Nicklas Lidström

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Position Defence
Shoots Left
Height
Weight		 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
189 lb (86 kg/13 st 7 lb)
NHL Team Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of Sweden Sweden
Born April 28, 1970 (1970-04-28) (age 38),
Västerås, SWE
NHL Draft 53rd overall, 1989
Detroit Red Wings
Pro career 1988 – present

Nicklas Erik Lidström (born April 28, 1970, in Västerås, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman who has played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings, and is currently their team captain. In his 15-year tenure, Lidström has won four Stanley Cups, various NHL trophies and has been voted into ten NHL All-Star Games. To date, he is the only European-born and trained NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup.

Representing Sweden, Lidström won the World Championship in 1991. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Lidström was a major factor in Sweden's win over Finland in the finals, earning him a spot on the Olympic All-Star Team. He also became the 17th member of the Triple Gold Club. The Hockey News selected Lidström as the "Best European-trained player ever in the NHL".[1]

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Lidström in a game against Nashville Predators in 2008.
Lidström in a game against Nashville Predators in 2008.

Lidström is generally considered one of the top NHL defensemen of his era, having won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman three consecutive seasons from 2000–01 to 2002–03 and again in 2005–06 and 2006–07. He has been nominated for the award a total of nine times in the past ten seasons.

As of 2008, Lidström has played all of his fifteen NHL seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. He has been a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams in 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, and 2007–08

Lidström began his career in Avesta, Sweden, playing with Skogsbo SK, before moving on to play with his hometown team Västerås IK of the Swedish Elitserien. 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 the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Lidström joined the team in the 1991–92 NHL season, though he would return to play for Västerås IK for a brief period during the 1994–95 NHL lockout. Lidström scored 60 points in his rookie season, finishing second to only Pavel Bure in voting for that year's Calder Trophy. He was selected to the 1992 NHL All-Rookie Team along with fellow Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov.

Known for his durability, Lidström consistently ranks amongst the top in the NHL in ice time per game. He averaged 28:07 minutes in the 2005–06 season, a career high. He won three consecutive Norris Trophies, from 2001 to 2003, becoming the first defenseman since Bobby Orr to win three straight.[2] In the 2003–04 season, he played in his 1,000th game of his career, having missed only 17 games in 12½ seasons (1994–95 was shortened to 48 games instead of the usual 82 by a labor dispute).[3]

Never a big and bruising defender, many experts say that the secret behind Lidström's consistent game is his ability to read the game; this, combined with his excellent skating ability, allows him to be at the correct spot of the ice at the correct time. Instead of delivering a big body check, Lidström prefers to steal the puck and create a turnover. His reliance on brains rather than brawn might explain his lack of injuries, and also his low penalty minute totals. For most of his NHL career, he has studiously avoided drawing penalties, although the introduction of many new rules in 2005–06 saw him rack up his career high (50) in penalty minutes. The 2005–06 season also brought him his career high of 80 points (16 goals, 64 assists).

In the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lidström was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player during the playoffs, becoming the first-ever European awarded the trophy.[4]

Lidström was set to make $10 million during the 2005–06 season, but because of the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement created in July 2006, salaries on pre-existing contracts were reduced by 24%, which lowered his compensation to $7.6 million.

On 30 June 2006, it was announced that Lidström had signed a two-year, $15.2-million contract with the Red Wings; instead of seeking more money elsewhere—certainly possible for a defenseman of his calibre, especially considering his stellar numbers in the past season—Lidström decided to remain with Detroit for the same annual salary as he earned during the 2005–06 season.[5]

Lidström became an alternate captain of the Red Wings from the 1997–98 season, and was awarded the captaincy after the 2006 retirement of long-time Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman.

In the 1999–2000 NHL season, he led all defensemen in shorthanded goals (4).

On June 14, 2007, Nicklas Lidström joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the League's outstanding defenseman for the fifth time. Lidström becomes the fourth defenseman in League history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins, joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven), and Ray Bourque (five).

On October 8, 2007, in the game against Edmonton Oilers, Lidström became the second-highest scoring Swedish-born NHL player when he set up the Red Wings' first goal, only trailing Mats Sundin.

