Who's Better? Niklas Lidstrom vs. Raymond Bourque

Niklas Lidstrom is just a wonderful hockey player. If you ever get a chance to watch him live, or even just watching a Wings game on TV, try watching Lidstrom instead puck every time #5 is out on the ice. He is so flawless in his positioning and his execution that you will so much about the game simply by observation.

In theDec 18th, 2007 issue, The Hockey News crowned Niklas Lidstrom as the best European born and trained player in NHL history. Non NHL players, such as Soviet era stars like Valeri Kharlamov and Vladislav Tretiak, were not considered. Neither were players who were born in Europe but trained in Canada, such as Stan Mikita.

To be named the top European player of all time is quite a feather in Lidstrom's cap. There is no shortage of candidates, including fellow defenders Borje Salming, Sergei Zubov, Viacheslav Fetisov and Teppo Numminen, super scorers like Jari Kurri, Peter Stastny, Jaromir Jagr, Pavel Bure, Peter Bondra and Teemu Selanne, and complete threats like Igor Larionov, Sergei Fedorov, Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin.

Lidstrom has been getting a lot of ink lately, and it is about time. But I do find it interesting that there is a growing movement to crown Lidstrom as the second greatest defenseman of all time, behind the incomparable Bobby Orr of course.

Now traditionally the label goes to Montreal great Doug Harvey, with real old timer Eddie Shore also ranked right up there. More modern contenders include Larry Robinson, Denis Potvin, Raymond Bourque, and Paul Coffey.

Now I'm not too sure Lidstrom truly ranks. Back in August I looked at the top 36 players of all time, and included Lidstrom as the 8th best defender behind Orr, Harvey, Bourque, Fetisov, Shore, Potvin, and Robinson. Red Kelly and Dit Clapper both outranked Lidstrom in my listing back then, too. Both were superstar defensemen who also were superstar forwards.

I'm not prepared to re-open that debate right now, but I'm also not prepared to declare Lidstrom to be a better player than Doug Harvey. I don't really have an issue with anyone slotting him as high as 3rd overall.

In August I ranked Bourque in the three spot, which is interesting, because if there was one player in hockey history that could be a carbon copy of Niklas Lidstrom it is Ray Bourque. I'm really high on that comparison because they played very similar styles. Perhaps Bourque was a bit more flashy offensively, but he played in an era that demanded it, but otherwise both are near perfect defenders.

So let's compare the legacies of Bourque and Lidstrom. Lidstrom's career stats are shown as of game 32 of the 2007-08 season.
Again, I'm not too concerned about the scoring stats. Bourque played in a higher offensive era, and a 37 year old Lidstrom still has probably at least 3 more solid years to add to his offensive numbers. This year he's right near the top of the defenseman scoring race again this year, too.

I've highlighted the last two comparables. Both players sit at 5 Norris Trophies each, signifying how many times in their career that they were honoured as the best defenseman in the game. Barring injury, Lidstrom very likely could add another title this season, and who knows how many more. If he were to somehow challenge Bobby Orr's 8 titles or Doug Harvey's 7, then I think I'd be ready to give Lidstrom the nod over Bourque.

An interesting way to break the current 5-5 deadlock is to look at the number of times each player finished as the runner up in Norris Trophy balloting - Bourque 6 times, Lidstrom 3.

Another pretty telling stat for me is post season All Star awards. In 19 of his 22 seasons Bourque was either on the first or second team, including in each of his first 15 NHL seasons. Lidstrom has "only" been honoured 8 times in 15 complete seasons, with more sure to follow. But it took him 7 years before his first all star nod.

It is the only statistical anomaly between these two great defenders. A case could even be made to suggest Bourque faced stiffer competition for All Star honours. As such, I conclude Ray Bourque's legacy ranks him ahead of the still growing legacy of Niklas Lidstrom. But only for the time being.