Conn Smythe Contest: Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom Is My Man

This guy just knows how to win.

He's not your usual 'razzle, dazzle' type of player but he's as sturdy and dependable as they come. You won't be confusing him with Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby anytime soon but he's a type of player that could shut down hockey's brightest stars within a blink of an eye.

But outside of his talent, he's a hell of a winner. He's a winner in every sense of the word.

Can you guess who my mystery player is?

Well, if that wasn't enough, he's a five-time Norris Trophy winner (the first European player to ever be rewarded the award), a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings, been named in the NHL First All-Star Team nine times, played in the annual NHL All-Star game ten times and is an Olympic gold medalist with his native country of Sweden.

Plus, more importantly, he's won the elusive trophy before. The one that will determine who’s coming away with the coveted 'Bleacher Report T-Shirt'.

Yeah, that's right. He's won the Conn Smythe Trophy before, back in 2002, and for all the doubters out there, he's going to damn well do it again.

And he's none other than Detroit captain and Swedish sensation Nicklas Lidstrom. 

You're probably wondering, 'Why the hell is this guy going with the Detroit Red Wings to go to the Stanley Cup final?', and my answer to that is simple.

Hockeytown, USA is overdue for a Stanley Cup Championship.

There's only so many times you can win the Presidents' Trophy before fans begin to ask their team for more. And with the blend of young talent in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and the veteran leadership of Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, and the aforementioned Nicklas Lidstrom, the Wings have been in the playoffs long enough to understand what it takes to make that extra push during the postseason.

They might not be the most talented team to come out of the NHL at the moment but experience is invaluable when you get to this stage of the season. It's a situation where young superstars like a Malkin or Ovechkin might struggle because they're not used to the added pressures and expectations of an entire city. Of course, I'm not suggesting that either of them will choke in the playoffs, but it's always an advantage to have been in Stanley Cup finals and prolonged playoff runs.

So, having said that, the Wings will need a healthy Nicklas Lidstrom that's capable of eating up those 40-50 minutes in the occasional three overtime game. With Lidstrom, his consistent play and ability to neutralize opponents has come as a mere expectation with his high standard of play year in year out. To think he'll crack under pressure now as a 37-year-old is about as likely as Andrew Raycroft embraced by Maple Leaf fans. You know there's no way in hell that's going to happen.

We've seen the impact of when Lidstrom was out of the lineup for the Wings and when he's back into the squad. It's simply astounding how different the Red Wings can look without Lidstrom running the show at the back. Sure, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are the sexier picks, but would they really be where they are without their captain?

If Lidstrom can work the magic of 2002 back into his system, you can bet you'll be seeing dead octopus splattered all over your television screens come June. Plus, there will be one real happy Bleacher Report writer if Lidstrom is presented with a particular trophy.

And no, I'm not talking about the Stanley Cup.