Lidstrom

[bigEredwing 2]

Well we all fear it, but his career is coming to an end. If the Wings dont win the Cup this year...What are the chances Lidstrom comes back for one more season? And will the Wings be a completely different team with out him?

[Guest ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24]

i think this is lids' last season regardless of a cup victory or not. great career and the 2nd greatest wings captain of all time IMO ( no one can top Yzerman ). he will be 40 at the end of this month. although, with chris chelios still around...anything can happen. lol

[kook_10 1,705]

I shudder to think what the team would be without him. Just think of how much Lilja was missed in this lineup - now multiply that by ten.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

This team will be totally f***ed.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Lidstrom isn't going to retire. It's all a lie!!!!!

[13dangledangle 958]

This team will be totally f***ed.

Sums up what went through my head lol

[stevieisthebest 80]

I can tell you my NHL 10 team just doesn't look the same..

[Z and D for the C 712]

I don't think Lids will retire.

[cupforwings 138]

If Homer come back for another year, I think Lids will too

[Guest mindfly]

Well atleast it's 7.5million to put on a real good D

[b.shanafan14 733]

Lidstrom will definitely be back next season.... which is exactly what I'll be saying to myself 5 years from now when I'm rocking back and forth in a padded room, having lost it and retreated to an imaginary world where #5 plays for the Red Wings forever.

But seriously, he'll be back.

[Z and D for the C 712]

Well atleast it's 7.5million to put on a real good D

Like who?

http://capgeek.com/free_agents.php?Year=2010&Team=All&Position=D&FAType=2&FilterButton=APPLY+FILTER

Kubina?

He'd actually be my first choice, but it's not like we can get someone half as good as Lidstrom.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Z and D for the C

[HockeyTownHouligan 57]

I think the closest d man we have to king lidas is maybe rafalski or kronners but they're really not even close. I don't think he'll retire this year unless maybe if he wins the cup. And i still don't know if he would hang em up.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

And will the Wings be a completely different team with out him?

It's going to be a goddamn mess.

[mjlegend 155]

The quality of defencemen that are available in 2010 under age 35 for a good price is very, very low. Even the RFAs are meh.

I note Shea Weber is an RFA after next year...

[king_malice 17]

Lids leaving is going to hurt real bad but i put all my faith in Holland with that extra cap he will bring in a good D to fill in. Obviously nothing can be brought in to replace Big Nick but we could potentially lose 1 great D-Man and bring in 2 good ones and strengthen the D unit as a whole

guys like Seidenberg,Volchencov,Mitchell,Hamhuis. or could spend a good chunk on Neidemier or Gonchar Ya none can fill the shoes of lids but we could be running

Kronwall-Rafalski

Stuart-Volchenkov

Lilja-Mitchell( or any other one of those guys i named) and still have about 700k left from Nicks contract.you could even take out Lilja and add in Hamhuis and spend Nicks contract on those 2 guys. Once again it is going to suck big time when the day comes and Nick is gone but i dont think its going to be as bad statistically as it will be losing a hockey legend.

Edited April 7, 2010 by king_malice

[Duck Guy 86]

Chelios gave lids some of his play forever pills so it is all fine dont worry

Edited April 7, 2010 by Duck Guy

[kook_10 1,705]

I wonder if the modern Red Wings' puck control system goes with him.

[VM1138 1,921]

I'd be willing to bet money he'll play another year or two. Two might be stretching it. His talent will be there but his passion may not.

If his passion is sliding he may call it quits because he seems to be pretty honest with himself. No reason to hang around if you don't love the game as much as you did.

But I see no reason for him to retire this year skill-wise or age-wise. Although if the Wings win the Cup he might decide to ride out in style.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

It's going to be a goddamn mess.

i kind of can't wait to see how it all turns out

hopefully it's an entertaining mess

[dropkickshanahans 463]

i kind of can't wait to see how it all turns out

hopefully it's an entertaining mess

LGW will rage over the clusterf*** going on in our defensive zone.

[Z and D for the C 712]

I wonder if the modern Red Wings' puck control system goes with him.

Way too many players who play in the system.

[newfy 695]

When Lids goes it will suck but I can also see potential in it. Kronwall has offensive firepower, hits hard and is solid defensively. The extra minutes he eats up when Lids retires could transform him into a norris contender.

Like said earlier when Lids leaves the puck possession may go with him. It seems to me this season has shown it may. Our bottom lines play dump and chase pretty much and our drafting has become more gritty type players. Ferraro, Nestrasil and Callahan for example last draft.

I think that when Nick retires our team will go through its first semi-rebuild in a long time. We'll be bringing in a big name defenseman, maybe trading a big name forward for said defenseman. s***s gonna hit the fan for sure.

[dat's sick 1,002]

I was thinking about making a proper Lidstrom appreciation thread before the playoffs..

Hope everyone realizes what a legend he is. The Golden Era of the Wings is the career of Lidstrom. We won't be as good when he is gone, all we can hope for is that we don't fall into complete mediocrity without him.

[xtrememachine1 795]

I love Nick, but haven't we heard this before?

"If we lose Fedorov, we're screwed"

"If we lose Bowman, we're screwed"

"If we lose Yzerman, we're screwed"

Nick is one of the greatest defenseman of all time, but we'll survive without him. It won't be easy at first, but we'll be fine. Kronwall will step it up (I honestly think he'll be the next Scott Stevens), we still have Raffy, Ericsson is just having a sophomore slump and I'm sure we'll get someone through FA over the next couple years. Lids will be missed A LOT, but its not the end of the world. As long as the Wings continue to play this system and fill the roster with smart two way players, we'll be successful.