The Detroit Red Wings are facing elimination on Friday night in Nashville. That means it's time for the annual discussion as to whether or not we could be getting ready to witness the final game of Nicklas Lidstrom's Hall of Fame career. Lidstrom is once again playing out a one-year contract for the Red wings and his future beyond Friday night is still uncertain. Even as far as he is concerned, insisting that he's still taking a wait-and-see approach.
Even if he's not the player he once was in his prime when his name was automatically engraved on the Norris Trophy, he's still shown this season that he's capable of playing at a pretty high level. He finished the regular season with 11 goals and 23 assists in 70 games, and put up those numbers while playing against some of the toughest competition in the NHL on a nightly basis. Among players that played in at least 50 games this season, his Quality of Competition number at BehindtheNet was 17th out of 514 players. And he did all of that at the age of 41.
But it's not about what he's done, it's about what he might have left and how well he'll be able to go about doing it.
For more on Lidstrom's future, here's what Helene St. James had in Friday's Detroit Free Press:
Lidstrom said he and his wife, Annika, will decide on the matter after the season, after he has had time to decompress.Again, this discussion isn't a new one. It's been happening for a few years now around this time and I'm to the point where I'll be ready to believe that Lidstrom's career is finished when he actually announces himself that it's over.
"The last couple of years have been like that, where I want to wait it out and make a decision," he said.
The Lidstroms have long planned to return to their native Sweden at some point. Their oldest son went back this past year to attend a hockey school. How competitive the Wings will be could be another factor. Lidstrom said his overall health is fine, though he admitted the bone on the outside of his right ankle is going to remain sore for some time, which is why he isn't killing penalties, as there would be a risk of being hit by another puck.
Until then, I fully expect him to keep signing a new contract and taking it one year at a time.
And if this does turn out to be the end? Wouldn't it be interesting if Detroit's replacement turned out to be a Michigan native that currently plays for Nashville and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer ... Ryan Suter.
Photo: Getty Images
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