Few defensemen in hockey history can compare to Nicklas Lidstrom.
He earned the nickname ’The Perfect Human,’ which says a lot about his status in Detroit.
Lidstrom is the perhaps best Swedish player of all time, and looking at his career, you can’t call it something other than remarkable.
During his 20 years in the NHL, he stayed loyal to the Detroit Red Wings and recorded a whopping 1,142 points in his 1,564 games.
He also won four Stanley Cups and was awarded the Norris Trophy seven times. He also won gold in the Olympics and World Championships.
When Lidstrom was asked to name his best-ever teammate, he didn’t need much thinking.
He played with some of hockey’s greatest—players like Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin with Sweden and Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, and Sergei Fedorov in Detroit—but he didn’t need much thinking before he answered.
”Pavel Datsyuk is the best,” Lidstrom said on the Swedish YouTube show ’Hockeymorgon.’
”I played with Yzerman, Fedorov, Larionov and Brett Hull. Butt Datsyuk’s skills, and what he could do with the puck … He’s the best I’ve ever played with.”
Lidstrom and the Russian magician played together for ten seasons.
”He played with a long stick with almost no lie. But his technique… You couldn’t believe it when you saw him and the things he did.
”He and Chris Chelios used to compete in taking the puck from each other. Chelios was over 40 at the time and a true competitor. But Datsyuk toyed with him, and he was tough. He just couldn’t take the puck from him.”
