The Career of Nicklas Lidstrom

He is, arguably, the best defenceman over the last thirty years in the NHL.
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[@davezarvan]

I have mentioned before how good Nicklas Lidström is. But I'll do it again. His 1,564 games (1991-92 to 2011-12) are the most by any player to spend his entire career with one team. That speaks to his loyalty to the Ilitch Family and the Red Wings organization, as well as putting winning and being around great teammates, coaches, front office, ownership, etc. above almost anything else. His 1,564 games over 20 seasons gives him the distinction of the longest career of a player to never miss the postseason. In his final 16 seasons (1995-96 to 2011-12), he never finished lower than 6th in Norris Trophy voting. In that span, he won it 7 times and finished 2nd on 3 occasions. That means in half of his seasons (10 out of 20) he was considered one of the two best blue liners in the league. And keep in mind that expansion started up again as his career began, and the likes of Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, and others were playing at the time as well. That is insane to think he was a top 2 defenceman in the league for half of his career. This is where the Red Wings finished in the regular season standings each season of his career: 1991-92: 3rd (out of 22) 1992-93: 5th (out of 24) 1993-94: 4th (out of 26) 1994-95: 1st 1995-96: 1st 1996-97: 5th 1997-98: 3rd 1998-99: 6th (out of 27) 1999-2000: 2nd (out of 28) 2000-01: 2nd (out of 30) 2001-02: 1st 2002-03: 3rd 2003-04: 1st 2005-06: 1st 2006-07: 2nd 2007-08: 1st 2008-09: 3rd 2009-10: 7th 2010-11: 6th 2011-12: 8th Doing the math, the Red Wings never finished outside of the top quarter of the league during the entirety of Lidström's career. His career spans seasons 2-21 of Detroit's 25 season playoff streak. In year 1 of the streak, the Red Wings were 13th out of 21 in the league standings. In the four seasons after Lidström retired (the final four seasons of the playoff streak), Detroit finished 13th, 15th, 12th, and 15th respectively in the standings. This goes to show just how valuable Lidström was to the team. Lidström was one of the most durable players ever. In his 20 seasons, he only missed 44 regular season and 2 postseason games. That means over his entire career, he missed only 46 out of a possible 1,873 combined regular season and postseason games. And of those 44 missed regular season games, 12 of them were in his final season. And in the 12 games he missed in his last season, the team went 3-7-2 in his absence with a -9 goal differential. This again shows how valuable he was and that he made everyone else around him look better. For what it is worth, to me, Nicklas Lidström is the 3rd best player in NHL history, behind the two obvious ones, Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey) and Wayne Gretzky (The Great One). Lidström was nicknamed the Perfect Human, not only for his exceptional on ice play (he put up outstanding point totals but was never considered an offensive defenceman because of how good he was positionally and defensively and the fact that he basically never made a bad play or read on the ice, which also led to his durability because of his exceptional positioning he basically never got hit), but also for the man he was off the ice. Many media members have said Lidström is the nicest and most caring athlete they have ever covered, and he would ask the media members how they were doing as well. He genuinely cared about everyone. You put this all together, and you've got Nicklas Lidström: the 3rd best player of all-time and the Perfect Human.

[@tinyb4165]

You could probably add that around a dozen of those games missed, were being rested the last game or 2 of the season, to rest him for the playoffs. Definitely one of the most durable players of all time.

[@davezarvan]

tiny b quite likely

[@tinyb4165]

And you can count another one of those games as his one and only suspension by the league, for deciding not to participate in the All-Star game in 2009. Such a rebel, he was. Lol.

[@davezarvan]

tiny b I totally forgot about that haha

[@jockejocke1]

"His 1,564 games over 20 seasons gives him the distinction of the longest career of a player to never miss the postseason." Larry Robinson never missed the postseason either and also had 20 straight appearances. The difference to Lidström is that Robinson had less regular season games.

[@mastershake6292]

Best defensemen of the modern era. And it wasn't even close.

[@phillytheflyerable]

ever

[@klompsauce]

I just didn’t see Orr play. Outside of that, he’s the best ever.

[@peterdragon6367]

@@klompsauce ya. For me it’s lidstrom because I’m a wings fan. It’s just so hard to compare eras. Put Orr in a more modern pair of skates and stick and he could really be the best. Or put lidstrom back in the 60s to 80s when it wasn’t the dead puck era and goalies had smaller pads and see what numbers he could put up. It’s always fun to have those discussions

[@rebeltvr6046]

@@klompsauce Larry Robinson was gangsta back in the day too fyi.

