Mark Spizzirri: All-time Red Wing greats.....the rearguards

Select 26?

Easily 2 of the top 20 defenceman all time in the NHL in Brad Park and Red Kelly. So it makes perfect sense for Brian Rafalski to be ahead of them in the voting.

Easily 2 of the top 20 defenceman all time in the NHL in Brad Park and Red Kelly. So it makes perfect sense for Brian Rafalski to be ahead of them in the voting.
- ODalton

A lot of fans of this generation have no idea who they are and don't have much knowledge before the mid 90's. I don't agree with it, but it's understandable why players a lot of guys here never saw play are being overlooked.

I didn't expect Raf to get so many votes though personally. I didn't tick his box.

Mark Spizzirri: All-time Red Wing greats.....the rearguards
- spity1

Jeez people
Do your homework!
Red Kelly is one of the ALL TIME great defenseman in NHL history! He and Lidstrom should be UNANIMOUS choices. I know nearly all of us are too young to have seen him play but just google him or look at any book on Red Wings history.
Heck I never saw Babe Ruth play, but I'm pretty sure I'd want him on my all time Yankees team, get a clue!

Gonna have to think about this one a bit.

Lidstrom and Kelly are your beyond-obvious 1-2 punch. Goodfellow should be another lock.

I'm thinking Pronovost and Larson too, but I need a sixth. Any suggestions?

You forgot to put Federov on the list.

Ebbie Goodfellow played his entire 14-year career in Detroit. In that time he was captain for five seasons, made the postseason all-star team three times, and won a Hart Trophy.

The fact that he has 1% of the vote (not to mention Red Kelly is in the 30s instead of the high 90s) shows you the grasp of history (or just the unwillingness to research) typical of today's hockey fans.

What, no Ryan Suter?

x leafs

What, no Ryan Suter?
- AlfieFever

Even if he was on the Wings, he'd need to win at least one Cup to even be considered...

Tough to only have 6 to pick out of that group. Surprised at some of the results so far but at the same times i understand that the younger the fan, the less likely they are to know about the older players. Plus there is some bias towards the players you actually watched play for the Wings over players that were retired before you were even born.

I think we should be able to pick a 7th defenseman and 2 extra forwards for the 23 man roster.

Here is what an all-time Red Wings team should look like on defense:

Nicklas Lidstrom - Vladimir Konstantinov
Red Kelly - Marcel Pronovost
Ebbie Goodfellow - Reed Larson
Niklas Kronwall

Larson and Kronwall were tough picks over Chris Chelios, Gary Bergman, Jack Stewart, and Steve Chiasson.

You know the fan base voting is young when guys like Park, mcCrimmon receive less than 10% of the vote in favor of guys like Rafalski, Konstantinov

You know the fan base voting is young when guys like Park, mcCrimmon receive less than 10% of the vote in favor of guys like Rafalski, Konstantinov
- willey101

I get leaving off those guys, due to the fact that both had only relatively short tenures in Detroit near the end of their playing days.

But Red Kelly sitting in 8th place? A guy who likely would have won the Norris Trophy for four straight years if only it had existed before the 1954 season (he was the top vote-getting defenseman on the first-team all-star teams from 1951-1954, edging out the legendary Doug Harvey on the final three occasions)?

That's unconscionable.