[Deuce]

End of an era. Fukk me.

[a4u2fear]

One awesome and classy dude. Detroit to begin fading away?

[Deuce]

One awesome and classy dude. Detroit to begin fading away?

Perfect human.

No, lots of cash, cap room, solid URA's.

[Deuce]

[PuckOff]

what's a URA Douche?

[Deuce]

Un restricted FA you fukk

[mathdotcom]

Fade the Wings . com

[boeing power]

Farewell Lidstrom

Second best defenseman to ever lace up the skates.

[Deuce]

Fade the Wings . com

You've gone corking lately?

Depends on who they land.

[Deuce]

Mathy, Kenny Holland's facial expressions in every pic says it all, pal. He is terrified.

Look at Babs, "You mother fukker, why the fukk are you doing this to me???"

[boeing power]

His wife's a Milf too.

[aznbluff]

Nick's a legend, but he was barely a top 20 defenseman this season, if even that; his loss isn't going to be as big as people think it is. If they land Suter this offseason, it will be an upgrade over Lidstrom at this point. The heart of that team is Datsyuk and has been for the last 2-3 seasons now. Howard, obviously, has a bigger impact than Lidstrom as well and his progression to being an average to above average starting goalie in the league is important to the Red Wings remaining competitive.

[Deuce]

Nick's a legend, but he was barely a top 20 defenseman this season, if even that; his loss isn't going to be as big as people think it is. If they land Suter this offseason, it will be an upgrade over Lidstrom at this point. The heart of that team is Datsyuk and has been for the last 2-3 seasons now. Howard, obviously, has a bigger impact than Lidstrom as well and his progression to being an average to above average starting goalie in the league is important to the Red Wings remaining competitive.

Lidstrom was much more to the team than just the best guy on the blueline. He is a leader, the face of the franchise, strong image for the community and what the organization represents. He is a mentor and his grace and poise teaches not only defensemen in the organization but also those in the farm system and beyond how a true professional should conduct themselves. There is a reason he is called the perfect human. I encourage you to watch his press conference and notice how much of a class act and legend this guy truly is.

[Deuce]

Fukkkkkkkkkk

Gonna miss this guy.

[PuckOff]

Un restricted FA you fukk

It's UFA not URA you fukk. You should know this Douche. Shame on you ya former wannabe Windsor Ontario Tier II junior hockey player.

[Deuce]

It's UFA not URA you fukk. You should know this Douche. Shame on you ya former wannabe Windsor Ontario Tier II junior hockey player.

I was on the road. Cut me some slack you dikk.

[PuckOff]

ok buddy. Douche, I have to talk to you on the phone soon.

[lunchbawks]

wings will be fine without him

[aznbluff]

Lidstrom was much more to the team than just the best guy on the blueline. He is a leader, the face of the franchise, strong image for the community and what the organization represents. He is a mentor and his grace and poise teaches not only defensemen in the organization but also those in the farm system and beyond how a true professional should conduct themselves. There is a reason he is called the perfect human. I encourage you to watch his press conference and notice how much of a class act and legend this guy truly is.

Im well aware. They will miss his presence as a person for sure. But he's replacable as a player at this point.

[Deuce]

Viktor Stalberg, Chicago Blackhawks,@VStalberg
"Seems like it will be a bit easier to play vs the wings next year. What a career he's had! One of the all time greats #5"
Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks,@camfowler4
"I want to wish a happy retirement to Nick Lidstrom, my idol growing up and the classiest act in the game. What a great career"
Michael Del Zotto, New York Rangers,@MichaelDelZotto
"What a career for Lidstrom. Bobby Orr and him top 2 defenseman to play. #classact #morepatiencethanahospital"
Dustin Penner, Los Angeles Kings,@Dustinpenner25
"Grattis till Nick Lidstrom på en första omröstning hall of fame karriär. Det var en ära att jaga du runt isen och aldrig fånga du #legend"