[@yoholmes273]

Yes, but the "modern era" totally sucks so...

[@icewyre]

Nicklas "I don't miss the playoffs" Lidstrom

[@prezidentjeff]

Facts

[@danieldosso2455]

To be fair Detroit in the 90's and early 2000's were a deadly force for far too long to their credit

[@borismuller86]

Detroit “how does one even miss the playoffs?” Red Wings back in the day.

[@cloudsopowera6248]

Nicklas Lidstrom and Larry Robinson are the ONLY players to have never missed the playoffs while holding the record for the longest playoffs participation streak.

[@Detector1977]

it was just criminal he didn't get at least 10 Norris trophies...

[@nicholas2583]

He finished in 2nd place for the Norris for three straight years before he finally won it in the 2000-20001 season.

[@phillytheflyerable]

couldn't have a europpean beat orr the lover boy from canada

[@hellinterface6721]

@@phillytheflyerable He was alright... for a swede.

[@johnbrowne3950]

@@phillytheflyerable If Orr had played 20 seasons he'd have at least 15 Norris trophies. PS: Most people who vote for the Norris are Americans not Canadians.

[@mikedrndarski2707]

Next to Orr, best defensemen I ever saw.

[@SpartanCL1989]

The greatest defenceman ever!

[@Trustytomato10]

SpartanCL1989 Orr>Lidstrom

[@titititirca3109]

Baked Can't compare Orr to Lidstrom, they've played in different eras. Orr basically played the position of a forth forward. This talk about best player ever in hockey does not make any sense, since we have at least 2 very different eras (especially based on the goalies gear and the style of playing ).

[@jarink1]

What made Lidstrom so amazing is how effortless he seemed to make playing the game at such a high level.

[@phillytheflyerable]

@@Trustytomato10 defence wasn't a thing back then

[@arnoldstevenson4427]

Was'nt close to Orr.

[@CodyHeimbach]

Lidstrom's work ethic was just unparalleled.

[@fredrikjonsson8126]

agree only chelios came close

[@Silentkilarz]

We Detroit fans were spoiled with Lids. I can only imagine how stacked our Blue line would have been if Vlad didn't get hurt. That 02 team was the best I've ever seen play in my 32 years. To have Nick and Vlad on that blueline would have been insane.

[@brashearbeer]

Totally agree. We also lost out on Jiri Fischer (not on the same level as Vlad) but I would have loved to see how he could have developed as a player.

[@Silentkilarz]

brashearbeer after Lids our defense has been filled with either horrible luck, or underachievers:/

[@thpisland2423]

Silentkilarz But if Konstantinov was there Chelios might’ve never been a Red Wing

[@chuckh553]

@@thpisland2423 healthy Konstantinov>Chelios

[@Chipotleway]

@@brashearbeer I was so sad for Fischer when his career was ended by that weird heart issue. I remember watching the game when he collapsed on the bench. He was on track to be a beast of a defenseman

[@chrisb8021]

He basically transcended three eras - he came in during the high scoring Gretzky/Lemeiuex years, then the trap era of 94-04, then to the wide-open modern game built around Crosby, Ovi and Malkin. Just an incredible career. Not sure we'll see someone that high level play that long again at that level for awhile.

[@NJungen]

In a swedish documentary about Lidströms career, Kronwall decribes a match when they play pk 5on3 for almost two minutes. Kronwall is so tired that he almost can't get of the ice. When he sits on the bench and trying to catch his breath (or survive as he decribes it) he looks to his right and sees Lidström, who where out there with him on the ice on the 5on3, just sittning there like nothing happened. "The perfect human" summed up.

[@lewisyaworski8962]

Almost like he was a descendant of the old scandivian gods.

[@spicyoctopus]

@@lewisyaworski8962 those new scandinavian gods need more cardio

[@johanf9279]

To be fair, Nick stayed around net more than Kronwall who chased a bit more.

[@felixeur1276]

​Its all about efficiency

[@dukesfan23]

His last year in the NHL at age 42, he was paired with Ian White. White had a career season and after Lidstrom retired White couldn't get back in the lineup and was eventually put on waivers. He was the definition of the player that made players around him better. He also dominated his era more than any defenseman in history including Orr. It's amazing to look at his stats and compare them to any other defenseman that came in the same year he did, no one is even close.

