Who do you rate as the top 5 defensemen of all time?

Question

Who do you rate as the top 5 defensemen of all time?

Answer 1

1. Bobby Orr

2. Doug Harvey

3. Paul Coffey

4. Nick Lidstrom

5. Ray Bourque

Answer 2

1. Doug Harvey--best all around, and therefore the all-time best

2. Bobby Orr--revolutionized the position

3. Ray Bourque--master of the point shot, best two-way defender

4. Paul Coffey--phenomenal output made him valuable even when his defense didn't

5. Red Horner--the original enforcer, old-time Leafs fans will know exactly who I'm talking about

Honorable mention: Eddie Shore, Scott Stevens, Nicklas Lidstrom, Pierre Pilote, Denis Potvin

Answer 3

Orr

Bourque

Coffey

Potvin

Lidstrom

Answer 4

I'll admit, I don't know a lot about the past, but here are a few recent D's, in no particular order:

Ray Borque

Larry Murphy

Paul Coffey

Nick Lidstrom

Brian Leetch

Al Macinnis

Answer 5

1) Bobby Orr

2) Paul Coffey

3) Doug Harvey

4) Ray Borque

5) Brian Leecht

Answer 6

1-Hal Gill

2-Brooks Orpik

3-Sergei Gonchar

4-Darryl Sydor

5-Rob Sceduri

Just listing from Pens i do not know enough about most other teams :]

Answer 7

Bobby Orr

Doug Harvey

Larry Robinson

Ray Bourque

Niklas Lidstrom

Answer 8

1. Bobby Orr  The top spot should be easy, nobody played the game the way Bobby Orr did.  Great at both ends of the ice, Speed that made others look foolish, and a scoring touch like few others who have ever laced up the skates.

2. Doug Harvey....great defensive defenseman...7 Norris Trophys speak for his inclusion in this list

3.  Nick Lidstrom....Nobody makes it look as easy as Nick does....Always in the right place at the right time.  6 Norris trophy's and counting!

4. Slava Fetisov.....It's easy to forget his accomplishments in Russia, but the question does not say to only include NHL play.....was a great player and leader.   Captain of the Great Russian Teams.  Two Stanley Cups, Two Olympic Gold Medals and Seven World Championships.  +37 in 1995-1996 in Detroit proves he belongs in this group

5.  Paul Coffey....great offensive tallent, possibly second only to Orr's among  defenseman.  3 Norris Trophys, 5 -100 point seasons..posted a +- above +50 four years in a row during the scoring happy days of the early 1980's

Answer 9

1.) Bobby Orr

2.) Nick Lidstrom

3.) Doug Harvey

4.) Ray Bourque

5.) Paul Coffey

Answer 10

orr

bourque

lidstrom

coffey

konstantinov

Answer 11

Bobby Orr

Doug Harvey

Nicklas Lidstrom

Paul Coffey

Ray Bourque

Answer 12

In no particular order;



Bobby Orr - Incredible offense, excellent defense. Possibly the greatest player to ever put on skates. 2 Stanley Cups.

Doug Harvey - The 'quarterback' of one of the best hockey teams of all time. I've only seen a few videos of him playing, but he could clearly dominate the ice. Tough to argue with 7 Norris Trophies, 6 Cups.

Denis Potvin - 3 Norris Trophies. Excellent at both ends of the ice. One of the last great hip-checkers. 4 Cups.

Larry Robinson - 2 Norris Trophies. Dominating, but clean defensive player. Also could show some real offensive flair. The NHL's all-time +\- leader. Never missed the playoffs in his career. 6 Cups.

Niklas Lidstrom - 6 Norris Trophies. The most dominant defensman of the past 15 years. 4 Cups.

I honestly can't include Paul Coffey on the list. Yes, he was a great offensive defenseman, but he was pathetic in his own end. I watched his whole career...there was a reason that the Oilers always had a high GAA in the 80's...and Coffey was a big part of that reason.

RK - Coffey's career +\-  was +264...he had a negative rating almost as often as a positive, even in the playoffs. Pathetic when you consider how many goals the teams he played for scored. Compare that 264 to Potvin's +460 or Larry Robinson's +730  (the NHL all-time record) on lower scoring teams.

In fact, Robinson was +50 five years in a row, including +120(!) (2nd highest single-season total) in 76-77. He never finished negative in a 20 year career, including playoffs.

Answer 13

Top 4 are a piece of cake there are 9000 tied for fifth.

Top 4

1. Orr

2. Harvey

3. Coffey

4. Bourque

Suggestions for fifth

Pilote, Shore, Clancy,Conacher, Kelly (started as a defenseman with Detroit) Park, Potvin, Lidstrom, Chelios. Salming.

At my age I'd have to give Shore a vote but since I never saw him play it would be entirely on hearsay.

I can't believe I got thumbed for Eddie Shore.

Answer 14

Orr

Bourque

Harvey

Lidstrom

Stevens

People may question my choice of Stevens, but the truth is, if you're a forward crossing the blueline, there's probably nothing scarier then seeing Scott Stevens coming at ya.