Translation: "Congratulations to Nick Lidstrom on a first-ballot HOF career. It was an honor to chase you around the rink, and never catch you."
Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver Canucks, @KBieksa3
"Congrats to Nick Lidstrom on a great career. Made the game look way too easy. Fun to watch even from the bench..."
John Carlson, Washington Capitals @JohnCarlson74
"Sad to see Nick Lidstrom retire. One of the games all time greats on and off the ice. A guy that everyone can learn from."
Carl Gunnarsson, Toronto Maple Leafs @carl_gun
"Sad day for all hockey lovers with Lidstrom announcing his retirement. Amazing career by the big #5 He will be missed #legend#thebest"
Nathan Gerbe, Buffalo Sabres, @NathanGerbe42
"Sad to see nick retire. Definitely one of my favorites. One of the best role models for any player. Congrats on a great career. #staygreat"
Zach Bogosian, Winnipeg Jets, @Bogogo_44
"Congrats to Nicklas Lidstrom for a great career. One of the best to play the game. #gentleman #NHL #Halfclapper"
Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames, @mbacklund11
"Thnx for all the great memories you've been giving to all Swedish hockeyfans. Good luck in your new life. #BestD-ManEver? #NicklasLidström"
Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks, @Logancouture
"Not many athletes can retire while still being one of the best players in the game. Congrats to Nick Lidstrom on a great career."
Paul Bissonnette, Phoenix Coyotes, @BizNasty2point0
"Lidstrom retiring is the worst thing to happen to Detroit since the colapse of the auto industry. #Lidstrom"
Steven Kampfer, Minnnesota Wild, @SteveKampfer47
"Nick Lidstrom was the reason I wore #5 growing up and have wanted to wear it ever since."
"Hard to imagine watching the Red Wings without Lidstrom. Guy was my idol and still is as a player and person.#playedthegamethebestway"
James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia Flyers @JVReemer21
"On and off the ice #classy #HOF #alltimegreat"
"Congrats to Nick Lidstrom on an incredible career, was a huge thrill to take the ice against him. Was amazing to watch how he carried himself"
Ian Laperriere, Philadelphia Flyers, @dooda1414
"OMG. Nick Lidstrom can put on a retirement speech. Great player / winner"
Patrick Dwyer, Carolina Hurricanes, @pattydwyer39
"Congratulations on a great career Nick Lidstrom. He was the class of the league. #oneofthebest #legend"
Ryan Whitney, Edmonton Oilers, @ryanwhitney6
"Lidstrom was a guy every player caught themselves watching in awe mid game. Game's not supposed to be that easy. Was an honor playing vs him"
David Moss, Calgary Flames, @djmoss25
"Had the privilege of growing up watching and playing against Nick Lidstrom #OneOfTheBest #ClassAct"
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues, @shattdeuces
"Congratulation to Nick Lidstrom on a legendary career. He is the true definition of a role model and it was an honor to play against him"
Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers, @j_markstrom
"Lidstrom retires after 20 @NHL seasons and showing the way for other swedes! one of the best of all time, proud to be a Swede! thank you"
Scottie Upshall, Florida Panthers, @ScottieUpshall
"Congrats Nicklas Lindstrom 'Norris' on a stellar NHL career. Easy to say our lives as forwards in the Joe will be much easier now"
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks, @b_ryan9
"I won't miss ya Nick, you're a nightmare to matchup with! But congrats on an incredible career! The game will miss you!"
Luke Adam, Buffalo Sabres, @LukeJAdam
"What an amazing career for number 5! Growing up a Redwings fan it was a honor to have played a game vs one of the best to ever play! #HOFer"
Devante Smith-Pelly, Anaheim Ducks, @smithpelly23
"What a career. Was an honour sharing the ice with Nicklas Lidstrom aka watching from the bench #HoF #congrats"
Matt Carle, Philadelphia Flyers, @mattcarle25
"Not much needs to be said about Nick Lidstrom, one of the best to ever play...often imitated, never even close to being duplicated #HOF"
Zach Bogosian, Winnipeg Jets, @Bogogo_44
"Nick Lidstrom says he's not at his level anymore and is retiring. Everyone now has a chance out there.Every right winger in the #NHL is happy"
Shane O'Brien, Colorado Avalanche, @ShaneOBrien55
"Congrats to Nick Lidstrom on his legendary career. He made it look so easy ever night out there and believe me it's not.. #ClassAct"
Matt Moulson, New York Islanders, @MMoulson
"Still remember my first game against #RedWings ... @teddypurcell16 and I stared at Lidstrom all warm up..great career and a class act"

[benandjerry]

Absolute legend, and a class act. We've been fortunate to have been able to see him play so great for so long. Not enough superlatives to describe him as a player (or person off the ice for that matter). Top 5 D in history easily.

Im well aware. They will miss his presence as a person for sure. But he's replacable as a player at this point.

I definitely think they'll see a bit of a drop off due to his retirement, but I also think we've seen a part of it already from 08-09 ish. People talk about Z's decline (as well as Dats to some extent), and while Z definitely isnt performing as in 08, I actually think Lids regression might have an even bigger impact. While he's still been a very very good D the past couple of seasons, he just hasnt been perfect which we've been used to seeing for so long, that little step he lost just couldnt be made up for despite his amazing hockey IQ (still amazing performance given his age though).

Even if they land Suter this off season, as good as he is, I dont think they'll be able to "replace" (current post prime) Lidstrom. The Wings built their game around Lidstrom, no other D in the league posseses that skillset, the skills were still there despite his body aging. He's been logging almost half the game on nightly basis for two decades. In my opinion, and its just my opinion, its going to take more than a single D-man to replace him... more parts and tweaking of the way they play the game.