[@stefanconradsson]

Wasn't he jokingly called "the Perfect Human" by teammates?

[@trevwings9438]

Yeah except they weren't joking

[@EVLA8]

Top 10 jokes becoming a reality

[@SuperRyanreed]

They weren't joking...go find footage of lindstrom making a mistake

[@brooke-3615]

Watch Kris Draper speak on his behalf. That tells the whole story.

[@JustaMountainbiker]

Ryan Reed Forsberg sent him for a nutmeg humiliation play once tho

[@LegionOfEclaires]

Greatest defenseman I have ever seen. All you youngsters out there, this is the man you want to really look at. There is so much you can learn from his game..

[@mastershake6292]

No holes in his game. Lids really was the perfect human.

[@kinggoten]

I don't know if I rate him greatest off all time, but for sure the greatest I have ever seen, it is him or Orr off all time and I have never seen Orr play. The one major Case to say Lids is the best of all time is the style of game he played would have worked in any Era and any young D who wants a player to model their game around should watch nothing but Lids highlights.

[@lenkennedy9214]

For me he's #2 behind Ray Bourque but its close.

[@mastershake6292]

@@lenkennedy9214 Nothing wrong with that. Bourque was basically a modern day Bobby Orr.

[@brashearbeer]

Born and raised in Det area. I'm proud Illitch was able to keep Yzerman and Lidstrom for their entire careers. That was quite the run of quality teams during Niks career. I've seen Nik a few times. His 190 lbs was probably with all his gear on too.

[@tinyb4165]

He was rock solid though. Probably only 7-8% body fat. And he was listed at 195-200 lbs. for most of his career.

[@ccaallee]

He also scored the gwg against Finland for that Olympic gold, assisted by Sundin & Forsberg. Great memory

[@SverigeiSverige]

Carl Lindmark yes that was great! Finland really worthy of the silver.

[@veetee355]

Koivu's stick broke on the first faceoff, next Lidström scored. Bad memories

[@DenOndeMister]

It's the perfect goal to sum up a golden generation.

[@jamesthomas4577]

#5 was a HoF'er on and off the ice.👍

[@Iennda]

He was the reason I started liking Red Wings as a kid and I have been a fan since. Nicklas Lidstrom, possibly my most favourite player to ever play the game and I feel like he has to be the most all around respected player ever. Hats off to an amazing career, for which I feel he deserved to win the Norris earlier than he did.

[@JHockeyFan]

Pretty sure he has the longest streak of scoring at least one point in the playoffs. (1992-2011) A legend!

[@jockejocke1]

19 for Lidstrom, Brett Hull and Larry Murphy are closest with 18.

[@ZyXxOmAn]

Greatest Swedish Hockey player ever

[@lenkennedy9214]

...is Mats Sundin. But Lindstrom was great too.

[@trevwings9438]

Len Kennedy Lidstrom is night and day better than sundin lol

[@lenkennedy9214]

Night and day better? So what is better, night or day? Who is night and who is day? This seems like an incomplete sentence. And judging by your name and avatar it seems like you are a hardcore wings fan so you are likely coming from a bias point of view.

[@Rob-vu5gc]

Naw Forsberg

[@sunileddu5847]

I'll go Forsberg, Lidstrom and Sundin as the best Swedes.

[@96FiRE96]

Best all-round D-Man that ever played the game, and my Redwings miss him dearly!

[@soundersfan2443]

Favorite Defender ever, right next to Orr. He is one of the many players who made me love hockey.

[@SparkyKev]

I love that you put 20 red wings magnets up there haha

[@eddiereekie2403]

Please do Yzerman next my all time favourite player

[@snaggiz]

One of the greatest ever. Always leading by example, let his play do the talking and was always a class act both on and off the ice. I miss watching him play, Mr Perfect!

[@chevelle1]

Met him at the Joe, after the 97 cup win. Sincerely a very nice man. I was only 13 years old, but remember it well. And he’s the best defenseman of all time, edges out Bobby Orr in my opinion.

[@tinyb4165]

As a Red Wings fan that saw Orr and Lidstrom play their entire careers, I just have to say that Orr was on a whole different level above Lidstrom. Especially when compared amongst his peers. I only have memories of Doug Harvey's last 5 years or so, but even deep into his career, he was as dominant as any defenseman that played in those years. Just my thoughts.

[@chevelle1]

@@tinyb4165Orr was the best offensive defenseman for sure.

