RANGA+ 1,210 Posted June 1, 2012 DETROIT -- It was hard to believe, even with Nicklas Lidstrom speaking the words himself. The guy the Detroit Red Wings nicknamed "The Perfect Human" -- their captain for the past six seasons and a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible -- is officially hanging up his winged wheel sweater and retiring after 20 remarkable seasons in the Motor City. "Retiring today allows me to walk away from the game with pride, rather than have the game walk away from me," Lidstrom said with reddened eyes during a Thursday morning news conference at Joe Louis Arena's Olympia room. In attendance with a large contingent of media were coach Mike Babcock, GM Ken Holland, Lidstrom's family, Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and several current and former teammates. While Lidstrom never fully broke down at the podium, there weren't many dry eyes watching him speak. "Looking around, you can see it's one of the most emotional days in Red Wings history," Ilitch said. "Nick has been the Rock of Gibraltar [for us]." The rock isn't wavering on his retirement, either -- despite teammates hoping for a change of heart even as they drove to the arena. "I'm completely comfortable with this decision," Lidstrom said. "It's not that the tank is completely empty. It's just that I don't have enough to carry through every day to play at the high level I want to play at. I can't cheat myself." Lidstrom, who turned 42 on April 28, helped the Red Wings win four Stanley Cups and seven times was awarded the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. He also played in a whopping 1,564 regular-season games in his NHL career to put him second behind only Gordie Howe on Detroit's all-time list and piled up 1,142 points -- fourth-most in franchise history -- with 264 goals and 878 assists. His plus-450 career rating ranks eighth in League history and nearly equals the paltry 514 minutes he spent in the penalty box. And yet, his career numbers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are just as impressive. No other Red Wings player appeared in more postseason games (263), as he never missed the playoffs. He also scored 54 goals to go with 129 assists for a total of 183 career playoff points and finished with a sterling plus-61 rating. "Seven Norris Trophies, that's not by accident," Babcock said. "He's just that good. We're going to miss having him. Someone else is going to get an opportunity, but you're not replacing Nick Lidstrom. That just doesn't happen. Scotty [bowman] told me this morning the two guys he coached that affected the game the most were Nick Lidstrom and Doug Harvey, and said the game was way different in those days -- but they always made the right decision and made no mistakes. [They] passed the puck to the right guy." .... Link to rest of article: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=633292&navid=DL|NHL|home Sad to see him finally hang up the skates, but a wholehearted congrats to the guy. He's had one of the most illustrious careers in NHL history and will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest players of all time. Will take a while for me personally to get used to it...ever since I started following the Wings, Lidstrom has been there on the blueline, never giving up an inch. I think I can count on my hand the number of times I saw him make a mistake on the ice. He was as close to flawless in his technique as anyone to play the game. Not only that, but he was an incredible role model and always lead by example on and off the ice. You'll be missed Liddy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bay 2,003 Posted June 1, 2012 Fair well to a great one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BucD+ 648 Posted June 1, 2012 As I said in the Shoutbox.... Legend status. Some referred to him as the perfect human. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted June 1, 2012 One of my favorite hockey players of all time. What a career. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Turry 755 Posted June 1, 2012 Depends who you talk too he is either #1 #2 or #3 when its come to best defenseman ever. Guy was pure class. Good luck to him with his future ambitions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RANGA+ 1,210 Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) Depends who you talk too he is either #1 #2 or #3 when its come to best defenseman ever. Guy was pure class. Good luck to him with his future ambitions. Personally I'd put Orr at #1 and Lidstrom at a close #1a. Liddy's 4 Stanley Cup rings, 7 Norris trophies and the fact that he NEVER missed the playoffs in twenty seasons is a testament to not only his unique skill but also his longevity and ability to effectively adapt to the quicker and more offense-orientated NHL that emerged in his later years Orr gets a slight edge because he pioneered the position of a puck-moving defenseman and was a record-setting machine. But as an overall player and person, I'd take Lidstrom over anyone else that's ever stepped on the ice. Edited June 2, 2012 by RANGA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
