Nick Lidstrom

Nick Lidstrom say Goodbye

Nicklas Erik Lidström (born April 28, 1970) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockeydefenceman who played his entire 20-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings, captaining the Red Wings for the final six seasons of his career.

Lidstrom is often referred to as Mr. Perfect or The Perfect Human.[1] [2] Over his 20 NHL seasons, Lidström won four Stanley Cups, seven James Norris Memorial Trophies as the NHL's best defenseman, one Conn Smythe Trophyas the playoff MVP, and has been voted into twelve NHL All-Star Games. Over the course of his career, Lidström became the first European-born and trained NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup,[3] as well as the first European player named playoff MVP. Lidström is also the all-time leader in games played with only one NHL team and by a European-born player. Lidström never missed the postseason in any of his 20 NHL seasons.

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, scoring the gold medal clinching goal, thus 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".[4] The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated selected Lidström as the "NHL Player of the Decade".[5] [6]

Nicklas Lidstrom Retirement On May 31, 2012, Lidström announced his retirement from the NHL. The night before, he told the Swedish tabloid Expressen “I came to the decision last week and I informed our general manager Ken Holland”.[24] Discussing Lidstrom's retirement, former teammate Steve Yzerman described Lidstrom as "one of the all-time best defensemen to ever play".[25] Paul Coffey said "he was an incredible player"[26] whilst 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.".[24] Washington Capitals defenceman John Carlson described Lidstrom as "one of the game's all time greats on and off the ice".[24] Ken Holland stated his belief that Lidstrom was "the most valuable player of his era".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1em;">[27