[@twerps1]

@@chevelle1 Exactly, Orr was the greatest Offensive defenseman, Lidstrom the greatest Defensive defensemen. 4 cups, gold medal, 7 Norris wins, Conn Smythe and missed less than 30 games in his career. If I'm a GM, I'd gladly take Lidstrom over Orr and find me some goalscorers to put in front of him.

[@Datsyzerberg]

You should do a Rafalski video Shan. Lidstrom is the only jersey I have, but Rafalski I think is one of the most underrated dmen to play.

[@CArchivist]

Lidstrom had this talent of making his fellow blue linemate great too. Anyone who was ever paired with him, had outstanding seasons. Larry Murphy's career was saved by him. Rouse too. Olausson got really good during the 2002 cup run with him. Coffey was revitalized pairing with him. Dandenault had his best year ever paired with Nick. Nick was such a superstar, he made others even better.

[@danglesnipecelly13]

Dude was unreal! It was pleasure to watch him play his whole career here with the wings! Best defenseman in the modern era. He made defense look easy. Offensively and defensively he was a god. You should have thrown in the +/- stats too. He was a +450 in his career.

[@chrisb1141]

I remember a playoff gam against san jose in 2007. A puck was dumped into the wings corner. Hasek (who sucked then), went to the corner to get the puck. Mike grier takes it from hasek and has a wide open net on a wrap around. Lidstrom CAME OUT OF NOWHERE and dove and made the save!

[@zigfield723]

This is the 2nd best defenseman to ever play the game. He lead Detroit's defense through 2 ERA'S of Stanley cup winning teams.

[@samson2848]

The best defenceman I have ever had the pleasure to watch

[@kakarroto007]

Look how badly Detroit's blue line has fallen apart in Lidstrom's absence. The defense prospects in the pipeline now, is the most hope this city has had in nearly a decade.

[@SverigeiSverige]

Only Chris Chelios has more playoff games than Lidström. 266 vs 263

[@mastershake6292]

To think they played several of those game with each other. Scary defensive tandem.

[@nicholas2583]

Mango Fett They spent 9 seasons together, but the crazy thing is that Chelios was 39 years when he joined the Wings.

[@tinyb4165]

@@mastershake6292 They rarely we're paired together. Only on the PK during Chelios' first years in Detroit.

[@Fishweed]

Well Lidström didnt score cause "Homer" was infront steering most of his pucks... hence so many assists ^_^

[@vank3780]

Wings were definitely spoiled with the swedish Jesus

[@SuperRyanreed]

The perfect human

[@WarioSaysSo]

5# Nicklas Lidstrom aka "The Perfect Man". # 20 NHL seasons - Detroit Red Wings. # 4 Swedish SEL seasons - Vastaras IK # 4-time Stanley Cup Champion: 1997, 1998, 2002 & 2008 + 2 Finals: 1995 & 2009. # Olympic Gold medalist: 2006. # IIHF World Championship Gold medalist: 1991 + Silver 2004 & Bronze 1994. # Conn Smythe Trophy (Play-off MVP): 2002. # 7-time Norris Trophy (Best defenseman): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2011 + Multi time runner up candidate. # 10-time NHL First All-Star Team member: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2011. # 2-time NHL Second All-Star Team member: 2009 & 2010. # 12-time NHL All-Star Game Player: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011. # Olympic All-Star Team: 2006. # Member of the "Triple Gold Club" in 2006. # Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame - 2015. # Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame - 2014. # Introduced into the IIHF All-Time Sweden Team - 2020. # Detroit Red Wings #5 - retired on 6 March 2014. # RECORDS: NHL; - First European-born and trained Norris Trophy winner (2000-01). - First European-born and trained Conn Smythe Trophy winner (2001-02). - Fourth defenceman (and first European-born and trained defenceman) in NHL to win James Norris Memorial Trophy three years running (2001-2003, 2006-2008), and third seven-time Norris Trophy winner. - First European-born and trained captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team (2008). - First European-born and trained defenceman to reach 1,000 points. - Most regular-season games played by a player born in Europe, any position (1,564). - Most regular-season games played by a player in a career spent with only one team (1,564). - Most regular-season wins played in (900). - Most postseason games played with single franchise, career (263) - Most postseason assists by defenceman with single franchise, career (129) - Most postseason points by defenceman with single franchise, career (183) - Highest postseason plus/minus, career (+61) - Most postseason power-play goals by defenceman, career (30) - Most postseason shots on goal with single franchise, career (656) - Oldest player to record his first hat-trick (40 years, 210 days) - Oldest defenceman to record a hat-trick (40 years, 210 days) - Oldest Norris Trophy winner (41 years, 57 days) (2010-2011) - Oldest defenceman to score in a Game 7 (39 years, 364 days) Detroit Red Wings: - Points by a defenceman, season (2005-06, 80). - Assists by a defenceman, season (2005-06, 64). - Postseason goals by a defenceman, career (54). - Post-season power-play goals, career (30). - Power play goals by a defenceman, career (132). - Postseason points by a defenceman, career (183). - Postseason assists, career (129). - Postseason games played, career (263). - Games played by a defenceman, career (1,564). - Goals, assists, and points by a defenceman, career (264, 878, and 1142). - Goals in a single postseason by a defenceman (1998, 6). - Best postseason plus/minus, career (+61). - Best regular season plus/minus, career (+450).

