Welcome to LWOS’ Summer Hockey Series, Best of the Rest. Plenty of sites do a version of a 30 greats in 30 days series, but this year we are doing something a little bit different. We want to look at the best player from each team who is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. In order to do this there are some rules. First the player must have been a significant part of this franchise (franchises include their time in a previous city… see Winnipeg/Atlanta) and must be retired for at least 3 years, making them Hall of Fame eligible. To see all the articles in the series, check out the homepage here.
Today, we take a look at a Detroit Red Wings US Hockey Hall of Famer but not yet full Hockey Hall of Famer, Reed Larson.
It’s the late 70’s-early 80’s era in the National Hockey League. The merger between the WHA and NHL is close to completion. The Canadiens were winning Cups at will with a young Scotty Bowman at their helm and the Islanders were carving their Cup history. The Detroit Red Wings are far from their modern day title of Hockeytown and in the middle of the dreaded “Dead Wings” era. Before the Yzermans, before the Lidstroms, before the Fedorovs, Grind Lines, and Euro Twins. The dark ages, if you will. In the midst of the era, there was a steady defenseman that graced the Winged Wheel with pride. His name was Reed Larson, and he defined the word steady.
Detroit Red Wings – Reed Larson
Drafted in the 1974 WHA (220th overall by the Minnesota Fighting Saints) and 1976 NHL (22nd overall by the Red Wings) amateur drafts, the Minneapolis native played three seasons in college at the University of Minnesota before jumping to the NHL, with his best season coming in 1975-76 when he recorded 42 points in as many games. Overall in college, he totalled 95 points in 104 games, a precursor to what he would turn out to be in the NHL with Detroit. In 1977, he got his real first 70+ game shot with the club. In short, he did not dissappoint.
As a defenseman for one of the worst teams in the League at the time, his plus-minus was nothing to write home about, but that was far from defining his play. In his first full season, Larson totaled 60 points with 19 goals in 75 games. This would be the precedent for the rest of his career in Motown, as Larson would float around and above that plateau in every season he played with Detroit. In nine full seasons with the club, Larson finished below 60 points only once, topping out at 74 points in ’82-83. This was a high scoring era for the league, but 74 points as a defenseman in any league is very impressive. Overshadowed by great defensemen of the era like Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque, Larry Murphy, and Doug Wilson, Larson never really got his dues.
Larson was traded to Boston after 10 years with the Wings in 1986 and bounced around the NHL for the remainder of his career, suiting up with the Bruins, Oilers, Islanders, and North Stars before retiring in 1989-90 as a member of the Sabres at the relatively young age of 33. He would finish his 904-game NHL career with 222 goals and 685 points. He was also a three time NHL all-star, in 1978, 1980, and 1981. While those numbers are solid, they do appear to be below what is expected for a player to be Hall of Fame eligible, though he certainly belongs among the greats in Detroit.
His 382 assists with Detroit are 10th on the all-time franchise list and the second highest total for a defenseman behind only Nick Lidstrom . He is likewise second only to Lidstrom in both goals by a defenseman (188) and points (570) with Detroit. Larson is also top ten in many other franchise totals, including shots (6th, 2406), penalty minutes (8th, 1127), and power play goals (10th, 67). Only Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman, and Sergei Fedorov have been on the ice for more Red Wings goals than Larson.
When one thinks of great defensemen in Detroit Red Wings history, immediately thoughts of the calming influence of Lidstrom, the ageless wonder that was Chris Chelios, or the offensive firepower of Paul Coffey pop into the mind. In a franchise that has had a storied tradition of legends at the blueline winning cups and powering through playoffs at will, Reed Larson gets overlooked.
He played in the “Dead Wings” era and was one of few stars playing for Detroit at the time. Sure the team did not perform to the modern day expectations in the Hockeytown era, but Larson was a stand out and could be one of the most underrated defensemen in Detroit Red Wings history. With his individual pedigree, Reed Larson defines the category of the Winged Wheel’s best of the rest.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @gSchroedes16. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, follow our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Reed Larson stats and bio courtesy of hockeydb
Best NHL defensemen of the 80s courtesy of quanthockey.com
