GOAT Index

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Nicklas Lidström: the case for the GOAT

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    Nicklas Lidström: the case for the GOAT

    D · Red Wings · Born 28 April 1970, Västerås, Sweden · Career 1991–2012

    "The Perfect Human" was a calm, positionally flawless defenceman who spent his entire 20-season career with the Red Wings and rarely seemed to make a mistake.

    Career highlights

    Why Nicklas Lidström could be the GOAT

    Lidström won seven Norris Trophies, second only to Orr, and the Red Wings made the playoffs in every one of his 20 seasons. He played huge minutes into his forties with almost no penalties. His case is relentless consistency: two decades of elite defence without a weak season.

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    Nicklas Lidström head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

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