Lidstrom Re-Signs, Red Wings Season Saved

By Mark Paul

Nicklas Lidstrom resigned a 1 year, 6.2 million dollar deal today to play his 19th season with the Detroit Red Wings. Lidstrom, the captain of the Wings since 2006, is who this team has been built around for the past 10 years. Without Lidstrom I don’t think this team wins the Cup in ‘02, and they definitely don’t win Lord Stanley in ‘08. Oh yeah, and in the 1998 Stanley Cup run, his 19 points didn’t hurt any either. Lidstrom resigning for what could be his final year, saved the 2010-11 season for the Detroit Red Wings.

Normally this is where someone rattles off some statistics about a team’s record with and without a player, unfortunately for these purposes, those statistics for Lidstrom do not exist because since the 1999-2000 season, he’s played in all but 20 games. So instead I will tell you that Lidstrom is a consummate. He learned from the best captain quite possibly in all of sports in Steve Yzerman, and he is a pure student of the game. Lidstrom leads by example and rarely makes a mistake. There isn’t a better leader, defenseman, or hockey player on the Detroit Red Wings. Even in a down year where the Wings were decimated by injuries, Lidstrom still led all Wings defensemen in goals (9), assists (40) and points (49).

All this to be said, without Lidstrom the Red Wings still have talent. I’m not here to tell you that Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Johan Franzen couldn’t guide this team to the playoffs, but I am here to tell you that they can’t and won’t win anything without Lidstrom at the helm. The time has come, the time is now for the Detroit Red Wings. I see this season as their last chance to cement what has been a modern day dynasty. In 15 years, six trips to the Finals with four Stanley Cups and 9 Western Conference Final appearances. However, unfortunately for the Red Wings, the 2011 playoffs may be their last shot at the Cup for some time. So Wings fans, enjoy what will probably be the last season of the greatest defenseman since Bobby Orr.