DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings Senior Vice President Jim Devellano announced today that the Red Wings will officially retire Nicklas Lidstrom's No. 5 in a special pre-game ceremony on March 6, 2014, when the Red Wings host the Colorado Avalanche.
The team had scheduled the number retirement this past season but the ceremony was canceled due to the NHL lockout.
"For a long time, there was no doubt in ownership's and management's mind that Nicklas Lidstrom would play his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings and that his sweater would fittingly go up into the rafters along with the other all-time greatest Red Wing players – Abel, Delvecchio, Howe, Lindsay, Sawchuk and Yzerman," said Devellano.
Lidstrom, who announced his retirement on May 31, 2012, completed a remarkable 20-year career in the National Hockey League with the Red Wings. A four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings and a seven-time winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League's best defenseman, Lidstrom finished his illustrious career ranked in the top 10 all-time among defensemen with 264 goals (ninth), 878 assists (sixth), 1,142 points (sixth) and 132 power-play goals (fifth). He played in 263 postseason games, second all-time among NHL players (Chris Chelios – 266), and 1,564 regular season games, second in franchise history behind only Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe (1,687).
Lidstrom was Detroit's third-round pick (53rd overall) in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Red Wings in Chicago against the rival Blackhawks on October 3, 1991. The Vasteras, Sweden, native collected 60 points (11-49-60) during his rookie campaign and finished as the runner-up to Pavel Bure for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. Lidstrom was also named to the 1992 All-Rookie Team.
His stellar rookie season was simply a prelude of things to come over the next two decades. Lidstrom spent all 20 seasons of his career in the Motor City, a rare feat in today's professional sports landscape. He never missed the playoffs during his career, advancing to the conference finals eight times, the Stanley Cup Final six times and winning the Stanley Cup four times in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. In 2002, the steady defenseman became the first European-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP despite playing on a team littered with flashy NHL stars such as Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Dominik Hasek and Brendan Shanahan.
Lidstrom was named captain of the Red Wings prior to the start of the 2006-07 season and led Detroit to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008 and 2009. He became the first European-born captain to lead his team to a Stanley Cup championship with a 4-2 series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008.
Lidstrom was recognized as the NHL's top defenseman seven times over a 10-season span from 2001-2011. His seven Norris Trophies (2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011) tie him with Doug Harvey for second most all-time, trailing only the legendary Bobby Orr (eight). Lidstrom won his first Norris Trophy at age 31 and in 2011 he became the oldest player ever to win the award at age 41.
Named the NHL's player of the decade from 2000-2009 by both the Sporting News and SportsIllustrated.com, Lidstrom's durability over his 20-year career is nearly as impressive as his litany of accomplishments. He missed just 44 regular season games since he entered the league in 1991-92. Twelve of those 44 games came during the 2011-12 season. Lidstrom played in every regular season game seven times during his career and played in 80-or-more games 14 times in 20 seasons. Over his 20 consecutive playoff appearances, Lidstrom would miss just two postseason games due to injury, both in 2009. He skated in 263 of the 265 playoff games the Red Wings played from 1992-2012.
Lidstrom also found success at the international level throughout his career. He represented his native Sweden at numerous international competitions and is a member of the exclusive ‘Triple Gold Club' having won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006 and an IIHF World Championship title in 1991 to go with his four Stanley Cup championships in Detroit.