Top Defenseman in the National Hockey League

Here are the criteria to make this list. You have average at least 20 minutes a game for your team. You have to have a positive plus minus for your career. You have to either have an Olympic Gold Medal, or a Stanley Cup Ring.

Here are the top three in no specific order: Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger, and Scott Niedermayer. Other honorable mentions that will not be discussed in this article: Chris Chelios, Rob Blake, Sergei Zubov.

Scott Niedermayer (born 8-31-1973) played for Kamloops in the Western league before joining the New Jersey Devils. He was drafted 3^rd overall in 1991. He is the older brother of Rob Niedermayer. He is the best skating defenseman in the NHL. He is the best skater in the NHL period. His effortless stride and hockey sense allowed him to efficiently average 27 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time per game in 79 games. His skating ability allows him to recuperate in the defensive zone quickly. He also uses his speed to join in on the offensive rush. His downside is that he does not dominate a game physically like a Chris Pronger or Ed Jovanovski. Niedermayer has won four Stanley Cups, one Conn Smythe Trophy, one Olympic gold medal and played in three All-Star Games. He was captain of the New Jersey Devils in 2004 and was named captain of the Anaheim Ducks in 2005 when he signed as a free agent so he could play with his younger brother.

Nicklas Lidstrom (born 4-29-1970) played in the Swedish Elite League for Vasteras IK for 3 seasons. He was drafted 53^rd overall by Detroit. He has been a Detroit Red Wing since 1991 when he had a 36 +/- rating as a rookie. Lidstrom uses his hockey intelligence to dominate the game. He runs the point on the power play. He was named captain of the Red Wings beginning the 2006-07 season. He was ice time average of 27 minutes and 29 seconds was third in the NHL. An interesting note is that he has never had a year where he went negative on +/- rating. His lowest was a +7 in his 2^nd season. Lidstrom has won three Stanley Cups, played in nine All-Star games, been named an NHL first team All-Star seven times, he was selected best defenseman (James Norris Trophy) in the league five times, and he won an Olympic gold medal and Conn Smythe trophy (playoff MVP).

Chris Pronger (born 10-10-1974) played his junior hockey with Peterborough of the Ontario League. Then he was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in 1993 2^nd overall behind the legendary Alexandre Daigle (Daigle's famous comment: "I'm glad I went #1 because nobody remembers #2."� Pronger responded "We'll see about that."�). He is the younger brother of Sean Pronger. He was fourth among defensemen in ice time with an average of 27 minutes and 5 seconds. Pronger is an excellent one-on-one defender. He has great reach at 6 feet, 6 inches and at 220 lbs he can dish out punishing checks. He also plays the point on the Ducks power play. He is a born leader as he was captain of the St. Louis Blues from 1997-2003. His biggest flaw is taking bad penalties because he can get rattle by the opposition. Pronger has played in five All-Star games. He won his first Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007. He won the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and Norris Trophy in 2000. He also won an Olympic gold medal.