PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Nicklas Lidström is one of Swedish hockey’s greatest.
But when “Lidas” gets the chance to name the best of all time, he surprises everyone.
Because Wayne Gretzky’s name is not at the top of the list.
Few can measure up Nicklas Lidström’s absolutely unparalleled hockey career. He is called “The Perfect Man” for a good reason and that says a lot about his greatness.
Lidström’s success
“Lidas” will go down in history as one of Swedish hockey’s greatest of all time, and the track record is extremely impressive. In 20 NHL seasons in the service of the Detroit Red Wings, he scored an incredible 1,142 points in 1,564 games in the world’s best hockey league.
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The Swedish defense icon won four Stanley Cup trophies and was named the NHL’s best defenseman a total of seven times during his career. In the national team jersey, he won both Olympic and World Cup gold with Tre Kronor before his long hockey career ended in 2012.
Noob Gretzky
Three years later, Nicklas Lidström had the great honor of being inducted into the prestigious Hockey Hall of Fame in the fall of 2015. In connection with the honor-filled ceremony, a large spotlight was directed at the Swede and he had to answer all sorts of questions.
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But one question in particular attracted a lot of attention. When Lidas had to choose the best hockey player of all time and didn’t place the giant Wayne Gretzky in first place, as many others always do.
– It was always about Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman. Lemieux had an absolutely incredible reach and an absolutely fantastic club technique. Gretzky had that too, but he could also make every player around him better. Individually, I think Lemieux was the better player, he admits according to nhl.com.
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Lidström also gets the opportunity to talk about the future and highlights which Swedish defenders he likes best in the NHL. Remember, this was 2015 and we have to say that things have gone very well for these players that the legend points out.
– Erik Karlsson is a world-class defender and I really like to see Victor Hedman take big steps in his career. I am also impressed by Hampus Lindholm, who plays at a high level all the time. And of course Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has been at the top for several years now, says Lidas in the interview.
Who do you think is the best hockey player of all time? Share the article and have your say!
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