| Nicklas Lidström | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2015 | |||
 Lidström in November 2022 | |||
| Born | (1970-04-28)28 April 1970 (age 55) Krylbo, Sweden | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Västerås IK Detroit Red Wings | ||
| National team |  Sweden | ||
| NHL draft | 53rd overall,1989 Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 1987–2012 | ||
Medal record | |||
Erik Nicklas Lidström (pronounced[ˈnɪ̌kːlasˈlîːdstrœm]; born 28 April 1970) is a Swedish former professionalice hockeydefenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for theDetroit Red Wings.[1] He played 20 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings from 1991 to 2012, where he played in sixStanley Cup Finals, winningfour championships, andcaptained the team for the final six seasons of his career.[2][3][4] He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defencemen in NHL history and nicknamed "the Perfect Human."
Over his 20 NHL seasons, Lidström won fourStanley Cup championships, sevenJames Norris Memorial Trophies (awarded to the NHL's top defenceman), oneConn Smythe Trophy (the first European to win the trophy) as the playoffsmost valuable player, and was voted into 12NHL All-Star Games. The Red Wings never missed the playoffs during his career, the longest streak of playoff appearances for a player in league history. Lidström was the first European-born-and-trained captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team. Lidström is also the all-time leader in games played with a single NHL team by a European-born player.
Lidström was inducted into theIIHF Hall of Fame in 2014. He was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame on 9 November 2015.[5] In 2017, Lidström was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.[6]
Widely considered one of the greatest defencemen of all time,[7] Lidström was awarded the Norris Trophy seven times, a feat matched by only one other player (Doug Harvey) and exceeded only byBobby Orr (who won the trophy eight times). Lidström was nominated for the award a total of 12 times in his last 14 seasons in the NHL, the first three times finishing as the runner-up, and won it in seven of his last ten (2004–05 had no winner due to theNHL lockout). In his final 16 seasons (beginning in1995–96), he finished no lower than sixth place in Norris Trophy voting.[8]
Lidström played his entire 20-year NHL career with theDetroit Red Wings, finishing his career with the second-mostStanley Cup playoff games played in NHL history, with 263 appearances (Chris Chelios ranks first with 266).[9] He was a member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams, in1996–97,1997–98,2001–02 and2007–08. Save for the cancelled 2004–05 season lockout year, Lidström played in the playoffs for an NHL record 20 consecutive seasons (an honour he shares withLarry Robinson).[10]
Known for his durability, Lidström consistently ranked amongst the top in the NHL in ice time per game. He averaged 28:07 minutes in the2005–06 season, a career-high. He won three consecutive Norris Trophies from 2001 to 2003 to become the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to win three straight.[11] In the2003–04 season, he played in the 1,000th game of his career, having missed only 17 games in12+1⁄2 seasons (1994–95 was shortened to 48 games instead of the usual 82 by a labour dispute).[12]
In the2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lidström was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player during the playoffs, becoming the first European to ever be awarded the trophy.[13]
Lidström began his career inAvesta, Sweden, playing with Skogsbo SK, before moving on to play withVIK Västerås HK of the SwedishElitserien. In three seasons with the team, he played in 103 games, scoring 12 goals and 30 assists.
Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 53rd overall in the1989 NHL Entry Draft, Lidström joined the team in the1991–92 season, though he returned to play for Västerås IK for a brief period during the1994–95 NHL lockout. Lidström scored 60 points in his rookie season, finishing second toPavel Bure in voting for that year'sCalder Trophy. He was selected to the 1992NHL All-Rookie Team, along with fellow Red Wings defencemanVladimir Konstantinov.
Lidström was set to make $10 million during the2005–06 season. However, due to the new terms of theNHL Collective Bargaining Agreement that was implemented during the 2004–05 season, salaries on pre-existing contracts were reduced by 24%, which lowered his compensation to $7.6 million. That season, he posted a career-high 64 assists and 16 goals to for 80 points.
On 30 June 2006, it was announced that Lidström had signed a two-year, $15.2 million contract extension with the Red Wings. Instead of seeking more money elsewhere for a defenceman of his caliber, Lidström decided to remain with Detroit for the same annual salary as he earned during the 2005–06 season.[14]
Lidström had been an alternatecaptain of the Red Wings since the 1997–98 season, and was named captain after the retirement of long-time Red Wings captainSteve Yzerman after Detroit was eliminated in thefirst round, despite winning thePresident's Trophy for the season, by the eventual Western Conference championEdmonton Oilers in six games. It was an honor made more special by the fact that he became the first European captain in franchise history. In his first year of captaincy, Lidström led the Red Wings to the Western Conference Finals, but lost to eventual Stanley Cup champions, theAnaheim Ducks, in six games. In the off-season, Lidström joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the NHL's outstanding defenceman for the fifth time. Lidström became the fourth defenceman in NHL history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins, joiningHockey Hall of Famers Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven) andRay Bourque (five).
