Widely considered one of the greatest defencemen of all time, Lidström was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy seven times, a feat matched by only one other player (
Doug Harvey) and exceeded only by
Bobby Orr (who won the trophy eight times). Lidström was nominated for the Norris a total of 12 times in his last 14 seasons in the NHL, the first three times finishing as the runner-up (1998 to 2000), and won the award in seven of his last ten (
2004–05 had no winner due to the
NHL lockout), including three consecutive awards from 2001 to 2003 to become the first defenceman since Orr to win three straight. In his final 16 seasons (beginning in
1995–96), he finished no lower than sixth place in Norris Trophy voting. Lidström was also named to twelve NHL All-Star Teams, including ten First Team and two Second Team selections. 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. In the
2003–04 season, he played in the 1,000th game of his career, having missed only 17 games in seasons (1994–95 was shortened to 48 games instead of the usual 82 by a labour dispute). At the conclusion of the
2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lidström was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the postseason, becoming the first European to ever be awarded the honor.
Early career Lidström began his career in
Avesta, Sweden, playing with Skogsbo SK, before moving on to play with
VIK Västerås HK of the Swedish
Elitserien. In three seasons with the team, he played in 103 games, scoring 12 goals and 30 assists.
NHL career (1991–2012) was his first season as captain of the Red Wings Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 53rd overall in the
1989 NHL entry draft, Lidström joined the team in the
1991–92 season, though he returned 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
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 defenceman
Vladimir Konstantinov. Lidström was set to make $10 million during the
2005–06 season. However, due to the new terms of the
NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement that was implemented during the 2004–05 season, salaries on pre-existing contracts were reduced by 24%, which lowered his compensation to $7.6 million. That season, he posted a career-high 64 assists and 16 goals to for 80 points. On 30 June 2006, it was announced that Lidström had signed a two-year, $15.2 million contract extension with the Red Wings. Instead of seeking more money elsewhere for a defenceman of his caliber, Lidström decided to remain with Detroit for the same annual salary as he earned during the 2005–06 season. Lidström had been an alternate
captain of the Red Wings since the 1997–98 season. Long-time Red Wings captain
Steve Yzerman retired after Detroit was eliminated in the
first round, despite winning the
President's Trophy for the season, by the eventual Western Conference champion
Edmonton Oilers in six games. To replace Yzerman, Lidström was named captain, an honor made more special by the fact that he became the first European captain in franchise history. In his first year of captaincy, Lidström led the Red Wings to the Western Conference Finals, but lost to eventual Stanley Cup champions, the
Anaheim Ducks, in six games. In the off-season, Lidström joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the NHL's outstanding defenceman for the fifth time. Lidström became the fourth defenceman in NHL history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins, joining
Hockey Hall of Famers Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven) and
Ray Bourque (five). Near the beginning of the
2007–08 season, in an 8 October win against the
Edmonton Oilers, Lidström registered two assists to surpass
Peter Forsberg as the second-highest scoring Swedish-born NHL player of all time. Accordingly, he trails only
Mats Sundin (as of the end of the
2011–12 season, Lidström has 1,142 points to Sundin's 1,349). Later in the season, on 26 December, Lidström signed a contract extension through the
2009–10 season. Several months later, on 3 April 2008, he assisted on a goal by
Johan Franzén to tie
Luc Robitaille at 42nd in the all-time NHL assists, with 726. Just over one week after winning his fourth Stanley Cup in 11 seasons, on 12 June, Lidström won the Norris Trophy for the third-straight season and the sixth time in seven seasons. As the Red Wings opened the
2008–09 pre-season against the
Montreal Canadiens, Lidström suffered a
broken nose as a shot from Canadiens forward
Chris Higgins ricocheted and hit him in the face. From then on, he began wearing a visor. He returned in time for the regular season and was selected to the
2009 NHL All-Star Game in
Montreal. However, in the midst of dealing with
tendinitis that had been bothering him all season, Lidström chose to sit out All-Star weekend, along with teammate
Pavel Datsyuk. Consequently, Lidström and Datsyuk were both suspended one game by the NHL due to League policy for missing the All-Star Game without significant injury. On 22 May, in Game 3 of the third round of the
2009 playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks, Lidström suffered a testicle injury as a result of getting speared in the groin area by Blackhawks' winger
Patrick Sharp, requiring surgery to remove the damaged testicle. He would miss the last two games of the series, which the Red Wings would win in five games for a second consecutive appearance, as the defending champions, in the
Stanley Cup Final, which was a rematch of the previous year's final against the Penguins. Lidström was able to return in time for the series which was his second consecutive and second consecutive overall, and sixth appearance altogether, in a Cup Final. However, unlike the previous year, the Red Wings would lose the series in seven games, despite having a 3–2 series lead, which meant two chances to win, the first in Pittsburgh again like in the previous year's Game 6, and Game 7 in Detroit, which prevented him from a second consecutive Stanley Cup for the second time in his career and fifth Stanley Cup altogether. Lidström was unable to tie Game 7 and sent it into overtime despite having the puck with an open net with seconds left after Penguins goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury leapt just in time to block the shot. The Red Wings opened the
