

 

[MK9]

He’s generally considered one of the 10 best to ever play the position, and that’s an accurate assessment.

Correctly rated.



….I will say, his final Norris was a joke.

Consider it an offset for the first 2 or 3 he should have won, but got passed over for.

 

[daver]

I went with overrated, then underrated, then rated just right.....then I realized the OP has not provided a basis to offer an opinion.

This honestly should be an HF rule:

Don't post any threads asking if someone is over/underrated without stating where they would rate them!

 

[Albatros]

Consider it an offset for the first 2 or 3 he should have won, but got passed over for.

Rob Blake over Lidström in '98 was hilarious.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Overrated when he is called the best defenseman not named Bobby Orr

Underrated when people say he’s not exactly this

 

[Mulletman]

In today's news, good teams are better than bad teams and players benefit from it. Should we play this game with Gretzky as well?

Gretzky could produce despite the situation. It doesn't matter which team you put him on he still wins multiple Art Ross trophies. But Kurri never touches 1000 career points without playing with Gretzky. Lidstrom is the Kurri of the Detroit Red Wings...