Near the beginning of the2007–08 season, in an 8 October win against theEdmonton Oilers, Lidström registered two assists to surpassPeter Forsberg as the second-highest scoring Swedish-born NHL player of all time. Accordingly, he trails onlyMats Sundin (as of the end of the2011–12 season, Lidström has 1,142 points to Sundin's 1,349).[15] Later in the season, on 26 December, Lidström signed a contract extension through the2009–10 season.[16] Several months later, on 3 April 2008, he assisted on a goal byJohan Franzén to tieLuc Robitaille at 42nd in the all-time NHL assists, with 726.[12]
Entering the playoffs as thePresidents' Trophy winners for the highest team point total again during the regular season, the Red Wings met thePittsburgh Penguins in the2008 Stanley Cup Finals. Despite a Game 5, triple-overtime victory by the Penguins to stave off elimination and prevent a Stanley Cup win on home ice by tying the game with less than a minute left, Lidström and the Red Wings defeated Pittsburgh in Game 6 to capture the Stanley Cup. In doing so, Lidström became the first European-born-and-trained captain to win the Stanley Cup, and along with teammatesTomas Holmstrom,Kris Draper,Kirk Maltby, andDarren McCarty, to win all four of the Stanley Cup championships the franchise achieved between 1997 and 2008.[17] In1934,Charlie Gardiner, a goaltender born inScotland, had captained theChicago Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup and in1938,Johnny Gottselig, a left-winger born inRussia, also captained Chicago to a championship, but both players were trained inCanada.
Just over one week after winning his fourth Stanley Cup in 11 seasons, on 12 June, Lidström won the Norris Trophy for the third-straight season and the sixth time in seven seasons.[18]
As the Red Wings opened the2008–09 pre-season against theMontreal Canadiens, Lidström suffered abroken nose as a shot from Canadiens forwardChris Higgins ricocheted and hit him in the face.[19] From then on, he began wearing a visor. He returned in time for the regular season and was selected to the2009 NHL All-Star Game inMontreal. However, in the midst of dealing withtendinitis that had been bothering him all season, Lidström chose to sit out All-Star weekend, along with teammatePavel Datsyuk. Consequently, Lidström and Datsyuk were both suspended one game by the NHL due to League policy for missing the All-Star Game without significant injury.[20] On 22 May, in Game 3 of the third round of the2009 playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks, Lidström suffered a testicle injury as a result of getting speared in the groin area by Blackhawks' wingerPatrick Sharp, requiring surgery to remove the damaged testicle. He would miss the last two games of the series, which the Red Wings would win in five games for a second consecutive appearance, as the defending champions, in theStanley Cup Final, which was a rematch of the previous year's final against the Penguins. Lidström was able to return in time for the series which was his second consecutive and second consecutive overall, and sixth appearance altogether, in a Cup Final. However, unlike the previous year, the Red Wings would lose the series in seven games, despite having a 3–2 series lead, which meant two chances to win, the first in Pittsburgh again like in the previous year's Game 6, and Game 7 in Detroit, which prevented him from a second consecutive Stanley Cup for the second time in his career and fifth Stanley Cup altogether. Lidström was unable to tie Game 7 and sent it into overtime despite having the puck with an open net with seconds left after Penguins goaltenderMarc-Andre Fleury leapt just in time to block the shot.[21]
The Red Wings opened the2009–10 season inStockholm, Sweden. During the team's trip in Sweden, Lidström was honored by his home county,Dalarna, as an Ambassador of Honor.[22] On 15 October 2009, in a game against theLos Angeles Kings, Lidström became the first European-born defenceman to reach 1,000 points after recording two assists in the game. He is the fourth player to score 1,000 points as a Red Wing (afterGordie Howe,Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman), and the eighth defenceman to do so in the history of the NHL. On 5 March 2010, Lidström earned his 800th career assist. Also during the 2009–10 season, Lidström played in his 1,395th game (finishing the season with 1,412), setting an all-time record for NHL games played by a player born in Europe; earlier in the season, Lidström had passedTeppo Numminen for games played by a player trained in Europe. Lidström is also second all-time in games played in a Red Wing uniform, behind only Howe. Despite the team under performing due to key injuries to key players, especially at the beginning of the season, the team was still able to make theStanley Cup playoffs. On 23 April, Lidström played in his 237th career playoff game, moving pastMark Messier into sole possession of third place on the NHL's all-time list, behind goaltender;Patrick Roy with 247, and former teammateChris Chelios in first with 266.[23] In the same game, he had an assist to tieAl MacInnis (121) for the third-most assists in the post-season by a defenceman (Ray Bourque 139;Paul Coffey 137).[24] On 27 April, a day before his 40th birthday, Lidström had three points in a Game 7 win over thePhoenix Coyotes in the first round of the2010 playoffs, pushing his active playoff points lead to 171 points, and tying him for 17th on the all-time playoff points list with fellow countrymanPeter Forsberg. After defeating the Coyotes in game seven to take the series in seven games, the Red Wings would go on to lose in the second round in five games against the San Jose Sharks.
