Lidstrom expected to announce retirement

Apparently Lidstrom is going to be calling it a career on Thursday. As a fan of a team who was on the wrong end of his play it is a relief we never have to go up against him again but also sad to see one of the games truely great players call it a day.

Well done sir, you are an inspiration to all young aspiring defenders!

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=397224

I heard he's signing for another 8 years...









The alternate reason for a press conference doesn't bear thinking about....

He can't retire, it wont be Hockey without him

The man has been a thorn in the arse of St Louis, for many year. Admittedly, a very well respected thorn.

Personally, I think he might go on for one more year.

If not, I hope they retire his number. It will be bad enough for the player whose taking his place....imagine the pressure on th next player wearing the number

The Lidstromatic 4000 may just need an oil change!

If he does retire he is a shoe in for the hall of fame. As an opposing fan, He was so frustrating to watch as he was always in the right place at the right time!

Driz, there is no doubt that no. 5 will be retired should Lidstrom hang up his skates.

And Pete:
Over 1100 pts
Over 1500 games
4x Stanley Cups
7x Norris Trophy
12x NHL All-Star
1x Conn Smythe

Yeah, I suppose he could scrape his way into the HOF...

Does anyone else feel we are losing a great generation of players from the NHL recently?

Sakic
Shannhan
Recchi
Fosberg
Modano
Linden
that Redwings blueliner that wasn't Lidstrom (sorry Rafalski)
Jagr went for a while (OK so it wasn't a retirement but he left the NHL)
Federov (he left for the KHL and that counts to me)
Hasek (he might be coming back but as of now this is valid)

now Lidstrom and maybe Selanne too.

I agree Buff....might be because of the era that most of us got into hockey in but still you look at those names and they conjure up some fantastic memories, both good and bad!

I'm still hopeful on Selanne, Buff. He lead the team in points last season and had a pretty injury free season. When you're still being that good you've got to at the very least have a long hard think about hanging the skates up.

BuffonIdol wrote:Does anyone else feel we are losing a great generation of players from the NHL recently?

Sakic
Shannhan
Recchi
Fosberg
Modano
Linden
that Redwings blueliner that wasn't Lidstrom (sorry Rafalski)
Jagr went for a while (OK so it wasn't a retirement but he left the NHL)
Federov (he left for the KHL and that counts to me)
Hasek (he might be coming back but as of now this is valid)

now Lidstrom and maybe Selanne too.

A great list there Buff. But I remember further back than you my friend. 1998 - 2001 saw the retirements of:

Steve Chiasson (died)
Esa Tikkanen
Wayne Gretzky
Ron Hextall
Marty McSorley
Ed Olzcyk
Brian Skrudland
Zarley Zalapski
Ulf Samuellson
Wendel Clark
Bob Probert
John Vanbiesbrouck
Pat Verbeek
Rick Tocchet
Mario Lemieux (first retirement)

amongst others.

Not forgetting 2003 which saw Pavel Bure, Doug Gilmour, Theo Fleury, Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, Phil Housley, Al MacInnis, Tom Barraso and Kirk Muller all go. So while we are losing a generation of greats, I've seen it before, possibly worse, but the guys I grew up with are now coaches, GMS or owners!

So, it's over.

Genuinely devastated. Lidstrom is the Detroit Red Wings. For many years a franchise player alongside names like Yzerman, Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Fedorov. My favourite player from the moment I appreciated the skill of the game (and not just fighting!).

There's guys on Detroit forums already talking about the large amount of cap space available, but that's disrespectful right now. In a couple of days, maybe, but not today. Today we remember one of the top players ever to skate in the NHL. Lidstrom deserves to be mentioned alongside Orr and Harvey, he deserves his name on the cup 4 times over, and he deserves every accolade handed to him in the press and by fans.

Most of all, he deserves to make his decision. GM Ken Holland said he'd earnt the right to make his mind up in his own time, and that was very true. Lidstrom said he wanted to walk away from the game before it got away from him. A true professional to the end, he didn't want to underperform and let the team, fans, and organisation down.

Thanks for everything Nick, your jersey will surely live long in the rafters of the Joe.

I'm so grateful that in my first opportunity to see the Wings play, I was able to watch Lidstrom at his best.