Every era of Detroit Red Wings hockey, one lineup. These are the highest-rated Detroit Red Wings legends across the 1960s to today — a full starting six from goal to the top line, chosen by iKnoBall's era-adjusted engine — and the record they'd post over an 82-game season.
Offense is weighted 52%, defense 48% — exactly how iKnoBall scores a roster. Think you'd start a different six? Prove it.
Terry Sawchuk headlines the group at a 97 overall — the kind of number only genuine all-time greats reach on iKnoBall's scale. Around Sawchuk, the model fills out a complete six that balances goaltending, a shutdown blueline, and a scoring line across Detroit Red Wings history, then simulates all 82 games. The result — 79–3 — reflects both the raw talent and how the pieces fit on both sides of the puck.
Every Detroit Red Wings legend in the iKnoBall pool, ranked by era-adjusted overall. The top group forms the starting six above; the rest are the depth chart and the debate.
| Player | Position | Era | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Sawchuk | Goaltender | 1960s | 97 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom | Defenseman | 2000s | 98 |
| Paul Coffey | Defenseman | 1990s | 91 |
| Steve Yzerman | Center | 1990s | 96 |
| Gordie Howe | Right Wing | 1960s | 99 |
| Brendan Shanahan | Left Wing | 1990s | 93 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | Center | 2000s | 94 |
| Sergei Fedorov | Center | 1990s | 93 |
| Dominik Hasek | Goaltender | 2000s | 93 |
| Marcel Dionne | Center | 1970s | 91 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | Left Wing | 2000s | 91 |
| Ted Lindsay | Left Wing | 1960s | 91 |
| Norm Ullman | Center | 1960s | 90 |
| Alex Delvecchio | Center | 1960s | 89 |
| Brian Rafalski | Defenseman | 2000s | 88 |
| Vladimir Konstantinov | Defenseman | 1990s | 87 |
| Chris Osgood | Goaltender | 2000s | 87 |
| Niklas Kronwall | Defenseman | 2010s | 87 |
| Mickey Redmond | Right Wing | 1970s | 87 |
| John Ogrodnick | Left Wing | 1980s | 87 |
| Gerard Gallant | Left Wing | 1980s | 87 |
| Jimmy Howard | Goaltender | 2010s | 87 |
| Dylan Larkin | Center | 2010s | 87 |
| Bill Gadsby | Defenseman | 1960s | 85 |
| Roger Crozier | Goaltender | 1960s | 85 |
| Bob Probert | Right Wing | 1980s | 85 |
| Petr Klima | Right Wing | 1980s | 85 |
| Reed Larson | Defenseman | 1980s | 85 |
| Slava Kozlov | Left Wing | 1990s | 85 |
| Tomas Holmstrom | Left Wing | 2000s | 85 |
Draft your own all-time Detroit Red Wings — or any franchise across five sports — build your roster, and sim a full season chasing a perfect 82–0. Free to play.
Build Your All-Time TeamGet the AppBy iKnoBall's era-adjusted ratings the all-time Detroit Red Wings starting six is Terry Sawchuk (G, 1960s), Nicklas Lidstrom (D, 2000s), Paul Coffey (D, 1990s), Steve Yzerman (C, 1990s), Gordie Howe (W, 1960s), Brendan Shanahan (W, 1990s). Together they project to a 79–3 regular season.
iKnoBall's simulation projects this starting six at 79–3 over an 82-game season, with an average starter rating of 96. The model runs each game as a probability from the roster's combined offensive and defensive strength, so an all-time team contends for a near-perfect year but nothing is guaranteed.
Each player's overall is era-adjusted so a 1960s Original Six legend and a modern superstar sit on the same 70–99 scale. Offense (center and wings) is weighted 52% and defense (goaltending and blueline) 48%, and only true all-time greats reach the mid-to-high 90s.
Yes — iKnoBall is a free game where you draft one legend per era, build your all-time roster, and simulate a full season chasing a perfect 82–0. Play it free at play.iknoball.com.
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Ratings are era-adjusted and computed by iKnoBall's simulation engine. Records are model projections for entertainment, not predictions. Player names belong to their respective owners; iKnoBall is an independent fan-made game.