As of the end of the 2009–10 season, Lidström has missed only 28 of a possible 1,440 regular-season team games (one due to suspension).
After contemplating retirement, Lidström agreed on a one-year contract with the Red Wings on 1 June 2010; the contract paid him slightly over $6 million.[25] On 15 December 2010, Lidström recorded his first career hat-trick, at 40 years of age, against theSt. Louis Blues, sealing a 5–2 Detroit victory. After the game, he was asked how it feels to score his first hat-trick, responding, "It feels great, I've never in my life been able to notch three goals in a game." The hat-trick made him the oldest player in NHL history to record his first hat-trick (previously held byScott Mellanby at 36 years of age), and the oldest defenceman in NHL history to record a hat-trick (previously held byMathieu Schneider at 37 years of age).[26] On 18 January 2011, Lidström was named a team captain in the2011 NHL All-Star Game inRaleigh, North Carolina. His team won by a final score of 11–10 over Team Staal, captained byEric Staal of theCarolina Hurricanes. Lidström finished +7 with one assist.
On 20 June 2011, after briefly contemplating retirement yet again, Lidström signed a one-year contract after being happy with his proformance during the previous season (he finished however with a minus -2 plus/minus rating, the first and only time he finished a season with a minus rating) given his age at the time, worth $6.2 million with Detroit, the same amount he had been paid the previous season. On 23 June 2011, he won his seventh Norris Trophy, tying with Doug Harvey and remaining one behind Bobby Orr for most Norris Trophies. This was only the third time in history that a player with a negative plus/minus rating managed to win a Norris Trophy.
On 22 October 2011, in a game against theWashington Capitals, Lidström became the 14th player in the history of the NHL to play 1,500 games. He is the first player not being born in North America, and therefore the first Swedish and European player, as well as the first player to accomplish this in his 20th NHL season. Lidström played in his 1,550th game on 12 February 2012, against thePhiladelphia Flyers, surpassing Alex Delvecchio's previous Red Wing record of 1,549 games. This also makes him the NHL player who has played the most games while always playing for the same NHL team (Gordie Howe played more games, 1,687, with the Red Wings, but also played for theHartford Whalers for one season). In this regard, Lidström joins former Red Wings Alex Delvecchio and former teammate and captain Steve Yzerman as the only three players with over 1,500 games having played exclusively for just one team throughout their careers.
On 31 May 2012, Lidström announced his retirement from the NHL via a press conference with Red Wings OwnerMike Ilitch and General ManagerKen Holland present, after finishing the season with his lowest point total in a full season in his career. The night before, he told the Swedish tabloidExpressen, "I came to the decision last week and I informed our general manager, Ken Holland."[27] Discussing Lidström's retirement, former teammate Steve Yzerman described Lidström as "one of the all-time best defencemen to ever play."[28] Former teammate and fellow Norris Trophy winning defensemanPaul Coffey said, "He was an incredible player"[29] while Chris Chelios said, "There's been guys who are great players, but no one's better than Nick. As good? Yes. But this is as big as it gets. He's one of the best athletes ever and...if you're going to talk about someone who's perfect, Nick's pretty darn close to being perfect."[27] Washington Capitals defencemanJohn Carlson described Lidström as "one of the game's all-time greats on and off the ice."[27] Ken Holland stated his belief that Lidström was "themost valuable player of his era."[28]
The following weekend, on 3 June 2012, Lidström and his wife took out a full-page ad giving thanks to the city ofDetroit for making his family feel at home for the past 21 years.[30] On 8 July 2012, Lidström was named a scout for the Red Wings.
