jammer2 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I love jersey retirement ceremonies, all the former teammates and coaches and loved ones....a wonderful way to honour a great player. It's slated to be an hour long, so get your popcorn....this is gonna be great!! "the Perfect Human" is gonna go out in style!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Man what a classy player and person, and not just saying it because he was a Wing. He was such a class act, grace and skill and a competitive instinct on the ice but respected by everyone on his team and on the opposition. I do not know if I ever heard a disparaging remark about him from anyone. For those who are not old enough to remember Jean Beliveau Lidstrom seems his spiritual heir, the classy player who it is impossible to hate but who could drive a stake thru the heart of your team with his competitiveness and insane skill. We sure miss him on the blue line but I consider it an honor to watch him for 2 decades making it look effortless while all the time just absolutely playing at a level that no more than a half dozen blue liners ever have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 @yave1964 It's just AWESOME to see him get honoured like this! ALL HAIL THE GREAT #5!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStraw Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 That was a nice ceremony. He gave a good speech. One of my favorite all-time players, maybe the only guy whose hockey IQ can be compared to Gretzky's.I was kind of hoping they would give him a Volvo but I guess that wouldn't fly in Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Have to laugh when he said he wore #9 in Sweden.... then just stood in line as his jersey number 5 was handed out at training camp. Classy guy and probably one of the all time greatest captains ever. on a side note Recchi did the ceremonial puck drop in Boston tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 @JackStraw I liked his speech also. I thought it was very cool the way he kept bringing up Stevie Y and thanking him for teaching him how to win and how to play the game right. When an all time great like Nick is saying stuff like that about you, it's a HUGE compliment. Scotty Bowman was looking great, awesome to see!! After the game, I saw another interview with Nick, where he stated he had no doubt that Konstantinov would have won the Norris multiple times had that horrible crash never taken place. We were really robbed of watching an all time great cause of that idiot limo driver. Jesus was that guy tough as nails....Nick and Vladimir might have been one of the best EVER pairings the year they won the cup and that crash happened. I saw a lot of Wings games that year and I'll treasure them forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 He'd STILL be the best defenceman on the Flyers. Class act all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStraw Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 He'd STILL be the best defenceman on the Flyers. Class act all the way.Hopefully the Flyers are keeping an eye on his kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Have to laugh when he said he wore #9 in Sweden.... then just stood in line as his jersey number 5 was handed out at training camp. Classy guy and probably one of the all time greatest captains ever. on a side note Recchi did the ceremonial puck drop in Boston tonight.that was a great story 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Lidstrom is one of the cleanest, greatest defensemen ever to play the game. Few lists I see ever have him outside the top 5 all time. That being said, I HATED playing against him. He was soooo good. Almost like Ray Bourque reborn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 @J0e Th0rnton Interesting you should mention Bourque. I was thinking about Ray during Nick's ceremony. While Bourque was playing, and for a while after his retirement, I would have balked at the thought of Nick being better than him, but over time, my thinking has changed. Nick just took the cerebral approach to the game to a whole new level. Thing is, not only did Nick think the game better than any d-man before him, but he had the special skill set to carry out his ability to anticipate what was gonna happen before it did. As smart as Ray was, he just didn't think the game the same way Nick did. They both had great shots, but I'd give Ray a bit of an edge in the shooting dept, his slap shot and wrist shot, they were so damn accurate. I also think Ray's top gear was a bit faster than Nick could manage, but overall, Nick had more flexibility and dexterity....and his conditioning seemed significantly better. The longer the game, the more Lidstrom would take over....the guy never seemed to tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 @JackStraw I liked his speech also. I thought it was very cool the way he kept bringing up Stevie Y and thanking him for teaching him how to win and how to play the game right. When an all time great like Nick is saying stuff like that about you, it's a HUGE compliment.The "9" story was fantastic. Great humor, and great homage to Gordie.I have written many a time about Stevie Y's legacy and that I thought that Lidstrom followed his lead. I believe that Lidstrom seeing Stevie not only change his style of play to a more defensive one as Scotty Bowman demanded, but also Stevie purposefully taking a pay cut to allow the RWs to have the resources to acquire the talent to place around him to make them champions was huge. Remember that Nick CHOSE to limit his salary to $8M per year for the same reason when he could have left the team and got PAID probably $5M (or higher) more than that per season. (And this was long before the salary cap.) But he wanted to win. It was very cool to see him acknowledge that Stevie's leadership impacted him greatly and that his legacy is that Pav & Z lead similarly.Smartest defenseman to ever play the game!, and CERTAINLY the most disciplined. I give the all-time nod to Bobby Orr for best all-time and give Lidstrom the nod over Harvey for 2nd best. I know my brother gets angry with me when I put Nick behind Orr, but Orr REDEFINED what a defenseman could do. He transcended the game. Nick simply played his