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The Greatest Detroit Red Wings of All Time

All-time greats by position · era-adjusted

Updated 2026-07-09

The greatest Detroit Red Wings of all time — the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who defined the franchise. Each is ranked by their finest era-adjusted season, weighted by how long they anchored the roster, so a dominant year from any era is measured fairly.

Top forwards

  1. Sergei Fedorov Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1993 · 56G 64A 120P · +48 · 82 GP
    83Peak
  2. Steve Yzerman Center
    3 seasons sampled · peak 1988 · 67G 92A 159P · +17 · 80 GP
    79Peak
  3. Gordie Howe Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1968 · 47G 64A 111P · +49 · 76 GP
    82Peak
  4. Henrik Zetterberg Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2007 · 47G 54A 101P · +33 · 75 GP
    78Peak
  5. Pavel Datsyuk Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2008 · 32G 66A 98P · +34 · 81 GP
    71Peak
  6. Alex Delvecchio Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1968 · 28G 66A 95P · +48 · 72 GP
    70Peak
  7. Brendan Shanahan Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1996 · 48G 43A 90P · +32 · 79 GP
    68Peak
  8. Frank Mahovlich Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1968 · 53G 31A 84P · +47 · 76 GP
    68Peak
  9. Igor Larionov Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1995 · 25G 59A 84P · +44 · 69 GP
    62Peak
  10. Norm Ullman Center
    1 season sampled · peak 1964 · 49G 48A 97P · +18 · 70 GP
    65Peak
  11. Marian Hossa Right Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 2008 · 44G 34A 79P · +30 · 74 GP
    61Peak
  12. Marcel Dionne Center
    1 season sampled · peak 1974 · 48G 76A 124P · -15 · 80 GP
    60Peak

On defense

  1. Nicklas Lidstrom Defenseman
    3 seasons sampled · peak 2005 · 16G 66A 82P · +22 · 80 GP
    52Peak
  2. Mathieu Schneider Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2005 · 24G 43A 67P · +38 · 72 GP
    52Peak
  3. Paul Coffey Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1993 · 14G 65A 79P · +29 · 80 GP
    50Peak
  4. Brian Rafalski Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2008 · 11G 52A 62P · +18 · 78 GP
    43Peak
  5. Larry Murphy Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1998 · 10G 43A 53P · +22 · 80 GP
    41Peak
  6. Chris Chelios Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2001 · 6G 34A 40P · +42 · 79 GP
    41Peak
  7. Viacheslav Fetisov Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1995 · 8G 42A 50P · +44 · 69 GP
    43Peak
  8. Carl Brewer Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1969 · 2G 43A 46P · +50 · 70 GP
    43Peak

In goal

  1. Jimmy Howard Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 2009 · 37W · 2.26 GAA · .924 SV% · 3 SO
    62Peak
  2. Dominik Hasek Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 2001 · 41W · 2.17 GAA · .915 SV% · 5 SO
    56Peak
  3. Chris Osgood Goaltender
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1997 · 33W · 2.21 GAA · .913 SV% · 6 SO
    56Peak
  4. Roy Edwards Goaltender
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1972 · 27W · 2.64 GAA · .904 SV% · 6 SO
    57Peak
How this ranks: a player’s best season with the Detroit Red Wings is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then nudged up for how many standout seasons they gave the club — rewarding peak brilliance and franchise tenure together.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the greatest Detroit Red Wings player of all time?
By All-Time Hockey's era-adjusted peak-season ranking, Sergei Fedorov leads the Detroit Red Wings all-time greats; the top three overall are Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Gordie Howe. Each player is scored on his finest season relative to the league around him.
Who is the best Detroit Red Wings goaltender of all time?
Jimmy Howard ranks as the top Detroit Red Wings goaltender by peak era-adjusted season, weighted by win volume so durable starters outrank one-year standouts.
How are the all-time Detroit Red Wings rankings calculated?
Each player's best season with the Detroit Red Wings is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then weighted by how many standout seasons he gave the club. Data spans the 1960s to today.

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