On 28 February 2014, Lidström was inducted into theMichigan Sports Hall of Fame.[31]
During the2013–14 season, Lidström had his number 5 jersey retired by the Red Wings. Initially, ceremonies were planned for the previous season, on 5 February 2013 — however, thelockout had made it hard to determine when Lidström would be able to attend the ceremony.[32] The Red Wings officially retired his number on 6 March 2014, in apre-game ceremony atJoe Louis Arena.[33]
RepresentingSweden, Lidström won theWorld Championship in1991. At the2006 Winter Olympics, Lidström was a major factor in Sweden's win overFinland in the finals, scoring the gold medal-clinching goal, thus earning him a spot on the Olympic All-Star team. He also became the 17th member of theTriple Gold Club.The Hockey News selected Lidström as the "Best European-trained player ever in the NHL."[34] TheSporting News andSports Illustrated selected Lidström as the "NHL Player of the Decade."[35][36]
Prior to his NHL career, Lidström competed in oneEuropean Junior Championships in1988, oneWorld Junior Championship in1990 and oneCanada Cup in1991 for Sweden.
Prior to his rookie season with the Red Wings, he earned his first gold medal withSweden at the1991 World Championships. Three years later, he competed in the1994 World Championships in Italy and won a bronze medal. Two years later, he participated in the inaugural1996 World Cup of Hockey (successor of the Canada Cup) and contributed three points in four games. He made hisOlympic debut with Sweden at the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano,Japan.
Four years later was his next international appearance, playing in his second Olympics at the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City, where Sweden was upset byBelarus in the quarter-final after being heavy favourites in the round-robin. Lidström made his thirdWorld Championships appearance in2004, but only appeared in two games. That summer, he also competed in the2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he scored one goal.
In the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin,Italy, Lidström helped Sweden avenge their quarter-final upset to Belarus in Salt Lake City, scoring thegame winning goal in the gold medal game againstFinland. In doing so, Lidström became a member of theTriple Gold Club, adding an Olympic gold medal to go with his previousStanley Cups with Detroit and his World Championship gold medal in 1991.[37] Lidström was also selected to the 2010 Olympic All-Star team.
Lidström also played for Sweden in the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver, serving as team captain in what would be his final Olympic appearance.[38] Lidström announced his retirement from Olympic competition following Sweden's loss toSlovakia.[39]
Growing up, Lidström idolized trailblazing defencemanBörje Salming, whom he considers to be his hero.[40] In November 2023, Lidström was the recipient of the inaugural Börje Salming Courage Award, which is given to the European NHL alumnus who has been a positive influence in their community and best embodies Salming's legacy.[40]
Lidström is married to Annika,[41] with whom he has four children. All four sons play high-level hockey: Kevin (born 1994), is currently a defenceman forSwedish Division 1 teamSK Lejon;[42] Adam (born 1996) also plays in Division 1 withEnköpings SK;[43] Samuel (born in 2000) plays on Elitettan team Köping HC[44] and Lucas (born in 2003) also plays for VIK Västerås HK on its U16 team.[45]
Lidström was featured on an episode of NHL 36.
In October 2019, Lidström released his authorized biography in North America titledNicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Västerås IK | SWE U20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Västerås IK | SWE.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1988–89 | Västerås IK | SEL | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Västerås IK | Allsv | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Västerås IK | SEL | 39 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Västerås IK | SEL | 38 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 11 | 49 | 60 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 84 | 7 | 34 | 41 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 84 | 10 | 46 | 56 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Västerås IK | SEL | 13 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 43 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 8 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 17 | 50 | 67 | 20 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 15 | 42 | 57 | 30 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 18 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 8 | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 20 | 53 | 73 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 15 | 56 | 71 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 9 | 50 | 59 | 20 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 16 | 64 | 80 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 13 | 49 | 62 | 46 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 10 | 60 | 70 | 40 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 30 | 21 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 9 | 40 | 49 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 16 | 46 | 62 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| SEL totals | 110 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1,564 | 264 | 878 | 1,142 | 514 | 263 | 54 | 129 | 183 | 76 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Sweden | EJC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1990 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1991 | Sweden | WC | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1991 | Sweden | CC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1994 | Sweden | WC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1996 | Sweden | WCH | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1998 | Sweden | OLY | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Sweden | OLY | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Sweden | WC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Sweden | WCH | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Sweden | OLY | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Sweden | OLY | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | |||
| Senior totals | 50 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 18 | |||
*did not attend
All records are as of the end of the2011–12 regular season unless otherwise noted.
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