Nicklas Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies

He truly was 'the perfect human.'

You can easily argue that Lidas 7 is worth more than Orr's 8. Orr had a infinitely easier time than Lidas. The game was slower and the goalies pretty much stood in the middle of the goal. And I'm prepared to defend this point.

Looks like he could be related to Theo Von

Drafted 54th I think...

Just pure class. His accuracy was uncanny for sure. I honestly cant think of an instance where the play by play guy said Lidstrom shooting,,,,shot it wide. Nope never with Lidstrom

🐐

Joe Sakic Said Nicklas Lidstrom was the toughest defensemen to beat one on one.Sakic said. He was faster than you, he was smarter than you, and he was just a guy that you could never beat one-on-one. He was tough to play

Legend

LGRW!!!! One of the greatest defenseman ever and a great captain after Steve Yzerman!!

He reminds me a lot of Tom Brady. Both underrated early on, tall and wrangly, super intelligent, sees the game, humble, perfectionists, consistent at highest level

this made a grown man cry

Nick, Stevie, Zetterberg, Larkin. We have been blessed the last 30 years. Larkin is helping reshape this team, Yzerman is back home, Nick is head of player operations. Seider is out next #5 Raymond will evolve into our new Datsyuk and the Love Larkin possesses for this team will make them unstoppable again in the next 2 years. Husso, Kubalik, Perron the pieces are falling into place. God hears us now! LGRW!!!!!

Imagine Nick, Datsyuk and Zetterberg in a 3 on 3 OT situation. Deadly.

Fun fact! over here in sweden we didn't really know Niklas at all, it was not untill he did play for Tre Kronor we notes this guy! its strange how good he was, but he never did play in SHL that why we din''t know him

Growing up a Pens fan, the Red Wings were kinda a rival. But I'd be lying if I said that Lidstrom and Datsyuk weren't my 3rd and 4th favorite

7 time best def!! is CRAZY

For my money Lidstrom is the best all-around defenseman in NHL history. No one was better positionally or at reading the play. He was just always in the right place, never got caught pinching and he always made it look so easy. He's just a Rolls Royce. Scored and assisted a lot for a D-man. Was never injured and was a tremendous leader. 7-Norris trophies, Conn Smythe, 12xAll-star, Olympic gold medalist, and 4 cups

I miss theses guys playing and watching magic every time they took to the ice ...especially #5

Lidy was a class act. top 3 defenseman all time. 4 time champion. hell of a career 5, well done

Greatest of all time, Seider is the next

SHOUT!!!

I wonder if we'll ever see another defenseman get 3 or more Norris trophy. Among the active defensemen, only Keith and Karlsson have 2 and I don't see them winning another one... I guess Makar for sure, and maybe Hedman and/or Josi could do it

The part of his game that doesn’t get mentioned enough is how rarely he would take a penalty. He was one of the greatest D men ever in his own end, and managed to do that without putting his team shorthanded, or injuring himself as he battled people surgically rather than brutally. That is one more element of his perfection. Whenever he did take the occasional penalty, it was often to prevent a goal as a last ditch effort, as someone else probably made the mistake that lead to the scoring chance.

He also rarely had to absorb a nasty hit, he was one of the best ever at remaining in control and rarely putting himself in a dangerous spot. That was a big part of his durability, constant awareness and elusiveness.

By a small margin the number of goals he scored in his career is greater than the number of penalties he took. You can imagine a finesse forward doing that, but how on earth does a Norris trophy winning defenseman do it? To put it into perspective, Niedermayer, arguably the most similar to Lidstrom of this generation took penalties at more than a 2:1 rate to his goals. Bourque and Leetch were closer to 1:1 and got more time on the highlight reel, but neither were as mistake free in their own end.

With his skill set, he could have played to an NHL caliber until he was 50.

As a diehard Blackhawks fan, I always was jealous of Detroit for having this guy. Hands down the most complete defenseman to ever play in the NHL, and an even better human being.

Lidstrom was like a Gretzky on defense, he doesn't rely on anything more than his brains to anticipate plays, break up offenses, and makes plays. He didn't have to be as fast as Orr, nor did he have to be physical like Stevens. But he should be considered the greatest defenseman of all time.

I remember when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played at JLA and they brought Lidstrom out on stage after he had retired.

He received a larger ovation than the band... great human being and one of the best players to ever wear the winged wheel.

Stand up man on and off the ice… 👏

As someone born in 2002 he was the best defenseman that played when I was a little kid. Hands down. Top three defenseman of all time.

Playing 30+ minutes every night, in box play and power play. Inte illa för en svensk Lidas!

Watching this man play defense was incredible. Almost perfection every shift

If there was ever a ”Captain Sweden” superhero it would be Lidström for sure!

Detroit at one point had Lidstrom, Fetisov and Konstantinov. That was like Robinson, Savard and Lapointe.

I’m from Michigan so I did get to see the best defense men of our time, A TRUE SUPER STAR :)

He should have won 10

Missed 44 games in 21 seasons is insane

The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be! The winged wheel #5 shall never be worn again, nobody will compare.

As an old-timer who has always said "Bobby Orr' was the best player ever...Nicklas Lidstrom is the best Defensman EVER! I watched him many times sitting behind the net at ice level and I can honestly say he was/is the smoothest and smartest player I've ever laid eyes on!

Lidstrom 53rd overall and Federov in the third round. Score.

It’s Bobby Orr than this guy

He was THE defenseman

That gave me good bumps

There's a reason he was known as "The Perfect Human" <3 - LGRW

He was great in Dirty Dancing

The thumbnail

Detroit sure knew how to draft players. So many low draft picks. Unknowns due to European players which was not common back then. They took the risk and realized the Europeans were so talented and graceful. A dynasty that was exciting to watch.

I'd take Lidström over any other defenceman in NHL history on my line-up. He was good from start to finish, almost never missed a game.

Nicklas sure was special ...give him a Canadian heart, and there could be none better

Detroit drafted in the 1989 NHL draft:
3rd round: Nicklas Lidström
4th round: Sergei Fedorov
11th round: Vladimir Konstantinov

Lidstrom kind of gets lost in the Avs/Wings rivalry, but was easily one of the most talented hockey players in an extremely talented field