We've been programed a long time to have a first reaction to the question, "Who is the greatest defenseman of all time?"
Answer: Bobby Orr.
But that should be changed, in my opinion, to Nicklas Lidstrom.
That's not meant as any disrespect to Orr. He was a breathtaking skater with stunning offensive skill. His defense was very good, despite all the risk taking, and he was rugged. It wasn't like the big, bad Bruins were doing the fighting for him. And he did change the game with his style of play.
He also had a knee ailment that shortened his career. His career was roughly half as long as that of Lidstrom. Longevity should count for a lot. And so should the understated play of Lidstrom, whose style is more an art form than a screaming headline about his brilliance. He has also been a study in persistence. Orr was 26 the last season he won the Norris Trophy; Lidstrom 30 when he first received the honor.
Lidstrom has played, and thrived, through three very distinctly different eras of hockey - the run-and-gun early-to-mid 1990s, the grab-and-hold period from the late 1990s-to-the strike year, and in the so-called "new" NHL. He's starred internationally, scoring the game-winning goal in the gold medal game at the Olympics for Sweden. The Red Wings have won four Stanley Cup championships with Lidstrom along the blue line, once with Lidstrom receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Tonight, at NHL Awards, he is up for his seventh Norris Trophy. It was laughable last season he wasn't even nominated. Nor that he has never been seriously considered for the Hart Trophy given his value to the Red Wings.
He has accomplished so much it's odd that Lidstrom is somehow still unrecognized for what he is in hockey lore.
The best defenseman ever.