[@SverigeiSverige]

Great video! 👍

[@mcmike6560]

My Home Town Boy! ❤🏒 Västerås Sweden

[@danieldosso2455]

Him and Rafalski were dynamite, probably one of the best Defensive Pairings in the NHL ever

[@Waders27]

Dan Cloutier doesn't like this video

[@gocanuckurself1]

Speaking of scouting today, I LOVE the advancements EA has made in the scouting for NHL 19. It's WAYYYYYYY better and more comprehensive. You don't just scout a region for however long, it's so much more in depth.

[@MrWonderpuppy]

love the video keep up the good work. GO WINGS

[@carparthero]

@The Hockey Guy thanks for putting proper respect on lidstrom's name. a very fair assessment video. as always am appreciating your hard work, legwork to making these videos become reality. cheers and merry christmas from southern ontario 🍁

[@SaunaFinland]

Love this!

[@nolanvernon6667]

GOAT d-man prove me wrong

[@johnfoley9068]

You need to read about his draft scouting. NHL.com did a great piece about it when he was inducted to the HOF. Detroit knew he would be great and were lucky that no one else knew.

[@Philippe8876]

Like alot of poeple of my age he was my favorite player ever. A pure defenseman that almost never does mistake and see the game like no one.

[@silentcapture1994]

I remember watching a wings game against the Coyotes and the Coyotes had a 2 on one, and the announcer said got excited and then was like oh Lidstrom is covering for Detroit never mind..........that pretty much sums it up, lock down D.

[@HayzerGamerz]

Nicklas Lidstrom was a star for the Red Wings. Same with Yzerman

[@GreenGlassFox]

Growing up in the Detroit area makes me biased towards The Perfect Human, but I do think he's the best defenseman of at least the modern era. It's so difficult to compare players who played at different times so I don't like to try, but I think just about anybody with hockey knowledge would have Lidstrom on their short list for 5 best defenseman of all time. I miss his steady and stoic presence on the blue line and his incredible work ethic and impeccable character.

[@trisgilmour]

A true legend

[@johanf9279]

Good recap!

[@tomahboy7]

Smoothest all round defensemen I’ve ever seen.

[@Ikeisahero]

A really nice video loved it !

[@mosesbacke2311]

Lidström always knew who he wanted to be and that was the best defense man in the world. He admired Börje Salming and was educated and started play on the highest level in Sweden in Västerås were there was merited players like Roland Eriksson (Minnesota North Stars, Vancouver Canucks in the NHL, Winnipeg Jets in the WHA) who could tell him about the hockey played in NHL. Carefully keeping in shape, very ambitiously learning the game and always paying attention to personal relations he grew into the role as a superstar of the game. I think he was the best ever, but I'm biased, I grew up in the same town as him, Avesta. When he was 16 years old, his mother was very worried about him going to "the big city" of Västerås to study and play hockey. I hope no one ever told her about the crime rate of Detroit.

[@AJVos-ju9dz]

Hey Shan, I think a video on the career of Vladimir Konstantinov would be interesting. Things like “does he belong in the hall of fame” or “should Detroit retire his number”. A lot of people who played with him said he was on the verge of being an all star, lidstrom said he wasn’t sure who was better between the 2 of them, and Ted Lindsay even said that at the time of his wreck he was the greatest player in the world. With all that being said, I would love to hear your opinion on his career and what you think he would’ve done had he not been in that wreck.

