Nick Lidstrom Retires from the Red Wings

After 20 season s of playing for the Detroit Red Wings, Nick Lidstrom is planning on announcing his retirement later today. He has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL for over 2 decades.

He joined the Red Wings in 1991. Born in Sweeden he was the 53rd pick in the draft and has played for the Wings his entire career.

After Steve Yzerman retired, Nick became the obvious choice for captain. Now that he's leaving i'm not sure who will take his roll. Maybe Pavel Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

He's racked up tons of awards and all time stats

• 4 time Stanly Cup winner
• 12 time All Star
• 7 time Norris Trophy winner
• Conn Smythe Trophy winner
• Olympic Gold Medalist
• and tons more

Most records are defenseman related but others show just how good of a teammate he was, like Best Detroit Red Wing with regular season plus/minus, career (+450). And the Red Wings did not miss the playoffs once in the 20 years he played on the team.

He reminded me a bit of Barry Sanders, my favorite football player of all time, super talented but not in a flashy way. He didn't make the spectacular play, he stopped the offensive player before the spectacular play even happened.