[hockey216]

Lidstrom is a hall of famer. Bobby Orr. Ray Borque. Paul Coffey. Lidstrom is an all-time great defenseman. He belongs in the hall of fame. I enjoyed watching him play hockey.

but if he weren't retiring... I'd still rather have Zdeno Chara on my team next year.

[Deuce]

Fukking legend. Very few on the Earth like this man.

[hockey216]

Lidstrom belongs in the hall of fame.

Dominik Hasek belongs in the hall of fame too.

[MendozaLine]

Why don't you sukk the guy off while you're at it, Deuce.

Fukk me, confused you with Zeta.

Sorry Deuce.

[The Kraken]

Don't watch Hockey ever. Has this guy ever won a championship?

[darrell74]

wings will be fine without him

Not necessarily

that division is getting meaner


But then again, the pundits were burying the Wings when the Salary Cap hit after the lockout

[ZetaPsi808]

wow this guy won 4 rings in 20 years.

he sounds like the derek jeter of hockey

same type of first class citizen too

[aznbluff]

People underrate the impact of a defenseman in hockey, since all the headlines and all the commercials go to "star" point producing forwards. Nick Lidstrom was the best player of his generation. The success of his team is a testament to that. I believe Detroit missed the playoffs the year before they drafted him, then have not ever been out of them the last 20 years, winning multiple championships along the way.

However, Lidstrom hasn't been dominant (top 5ish) at his position for a few years now. He won the Norris last year (an absolute joke) with the worst year of his career purely on reputation. He was very average at times, while being good at others. His smarts, positioning, and first pass are all still there obviously. That's not something you lose with age. But when push came to shove, he wasn't on the ice for the tough minutes, the quality minutes that he was leaned so heavily on for in seasons past. He was surpassed by both Kronwall, Stuart, (even) Ericsson in a PK role, and had his load reduced at ES as well. He is still great on the PP, as are most older point producers (Selanne, Jagr, Whitney, etc) since you don't need to move around and they are the softest minutes you can give a player.

He's good, but Suter will be an upgrade on him at this point in every facet of the game (I mean this quite literally). I recognize that Nick was the best of his generation, but also that the game is about to pass him by, and has been on that road for more than a few seasons now. The more irreplaceable test for Detroit will come when Datsyuk leaves at the end of his contract (he has stated that he wants to end his career in Russia).

[darrell74]

wow this guy won 4 rings in 20 years.

he sounds like the derek jeter of hockey

same type of first class citizen too

That's about right.
The Red Wings had 2 guys like that-other one was Steve Yzerman.

When Yzerman was way past his peak, it was said that he was the glue of the locker room

Realistically, I think Jeetz might get a little more love if he can finish (his career) strong

[benandjerry]

People underrate the impact of a defenseman in hockey, since all the headlines and all the commercials go to "star" point producing forwards. Nick Lidstrom was the best player of his generation. The success of his team is a testament to that. I believe Detroit missed the playoffs the year before they drafted him, then have not ever been out of them the last 20 years, winning multiple championships along the way.

However, Lidstrom hasn't been dominant (top 5ish) at his position for a few years now. He won the Norris last year (an absolute joke) with the worst year of his career purely on reputation. He was very average at times, while being good at others. His smarts, positioning, and first pass are all still there obviously. That's not something you lose with age. But when push came to shove, he wasn't on the ice for the tough minutes, the quality minutes that he was leaned so heavily on for in seasons past. He was surpassed by both Kronwall, Stuart, (even) Ericsson in a PK role, and had his load reduced at ES as well. He is still great on the PP, as are most older point producers (Selanne, Jagr, Whitney, etc) since you don't need to move around and they are the softest minutes you can give a player.

He's good, but Suter will be an upgrade on him at this point in every facet of the game (I mean this quite literally). I recognize that Nick was the best of his generation, but also that the game is about to pass him by, and has been on that road for more than a few seasons now. The more irreplaceable test for Detroit will come when Datsyuk leaves at the end of his contract (he has stated that he wants to end his career in Russia).

While I agree that he most likely won last years Norris on reputation, there was no clear cut winner. Chara might have been most deserving, but imo Lidstrom should've won the 2009 one over Chara so it evened out (he was robbed in the late 90s where others won on rep, just how it goes...).

I definitely agree with you that he has regressed over the past couple of seasons, and he wasnt used to the same extent he used to be in the toughest situations. Most notably, on the PK, he just looked too slow at times. Despite that he was being used sparingly in some critical situations compared to what we're used to seeing, in the 2010/2011 season, which was his worst (according to you), he still had the [I]highest QoC of anyone in the league[7I] (that played more than 10 games), so to say that he wasnt on the ice for tough minutes is a bit misleading.

I also disagree that Suter will be an upgrade in every facet of the game.

