Not sure if anyone else has posted this - Nick Lidstrom was on the Jim Rome radio show this morning and said the following: When asked how long he would consider playing, he indicated that he would be interested in playing as a top 4 defenseman, however he was not interested in playing as a 5/6 defenseman because there is the chance that one would sit an occasional game. I have never heard him say that before. This tells me that even though he is only signing 1 year contracts, he intends to play as long as he can remain a top 4 defenseman. The wild card here is how his son is doing in Sweden with the family still in Detroit (Nick did say the situation is progressing very well) and also how much the Red Wings are willing to pay him if he is relegated to a 3/4 position defenseman.