40 replies to this topic

[canadian wings fan]

No true Red Wings fan would ever call out Lidstrom. This thread is disgraceful

[Nevermind]

As the game went on and the entire team played better, I thought he manned the blueline well. His passing and vision was still at an elite level.

But, he was definitely sluggish today--especially when getting back for that icing call at the end of the game. I think the lingering image of that play is the reason for this thread, really. IMO, that has everything to do with his ankle.

[LeftWinger]

If Lids continues this downward trend, he should no doubt (gulp) have to retire this summer....especially making some silly mistakes as he has been doing...

[dats13owns]

it is really funny that when we loose a game threads like this come up

Please don't lump me in with the doom and gloomers, I assure you that this thought goes beyond losing one game. It's funny how anytime anyone has something not completely positive to say around here people like you have to question peoples ideas and accuse others of being bad fans and bandwagoners.

Thanks for the input, though, it was definitely pertinent to this discussion.

Edited by dats13owns, 15 April 2012 - 08:09 PM.

[dats13owns]

No true Red Wings fan would ever call out Lidstrom. This thread is disgraceful

Ok. I totally called him out by provoking a discussion that I guarantee just about every Wings fan has on their mind on. Heaven forbid someone acknowledge that he's not going to play until he's 75 and try to see what everyone's thoughts are on the situation based on some of the out of the normal things that happens this season.

People like you are the reason that 75% of the people who used to frequent this board in the last few years... How's that for a call out, super fan?

[gcdc14]

Although not contributing offensively, I feel Lidstrom has been our most defensively sound defenseman. The players that really concern me are Bertuzzi, Filppula, Hudler, and Kronwall.

[Hockeymom1960]

The whole team looked sluggish. Why call out Lids?

[GoWings1905]

The offensive side is the only thing I'm really hoping to see pick up from Nick. A vintage point shot on the PP that finds it way through in Game 4 would be excellent.

Between the ankle and age, I think it is a given Nick is probably going to look slower now. His defensive positioning is still flawless. He breaks up so many passes and potential scoring chances just from instinct and being in the right spot.

I understand the concern, though I think on the list of Red Wings problems in this series, Nick is pretty low IMO. My biggest concern is the lack of offense from anyone not named Datsyuk or Zetterberg, particularly top-six forwards like Filppula, Franzen and Hudler.

[Crymson]

The whole team looked sluggish.

....

[dats13owns]

I guess I didn't do a good job articulating what I wanted to say.

Nick seems to be one who expects nothing but the best out of himself. He has rarely been hampered by injuries in his career. He is 40 years old and missed a chunk of time due to an injury, this injury has kept him from his full potential in the playoffs this year. He's a super human, but he's getting to that age where things get significantly harder. He is someone who has accomplished everything there is to do and could step away at this second and not regret anything.

This question had nothing to do with the current state of the team, the management or anything else like that. It has to do with what he expects of himself and if his age is finally catching up to him and at what point does he decide that he's not playing at a level that he thinks is acceptable.

[dats13owns]

The whole team looked sluggish. Why call out Lids?

I'll make sure that I wait until the middle of August to start a discussion. It's unreasonable to think that someone may be thinking about something that isn't an immediate reaction to a game that happened the same day. They could have won 10-0 and I would have asked the same thing. It's something I've been thinking about for a week or two.

Moderator - this thread has been derailed and is going nowhere. Please ditch it. I'm totally on the level of Mindfly, Stinky and Leonard...

[The Greek]

He also looked pretty bad against the pens in 09. He was injured then and injured now. It's not To say he's never going to decline. But it should be kept in mind that he was in discussions for the Norris early in the season. I don't believe for a second that his decline is so drastic.

[kylee]

Lidstroms foot is still bothering him. So I really cannot be critical of his play although I don't think he's played bad at all.

[Yzerfan1999]

I just notice he is getting hit a lot more in this series than in series past. I don't know if that's because Nashville is literally hitting everything, or if its because that classic escapability that he once had is started to wane. He hasn't been bad so far, just ordinary.

[ben_usmc]

yeah I feel like next year will be Lids last, the salary cap increases and we lose some contracts. So they will probably do a basically one last hoo rah type situation.

[haroldsnepsts]

yeah I feel like next year will be Lids last, the salary cap increases and we lose some contracts. So they will probably do a basically one last hoo rah type situation.

with the cap room Holland had this season and star players like Dats Z and Mule not getting any younger, this season should've been the last hurrah type situation.

[lookalive07]

Nick Lidstrom is lazy and he sucks.

That should do the trick.

[Nev]

Did anyone else see the shot of the bench after we went 3-1 down? There was Lids and a few other players sat there, and I saw a look I've never seen on Lidstroms face before - despair. It totally shocked me, I've never ever seen his proffesional game face crack before. For the first time I began to wonder if this is his last season and he's already made his mind up

[Crymson]

with the cap room Holland had this season and star players like Dats Z and Mule not getting any younger, this season should've been the last hurrah type situation.

Had there been a worthwhile free agent class, or a decent pool of sellers at the deadline, I'm sure we'd have seen Holland do more. But neither of those conditions prevailed, so saying that it "should have been" the last hurrah entails vastly oversimplifying the situation.

[EastonWings]

I'm sure it's quite obvious that Lidstrom has been all but non-existent in this series. We all know that he is still hampered by his ankle injury and wouldlikely be missing more time to nurse it if not for the playoffs. He is not playing on the all important PK, has been lacking on the offensive side and has been effective on 5-on-5 but nothing spectacular.

This isn't a headhunting thread but this season and series has been a kick in the face that the end may be sooner than later. While he started out strong he slowed down later in the season and missed a rare significant amount of time with an injury.

What does be look at when he decides it he's going to keep this thing going? He's still playing at a high level and warrants respect every time he's on the ice not only because of his play but because of the name on the back of his jersey. He's done all there is to do and will go down as one of the all time greats. Looking at the last few seasons, particularly this one, this team is closer to taking a step back than contending.

I know he's not going to make a knee jerk decision like us fans, but what are your thoughts in his decision making in the offseason?