[@hoodpopealmighty3103]

My favorite defenseman of all time (since i been watching hockey 03 season )

[@mohammadibrahimi3316]

An Absolute Class Of A Man !! One Of The Greatest !! #Top3D

[@randomusername.5605]

05-06 He was PPG. Not that many offensive players get ppg totals, letalone defensemen. GOAT

[@tomchamberlain4329]

Lidstrom wasn't a stats player. His main strength was bossing that blue line, just using his positioning to stop the other team even considering passing the puck in his direction. Absolutely the best D man of his era, arguably the best player on the ice for much of his career. Listen to Brett Hull talking about how totally dominant he was

[@Bengha2011]

I´m no Red Wings fans....but you can´t love NHL without loving some of Red Wings players from the past...Yzerman, Lidstrom and Zetterberg....great leaders on and off the ice. Babcock said "No maintenance" about Lids....Lidstrom didn´t possess an ego (like some players today)...he did what was best for the team ALWAYS. Huge fan of Lids...i think he is one of the best player ever (all positions)...and top 2...top 3 defenceman of all times.

[@feastorafamine]

Best defensive player of all time. Positionally superior, rarely took a penalty, gracefully avoided the biggest hitters of the day, and arguably the smartest hockey player ever. The numbers don't lie. There is not a team in the NHL that would have sold the farm for this man. The saying 'He makes it look easy" is accompanied by a picture of Lidstrom

[@thpisland2423]

So Lidstrom's a generational player right?

[@ZyXxOmAn]

THP Island yeah hands down

[@stefanconradsson]

Yeah .. that is a difficult topic .. I would say no, not generational. That list is for me: Orr, Gretz, Lemioux, Crosby .. I do not think Connor McDavid is generational .. at least not yet. So no, not generational .. but others might think differently. He was brilliant though.

[@ZoltanDeluxe]

Peter Grant Please. The best Defenceman in the last 30 years and perhaps the best defenceman ever OF COURSE he is generational player.

[@filipnassen9076]

Of course he’s a gen player.

[@tinyb4165]

@@stefanconradsson Seriously??? If so, you're as fucked in the head, as your namesake was.

[@aswedeingermany753]

One of few NHL stars you can meet very easy. Just go to a Västers game and you probably see him there. I ve done that several times. He is just a ordinary guy. Nice to see that.

[@tinyb4165]

If I remember correctly, "Grapes" constantly complained that he wasn't a physical player, therefore he wasn't a good defenseman. It was MacLean that had to convince him of how positionally great, and his incredible use of his stick actually was before Grapes bought into Lidstrom's abilities. That wasn't until probably around 2002 that he finally came around.

[@tonttaana8930]

Lidström-Coffey and Lidström-Murphy...wow....!!.

[@ozy75]

Yup probably the best I saw start to finish in his career (Bourque was in his 2/3rd year when I started to watch hockey with my dad)

[@borismuller86]

Universally liked. Just like this video.

[@glenngastonjonsson7954]

I absolutely loved that reaction.I would rank swedish trained players: #1Peter Forsberg #2 Börje Salming #3 Niklas Lidström #4 Mats Sundin #5 Håkan Loob.

[@sclemson8541]

perfect human

[@mattiasfucik5014]

He scored the game winning goal for that olympic gold medal too. (Assists by Forsberg and Sundin)

[@joefast5850]

I feel like this just shows how good Erik marked on really is

[@HockeytownGuru]

The best.

[@chrispswann6825]

Lidstrom was drafted 53rd overall in 1989. Sergei Fedorov was drafted 74th in the same draft. So Detroit drafted two future hall of famers in the same draft past the second round. And they drafted Vladimir Konstantinov, Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner and Dallas Drake in the same draft. Give the scouts a good bonus

[@lancemilliken9078]

It's not that Lidstrom was that fantastic at any one thing, but the guy just did not ever make a mistake in any facet of the game

[@kftc1980]

Fantastic at neutralizing opposing players and scoring chances without taking a penalty. That’s what always stood out to me. His lack of physicality actually paid off for him, because it kept him out of the box and off the IR.

[@gocanuckurself1]

Lidstrom

[@lassenikulainen6722]

I have said this before and I will say it again in some point; The greatest skill that athlete can have is a skill to stay healthy. If I did my math right he missed 48 regular season games in his entire career. That averages under 2½ games per season and that is insane stat in hockey.