On December 26, 2007, Lidström signed a contract extension through the 2009–10 NHL season.[6]

On April 3, 2008, against the Phoenix Coyotes, he assisted on Johan Franzen's goal to tie Luc Robitaille at 726 assists to rank 42 all-time at regular season assists.[3]

On June 4, 2008, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nicklas Lidström became the first European-born-and-trained captain to win the Stanley Cup.[7] In 1934, Charlie Gardiner, a goalie born in Scotland and raised in Canada, had captained the Chicago Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup; in 1938, Johnny Gottselig, a left winger born in Russia and raised in Canada, had also captained Chicago to a championship win.

[edit] Awards

  • Gold medal at the 1991 World Championship.
  • Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1992.
  • Stanley Cup champion with Detroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008.
  • Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008.
  • Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
  • Awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007.
  • Awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2002.
  • Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006.
  • Selected on the Olympic All-Star Team in 2006.

[edit] Records

  • First European player in NHL awarded the Norris Trophy (2000–01).
  • First European player in NHL awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy (2001–02).
  • Fourth defenseman in NHL to win James Norris Memorial Trophy three consecutive times (2001–2003).
  • Fourth defenseman in NHL to win James Norris Memorial Trophy five times.
  • Detroit Red Wings' franchise record for points in a season for a defenseman, 2005–06 (80).
  • NHL's 45th player (9th defenseman) to achieve 700 career assists (2007–08).
  • First captain born and trained in Europe to win the Stanley Cup (2008).

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
1988–89 Västerås IK SEL 20 0 2 2 — 4 — — — — — —
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 36 22 11 1 2 3 -5 0
1992–93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 84 7 34 41 7 28 7 1 0 1 -2 0
1993–94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 84 10 46 56 43 26 7 3 2 5 4 0
1994–95 Västerås IK SEL 13 2 10 12 — 4 — — — — — —
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 43 10 16 26 15 6 18 4 12 16 4 8
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 17 50 67 29 20 19 5 9 14 2 10
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 15 42 57 11 30 20 2 6 8 12 2
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 17 42 59 22 18 22 6 13 19 12 8
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 14 43 57 14 14 10 2 9 11 0 4
1999–2000 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 20 53 73 19 18 9 2 4 6 -6 4
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 15 56 71 9 18 6 1 7 8 1 0
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 9 50 59 13 20 23 5 11 16 6 2
2002–03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 18 44 62 40 38 4 0 2 2 -1 0
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 10 28 38 19 18 12 2 5 7 4 4
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 16 64 80 21 50 6 1 1 2 -4 2
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 13 49 62 40 46 18 4 14 18 0 6
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 10 60 70 40 40 22 3 10 13 8 14
SEL totals 110 14 39 53 — 32 6 0 1 1 — 6
NHL totals 1252 212 726 938 378 412 213 42 107 149 35 64

[edit] International play

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Gold 2006 Turin Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver 2004 Team
Bronze 1994 Team
Gold 1991 Team

In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Lidström scored the winning goal for Sweden in the gold medal game against Finland. Lidström is one of the few belonging to the Hockey Triple Gold Club, having been part of teams winning a Stanley Cup, a hockey world championship, and an Olympic gold medal.[8]

In Sweden he is known by his nickname "Lidas" (pronounced "Lii-dass").

Lidström was selected for the 2006 Winter Olympics All-Star Team.

Although born in Sweden, he speaks near perfect English, with no observable Scandinavian accent.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Brian Costello. Lidstrom - No. 1 Euro; No. 2 blueliner of all time. The Hockey News. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  2. ^ Alan Adams (2003). Forsberg, Lidström, Brodeur among the feted. USA Today. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
  3. ^ a b ESPN.com - NHL - Recap - Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.
  4. ^ Kevin Allen (2002). Lidstrom makes history in winning Smythe. USA Today. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
  5. ^ Detroit Red Wings lock up defenseman Nicklas Lidström for two more years. NHL.com. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.
  6. ^ Wings re-sign Lidström through 2009-10. TSN.ca. Retrieved on December 26, 2007.
  7. ^ Lidstrom becomes first European captain to win Stanley Cup. ESPN (2008-06-05). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  8. ^ Andrew Podnieks. Sweden ranked #1 in men's; Canada #1 in women's, Niittymaki MVP. IIHF.com. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Patrick Roy		 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
2002		 Succeeded by
Jean-Sébastien Giguère
Preceded by
Chris Pronger		 Norris Trophy Winner
2001, 2002, 2003		 Succeeded by
Scott Niedermayer
Preceded by
Scott Niedermayer		 Norris Trophy Winner
2006, 2007		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Steve Yzerman		 Detroit Red Wings captains
2006 – present		 Incumbent