[aznbluff]

His zone starts were very soft. Among the top 20 easiest jobs in the league on defense. So while he did play against the other team's top players, he did so from an offensive standpoint, not a defensive one. His 57.1% Ozone start places him around the company of players like Slava Voynov, Erik Karlsson, Matt Niskanen, Joe Corvo, etc. Basically offensive defensemen. In the past, Babcock and Bowman used him in a true #1's role where his zone starts were about 50/50 or even 45/55, which is where the truly elite defensive defensemen reside.

[benandjerry]

His zone starts were very soft. Among the top 20 easiest jobs in the league on defense. So while he did play against the other team's top players, he did so from an offensive standpoint, not a defensive one. His 57.1% Ozone start places him around the company of players like Slava Voynov, Erik Karlsson, Matt Niskanen, Joe Corvo, etc. Basically offensive defensemen. In the past, Babcock and Bowman used him in a true #1's role where his zone starts were about 50/50 or even 45/55, which is where the truly elite defensive defensemen reside.

As I said, I completely agree that he's regressed, and mostly in the defensive end just as you're saying (in which part he might have been the best in the history of the game). And they have definitely been protecting him to some extent, by often starting him in the offensive zone, having his partner doing more and more of the board work in the defensive zone, less PK time etc, but its not like he's on for an offensive zone faceoff and then heads straight to the bench as the transition is about to happen. To say that he was only playing soft minutes is an exaggeration in my eyes. Ericsson also only passed him this season in PK ice time, I'm not sure how it was prior to Lidstroms injury which kept him out for 12? games and prevented him to play any more time on the PK for the remainder of the season, but I'm guessing Ericsson might have been ahead already at that point.

I think we agree on the most part, that he's definitely regressed over the past few seasons, and quite a bit at that, but we just disagree on to what extent. He's been in the Norris discussion for the past few seasons, and rightfully so (apart from this most recent season, maybe up until the injury...), at least he should have been in the discussion for being nominated. While the 2011 win might have been undeserved, he was still 2nd in scoring and had quite a point adv over both Weber and Chara. Saying he hasnt been top 5 ish for a few years is really selling him short, but we're just going to have to agree to disagree on that part.

[TheMoneyShot]

Lidstrom left at the perfect time. He's a smart guy. This year was pretty bad. He lost a step... battled an injury. I'd rather walk out as a hero than become a zero.

Has a smart mind for the game... sometimes the brain doesn't tell the body as quickly what to do like it use to in some situations. Life goes on. Hell of a career. I was in high school when he played his first game. God Bless Him. A lot of memories.

[aznbluff]

Agreed benandjerry, the point I'm trying to make is that Lidstrom now has a much easier role than he did in prior years. He still excels in this role, which is why I will still concede he's in the top 20, top 30 range for defencemen in the league, but in his prime he had one of the toughest jobs in the league, while still excelling in that role as well.

It's very similar to Datsyuk's current role on the team from a forward perspective. I would think less of him if he was given the roles of the other "star" players around the league and given the soft offensive minutes with the strongest winger set available to help him. Instead, Babcock uses him as a safeguard and tries to match him up against the other team's best line, giving him a relatively weak winger set and tough zone starts so that lines 2-4 can all have an easier job. That's what I want from my #1 defender as well and that's what I consider a true #1 to be.

An analogy to Lidstrom's role/ability in his prime versus now would be the current St. Louis Blues roster. I'm not sure how familiar with them you are but Lidstrom in his prime was used as Pietrangelo is currently for them. Lidstrom today is used in the role that Shattenkirk fills for them currently. If you look at Shattenkirk's numbers from this season, they are not too far off of Petro's but there is a big gap in the importance of the two to the team. It comes from the quality of minutes (basically the #1 should be eating up the worst minutes on the team, giving the rest of his team a lighter load to carry at the expense of his own statistics/energy).

I just don't feel Lidstrom is capable of this anymore. Part of this is the development of younger players too. Lidstrom doesn't need to really PK as much because Ericsson has grown into a more than capable PKer, etc. But Lidstrom in his prime would be PKing over anyone on the current Wings roster still as well, etc so it's a trade off. He's definitely declined in that area but the emergence and development of other players has helped to negate the effects.

These are all reasons why I don't think that a player like Erik Karlsson is even a top 15, top 20 defenseman. The roles are completely reversed in that situation. The whole Ottawa Dcore works for him, they sacrifice their zone starts, their statistics, their offensive minutes so that they can give it all to him, hence his amazing numbers this year. He's paired with their best LD and put in an offensive role, with their top forward unit on the ice as well. If Ottawa want to be a playoff team next year (they fluked in this year due to a terrible Eastern Conference) then Karlsson is going to have to improve his game and round it out so he can take some of the load off that Dcore. I seriously have my doubts he can.