[@elwizschold]

He's one of the best defencemen ever to play in the NHL, and (in my swedish opinion) the best swede ever to play. 1564 GP (2nd on the list of swedes is Sundin with 1346), 878 assists (2nd is H. Sedin with 830 - and noteworthy is that P. Forsberg had a total of 885 points, so Lidström almost had as many assists as Forsberg had points). Most impressively is that he missed so few games and all of his firsts. Also his +/- och +450 (P. Forsberg is 2nd with +238).

[@tinyb4165]

Not a single mention that he was passed over in the draft as an 18 year old, and didn't get drafted until he was 19.

[@vank3780]

I remember my father saying that Yzerman should be traded after the 95 playoffs. It was pretty awesome to watch that first cup on TV. Lidstrom would still be the best Dman on the Wings today.

[@klompsauce]

GOAT

[@GRChrzak]

It was weird the way the press in the region talked about him for years. He was paired with McCrimmon, which helped his defense. Then they brought in Coffey, so he was going to be a Coffey-clone. Then Vladdy was the talked-about stud, until the Cup win and The Accident. *Then* Lidstrom had his awakening and became The Perfect Human. Interesting story, but I always thought he was great.

[@DavidRuehle]

He averaged one penalty every six games over his career.

[@traviscampbell4623]

Do one for Chris Pronger and Lindros please

[@Gagne87Fixxer]

Most forwards would be more than happy to have Lidstrom’s production. Then again, he was also elite defensively. HHOF

[@jakehobson5023]

"Talking about rookies coming in with poise" Wings have another young rookie defensemen who matches that description too, Moritz Seider. Not saying Seider will be the next Lidstrom, but Seider will be something special in his own way.

[@jimjohnson9808]

Lidstrom was no question the best defenseman in the modern era and also a class act.

[@Tortoiseneckx100]

Him missing like less than 20 games his whole career only getting injured one time (that I remember)shows he is one of the smartest hockey players EVER

[@BvG_Venom]

How far down the list is Niklas? You have Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr as the BIG 3. Howe is usually there too plus guys like Richard and Hull. Why doesn't Lidstrom get some love? Is it because he's not Canadian?

[@danieldosso2455]

He's still within a decade of having retired, people tend to remember the old more so than the new. Give it 20 years maybe and his legendary status might climb

[@whistlerdaver]

99 66 87 11 5 thats my list, left out 4 and 9 cuz they were before my time.

[@danieldosso2455]

All those numbers I know but who's #11?

[@Sp1tzy]

Dope

[@Chipotleway]

Like you said, imagine if Lidstrom played in the 80's. He might have put up 100+ points a season as a defensemen. I was also always amazed by his superhuman endurance. I swear in the playoffs, especially elimination games, he would play 30+ minutes out of 60 minutes. It's pretty easy to make a case for him as the greatest defensemen ever, easily top 3. I'm very confident hockey will never see another Nik Lidstrom

[@TheeRustBucket]

Of course Detroit drafted him in a later round. Detroit is fantastic at later rounds, it's insane. I'll always give them that

[@DillonJayasuriya]

“As the games get important Lidstrom gets better” basically echoing your comments on Edvinsson

[@piggybankvillan]

He is missed dearly in Detroit

[@erikjohnson3434]

Him and Orr that would have been an awesome 1st pair ha, never missed the playoffs

[@Snoil]

Saw his first game at the Joe. Many more after but my Canadian friend was non-plussed with my take that 'wow the Lidstrom kid was never out of position even once.' He didn't think Nick was tough enough. Nick was to defense what Gretzky was to offense in that they both had the ability to read the play a few seconds ahead of everyone else. Took a while for a lot of people to realize that 8>D

[@kevinwasserburger3119]

Never missed the playoffs during his entire 20 season career.

[@HayzerGamerz]

Do a video of The Career of Eric Lindros

[@stevenkmiller]

To say that you'd want him out there as a defensive defenseman at 48 years old says quite a bit.

[@Hexinvir]

I feel like Lidstrom was the best defenceman because he simply never makes mistakes. He was someone you could put out there in ANY situation, and he would excel.

[@Goldeneye3336]

He definitely made mistakes. He just would punish you for making them too and at that, he was asking twice. Lidstrom is good, but he wasn't perfect, no one ever will. Truly the best vision of the game any defensemen has been gifted with (a couple of youngsters will push quite hard this being said, Makar/Hughes are coming in hot).