Nicklas Lidström
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50%Born
1970 (54 years old)
Birth Place
Krylbo, SwedenPosition
Defenceman
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Height
185 cm
Weight
86 kg
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Ice HockeyTeam
_Retired Ice Hockey
2nd Team
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Erik Nicklas Lidström (pronounced ; born 28 April 1970) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings fromm 1991 to 2012, which he captained for the final six seasons of his career. 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 four Stanley Cup championships, seven James Norris Memorial Trophies (awarded to the NHL's top defenceman), one Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player, and was voted into 12 NHL All-Star Games. The Red Wings never missed the playoffs during his career, the longest in league history for a player never missing the playoffs. Lidström was the first European-born-and-trained captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team, as well as the first European player named playoff MVP. Lidström is also the all-time leader in games played with a single NHL team by a European-born player. Lidström was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on 9 November 2015. In 2017, Lidström was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.
Widely considered one of the greatest defencemen of all time, Lidström was awarded the Norris Trophy seven times, a feat matched by only two other players: Doug Harvey and by Bobby 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 the NHL lockout). In his final 16 seasons (beginning in 1995–96), he finished no lower than sixth place in Norris Trophy voting.
Lidström played his entire 20-year NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings, finishing his career with the second-most Stanley Cup playoff games played in NHL history, with 263 appearances (Chris Chelios ranks first with 266). He was a member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams, in 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02 and 2007–08. 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 with Larry Robinson).
Known for his durability, Lidström consistently ranked 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 to become the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to win three straight. In the 2003–04 season, he played in the 1,000th game of his career, having missed only 17 games in 12-and-a-half seasons (1994–95 was shortened to 48 games instead of the usual 82 by a labour dispute).
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 European to ever be awarded the trophy.
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." The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated selected Lidström as the "NHL Player of the Decade."
Prior to his NHL career, Lidström competed in one European Junior Championships in 1988, one World Junior Championship in 1990 and one Canada Cup in 1991 for Sweden.
Prior to his rookie season with the Red Wings, he earned his first gold medal with Sweden at the 1991 World Championships. Three years later, he competed in the 1994 World Championships in Italy and won a bronze medal. Two years later, he participated in the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey (successor of the Canada Cup) and contributed three points in four games. He made his Olympic debut with Sweden at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Four years later was his next international appearance, playing in his second Olympics at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where Sweden was upset by Belarus in the quarter-final after being heavy favourites in the round-robin. Lidström made his third World Championships appearance in 2004, but only appeared in two games. That summer, he also competed in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he scored one goal.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Lidström helped Sweden avenge their quarter-final upset to Belarus in Salt Lake City, scoring the game winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland. In doing so, Lidström became a member of the Triple Gold Club, adding an Olympic gold medal to go with his previous Stanley Cups with Detroit and his World Championship gold medal in 1991. Lidström was also selected to the 2010 Olympic All-Star team.
Lidström also played for Sweden in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, serving as team captain in what would be his final Olympic appearance. Lidström announced his retirement from Olympic competition following Sweden's loss to Slovakia.
Lidström is married to Annika, with whom he has four children. All four sons play high-level hockey: Kevin (born 1994), is currently a defenceman for Swedish Division 1 team SK Lejon; Adam (born 1996) also plays in Division 1 with Enköpings SK; Samuel (born in 2000) plays on J20 SuperElit team VIK Västerås HK; and Lucas (born in 2003) also plays for VIK Västerås HK on its U16 team.
Lidström was featured on an episode of NHL 36.
In October 2019, Lidström released his authorized biography in North America titled Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection.
Career Honours
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Former Senior Teams
1991-2012 |
1991-2010 |
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| Detroit Red Wings | Appearances | NHL | 2005-2006 | 86 |
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| Detroit Red Wings | Assists | NHL | 2005-2006 | 65 |
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| Detroit Red Wings | Goals | NHL | 2005-2006 | 17 |
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| Detroit Red Wings | Points | NHL | 2005-2006 | 82 |
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