position to perfection. It has been a privilege to watch him for all 20 of his seasons.Has anyone else in history played 20 years and never missed a playoff in any season of their career like Nick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 @SpikeDDS I like Larry Robinson a bit more than Bourque, Potvin, or Lidstrom. Just personal preference, but he brought the intimidation factor like the others didn't. He adds a whole different physicality element, but still skated and showed off his offensive skill set through his career. What a cannon Larry had from the point...and who can forget the pummeling he gave Schultz! Nice was remarkably consistent, I'm wondering if a few Habs would have gone 20 seasons like that, not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 @jammer2Well, it's not just about you with regard to the 20-year thing. When you come into the league, if you have a lousy team around you, you're not gonna make the playoffs that first year. Steve Yzerman is a perfect example. As good as he was, the Dead Things were just that, and one man a winning team does not make. Yzerman actually had to learn that the hard way. Nick came in after the steep part of Yerman's learning curve, benefitting from those lessons learned and the increased talent which was assembled prior to his arrival.The Montreal era probably has the greatest chance of someone else having that same streak. Wonder if anyone's done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 @SpikeDDS I checked on Doug Harvey, he got traded to the NYR after 14 consecutive years in the playoffs. It looks like the Habs may have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in 47-48 and 54-55, which may have interrupted some of their streaks. Bernie Gefferion came after that, but only played 16 years, making the playoffs in all of them, even the 2 years he was a Ranger at the end. Maurice the Rocket missed in the two spots I mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 @SpikeDDS Robinson also had 20 consecutive years, but 3 were with LA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 @J0e Th0rnton Interesting you should mention Bourque. I was thinking about Ray during Nick's ceremony. While Bourque was playing, and for a while after his retirement, I would have balked at the thought of Nick being better than him, but over time, my thinking has changed. Nick just took the cerebral approach to the game to a whole new level. Thing is, not only did Nick think the game better than any d-man before him, but he had the special skill set to carry out his ability to anticipate what was gonna happen before it did. As smart as Ray was, he just didn't think the game the same way Nick did. They both had great shots, but I'd give Ray a bit of an edge in the shooting dept, his slap shot and wrist shot, they were so damn accurate. I also think Ray's top gear was a bit faster than Nick could manage, but overall, Nick had more flexibility and dexterity....and his conditioning seemed significantly better. The longer the game, the more Lidstrom would take over....the guy never seemed to tire. I gotta disagree. I think a lot of Lidstrom's game was influenced by his extremely favorable circumstances on a powerhouse team. Ray with boston, usually had a good top line, but lacked 100+ point forwards most of the time that most teams had. Not all of those players were responsible defensively, whereas the red wings had almost a monopoly on the Selke trophy for superstar two way forwards and had incredible depth. When Ray went to Colorado, he was much slower and less agile than he was 10 years prior and his hand eye coordination for pokechecks and intercepts was obviously not what it had been, but he played the more Lidstrom type game, making those great first passes and pro defense first moves, and the team had its best year in Franchise History, and so did some of its players(Sakic). Had Ray been 10 years younger, I think his numbers would have been even better and he still came in 2nd to Nick for the Norris at age 40, despite it. He is like the only defenseman in history to lead a team in scoring 5 times. I think on a team as strong as the wings his whole career, he looks like a clear cut #2 behind Orr all time. He was also top 3 for the Norris almost his whole career(Which is ridiculous) @SpikeDDS I like Larry Robinson a bit more than Bourque, Potvin, or Lidstrom. Just personal preference, but he brought the intimidation factor like the others didn't. He adds a whole different physicality element, but still skated and showed off his offensive skill set through his career. What a cannon Larry had from the point...and who can forget the pummeling he gave Schultz! Nice was remarkably consistent, I'm wondering if a few Habs would have gone 20 seasons like that, not sure.Not sure if Robinson was more intimidating or not. Potvin was definitely a guy people worried about on the ice ala Scott Stevens though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 @SpikeDDS OK, I did some research....my Habs findings... Since the inception of the league in 1917, the Habs have missed the playoffs 15 times, and there was no playoffs once in 04-05 for the lockout... Years the Habs missed the post season....1919-201920-211921-221925-261935-361939-401947-481969-701994-951998-991999-002000-012002-032004-052006-072011-12 So, there was a 21 year period from 48 to 69 where a streak like Nick's could have happened, and a 24 year run from 70 to 94. There has only been 2 instances where they missed the playoffs 3 years in a row, way back in 1919-22 and 99-03 more recently. You can see how the fan base can be so cocky, huh? In 1919 they were part of the cancelled Stanley Cup due to the influenza outbreak....it was left tied at 2-2-1 and never re-started. Actually using these stats, I looked up Larry Robinson, he made the playoff for 20 straight years, the last 3 with the LA Kings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 @jammer2Seriously appreciate the research, jammer. Good digging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 @SpikeDDS Thanks, a labour of love I guess, love looking things up like that and expanding my knowledge base of the sport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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