2009–10 season in
Stockholm, Sweden. During the team's trip in Sweden, Lidström was honored by his home county,
Dalarna, as an Ambassador of Honor. On 15 October 2009, in a game against the
Los Angeles Kings, Lidström became the first European-born defenceman to reach 1,000 points after recording two assists in the game. He is the fourth player to score 1,000 points as a Red Wing (after
Gordie Howe,
Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman), and the eighth defenceman to do so in the history of the NHL. On 5 March 2010, Lidström earned his 800th career assist. Also during the 2009–10 season, Lidström played in his 1,395th game (finishing the season with 1,412), setting an all-time record for NHL games played by a player born in Europe; earlier in the season, Lidström had passed
Teppo Numminen for games played by a player trained in Europe. Lidström is also second all-time in games played in a Red Wing uniform, behind only Howe. Despite the team under performing due to key injuries to key players, especially at the beginning of the season, the team was still able to make the
Stanley Cup playoffs. On 23 April, Lidström played in his 237th career playoff game, moving past
Mark Messier into sole possession of third place on the NHL's all-time list, behind goaltender;
Patrick Roy with 247, and former teammate
Chris Chelios in first with 266. In the same game, he had an assist to tie
Al MacInnis (121) for the third-most assists in the post-season by a defenceman (Ray Bourque 139;
Paul Coffey 137). On 27 April, a day before his 40th birthday, Lidström had three points in a Game 7 win over the
Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the
2010 playoffs, pushing his active playoff points lead to 171 points, and tying him for 17th on the all-time playoff points list with fellow countryman
Peter Forsberg. After defeating the Coyotes in game seven to take the series in seven games, the Red Wings would go on to lose in the second round in five games against the San Jose Sharks. As of the end of the 2009–10 season, Lidström has missed only 28 of a possible 1,440 regular-season team games (one due to suspension). After contemplating retirement, Lidström agreed on a one-year contract with the Red Wings on 1 June 2010; the contract paid him slightly over $6 million. On 15 December 2010, Lidström recorded his first career hat-trick, at 40 years of age, against the
St. Louis Blues, sealing a 5–2 Detroit victory. After the game, he was asked how it feels to score his first hat-trick, responding, "It feels great, I've never in my life been able to notch three goals in a game." The hat-trick made him the oldest player in NHL history to record his first hat-trick (previously held by
Scott Mellanby at 36 years of age), and the oldest defenceman in NHL history to record a hat-trick (previously held by
Mathieu Schneider at 37 years of age). On 18 January 2011, Lidström was named a team captain in the
2011 NHL All-Star Game in
Raleigh, North Carolina. His team won by a final score of 11–10 over Team Staal, captained by
Eric Staal of the
Carolina Hurricanes. Lidström finished +7 with one assist. On 20 June 2011, after briefly contemplating retirement yet again, Lidström signed a one-year contract after being happy with his proformance during the previous season (he finished however with a minus -2 plus/minus rating, the first and only time he finished a season with a minus rating) given his age at the time, worth $6.2 million with Detroit, the same amount he had been paid the previous season. On 23 June 2011, he won his seventh Norris Trophy, tying with Doug Harvey and remaining one behind Bobby Orr for most Norris Trophies. This was only the third time in history that a player with a negative plus/minus rating managed to win a Norris Trophy. On 22 October 2011, in a game against the
Washington Capitals, Lidström became the 14th player in the history of the NHL to play 1,500 games. He is the first player not being born in North America, and therefore the first Swedish and European player, as well as the first player to accomplish this in his 20th NHL season. Lidström played in his 1,550th game on 12 February 2012, against the
Philadelphia Flyers, surpassing Alex Delvecchio's previous Red Wing record of 1,549 games. This also makes him the NHL player who has played the most games while always playing for the same NHL team (Gordie Howe played more games, 1,687, with the Red Wings, but also played for the
Hartford Whalers for one season). In this regard, Lidström joins former Red Wings Alex Delvecchio and former teammate and captain Steve Yzerman as the only three players with over 1,500 games having played exclusively for just one team throughout their careers.
Retirement On 31 May 2012, Lidström announced his retirement from the NHL via a press conference with Red Wings Owner
Mike Ilitch and General Manager
Ken Holland present, after finishing the season with his lowest point total in a full season in his career. The night before, he told the Swedish tabloid
Expressen, "I came to the decision last week and I informed our general manager, Ken Holland." Discussing Lidström's retirement, former teammate Steve Yzerman described Lidström as "one of the all-time best defencemen to ever play." Former teammate and fellow Norris Trophy winning defenseman
Paul Coffey said, "He was an incredible player" while 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." On 8 July 2012, Lidström was named a scout for the Red Wings. On 28 February 2014, Lidström was inducted into the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. During the
2013–14 season, Lidström had his number 5 jersey retired by the Red Wings. Initially, ceremonies were planned for the previous season, on 5 February 2013 — however, the
lockout had made it hard to determine when Lidström would be able to attend the ceremony. The Red Wings officially retired his number on 6 March 2014, in a
pre-game ceremony at
Joe Louis Arena. == International play ==