Detroit Red Wings Debate: Nicklas Lidstrom vs. Steve Yzerman

When looking into Detroit Red Wing lore, many great names come to mind.

When asking who are the best Red Wings in team history, the first name that pops up into mind is Gordie Howe.

Before we get deep into thought about any other player, let's just give the scoop on Mr. Hockey.

For kids that don't know too much about the Wings legend, here are the basics.

He suited up in 1,687 games for the winged wheel, scoring 786 goals, adding 1,023 assists for 1,809 points.

Very, very good numbers.

After Gordie Howe, who ranks second and third? Fourth? Or fifth?

This is where we get into the tough decisions.

The fourth and fifth, and so on, spots are probably easy to determine. But Detroit was home to one of the best captains of all time and is the current home of possibly the best defenseman of all time.

There is no doubt that Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom would take the second and third spots.

But, who exactly gets the second and third spot?

This is where the debate begins.

Steve Yzerman was drafted in 1983 and even though Detroit wasn't keen on choosing him (they wanted Pat LaFontaine), he turned out to be the better player.

In his rookie season, Yzerman compiled 87 points in the 80 games he played. He currently holds rookie records for goals and points.

As Detroit suffered during the '80s, Yzerman's numbers didn't.

Yzerman was named captain at the beginning of the 1986-87 season.

In the 1988-89 season, Steve Yzerman finished with 155 points. The only players in NHL history to finish with more that 155 points in a single year are two other greats—Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Yzerman went on to produce at least 102 points from 1987-88 for six consecutive years (155 being his highest and 102 being his lowest). In 1993-94 that streak would've continued if it wasn't for an injury Stevie had suffered. He had totaled 82 points in just 58 games.

However, Yzerman wasn't a champion yet.

When Scotty Bowman took the helm in Detroit, he helped Yzerman restructure his game and become one of the best two-way forwards in the game.

Points started to slow down, but playoff appearances and championships soon followed.

Yzerman would go on to lift his first Stanley Cup in 1997, than again in 1998 also capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Yzerman's third Stanley Cup came in 2002 in what quite possibly could be determined as one of the best individual feats in NHL, possibly sports, history.

Playing on a battered knee, Yzerman was second in playoff scoring, only to Peter Forsberg, with 23 points in 24 games after playing in only 54 regular season games that year.

Though Yzerman definitely deserved to win the Conn Smythe Trophy that year, it was awarded to Nicklas Lidstrom, being the first European born player to win the trophy.

When Yzerman stepped off the ice for the last time in 2006, his career numbers looked like this:

It's tough see what his numbers would've been like if he wouldn't of changed his playing style, but when he did, it brought success to the Red Wings, which is what Yzerman wanted the most. Yzerman also battled substantial knee injuries that minimized his playing time.

The following is a list of other awards and achievements of Steve Yzerman:

Ten-time All-Star
One-time NHL First team All-Star
One Lester B. Pearson Award (1989)
One-time Conn Smyth trophy Winner (1998)
One-time Frank J. Selke Trophy (2000)
Three-time Stanley Cup Champion (1997, 1998, 2002)
One-time Stanley Cup Champion as an executive (2008)
One-time Bill Masterton Trophy winner (2003)
One-time Lester Patrick Trophy winner (2006)
Ranks sixth all time in the NHL in points
Ranks eighth all time in the NHL in goals
Ranks seventh all time in the NHL in assists
Ranks first in Red Wings history in assists
Ranks second in Red Wings history in points and goals
Ranks third in Red Wings history in games played
Ranks second all time in games played with one team
Longest serving captain in NHL history
No. 19 retired by Detroit
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (2009)
Olympic Gold Medal winner (2002)
Olympic Goald Medal winner (as an executive) 2010 

Now, on to Nicklas Lidstrom.

Lidstrom was drafted 53rd overall in 1989 but didn't make his Red Wings debut until the 1991-92 season.

In his first season, Lidstrom totaled 60 points in 80 games. He would go on to finish second in Calder trophy voting to Pavel Bure.

In 1992, he was selected to the 1992 NHL All-Rookie Team.

Considered the best defenseman in all of the NHL in his era, he also holds a Red Wings record for points by a defenseman with 80 points which he totaled in 2005-06.

He has been nominated for the Norris trophy 10 times and has won it six times.

Though he is still playing, he is padding his stats in the defensive category.

He is the first European-born and trained defenseman to reach 800 career assists and has played the most games by a European-born player with 1,412.

This year he became the oldest player to ever record his first hat trick.

Even at the age of 40, Lidstrom is still amongst the league leaders for points.

He is currently second in the league with 39 points (in 40 games) and is making a serious run at winning his seventh Norris Trophy.

Heading into tonight's game against the Calgary Flames, Lidstrom's career numbers look like this:

As of January 7, 2011, 1:30pm

The numbers will be different by the end of the season, as this may even be the final year of the legendary career of Nicklas Lidstrom.

He will be remembered as one of the best defensemen to ever play in the NHL.

The following is a list of Nick Lidstrom's awards and achievements:

First European-born defenseman to win the Norris Trophy
Six-time Norris Trophy winner (2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008)
11-time NHL All-Star
Nine-time NHL First All-Star Team
Two-time NHL Second All-Star Team
One-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner
NHL All-Rookie Team
Four-time Stanley Cup winner (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008)
Olympic Gold Medal winner
Olympic All-Star Team 

There may even be a chance that he will be remembered as the best. But when it comes to Detroit Red Wings history and naming the top three players in the franchises history, it is tough.

Lidstrom could easily be remembered as the best defenseman ever.

The Detroit franchise has been blessed with seeing such great players such as the three mentioned—Alex Delvecchio, Terry Sawchuk, Syd Abel and Ted Lindsay, to name a few.

But after No. 1, who really truly deserves the second and third spot?

Personally, I'll stick with Steve Yzerman but some may think Lidstrom may just because of his impact on not only the franchise, but NHL as a whole.

This debate can go on forever, but you only have so much time to read what I have to write.

Maybe we can always just settle it with a 2a and a 2b.

But than that's another debate of who deserves the 2a spot.

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"I don't ask you to agree with what I write, but I would hope you read it with an open mind, think about what's being said and, hopefully, realize that there is always more than one way to see the game." —Jim Kelley

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