Nicklas Lidström was reasonably good at hockey.
It also led to unexpected reactions to Detroit’s practices.
– Everyone screamed when he was outsmarted, says icon Brendan Shanahan.
To understand a bit of how big and popular Nicklas Lidström was in Detroit, you only had to take a look at his nickname. In the city and by everyone around the Red Wings hockey team, he was called “The Perfect Human”, because that was exactly how they saw their team captain.
A true leader
Nicklas Lidström was known for having a sensationally high minimum level, and it was almost unique that he put a knife wrong, or made a mistake out on the ice. It also led to the Swede captaining one of the best teams the NHL has ever seen, as well as seven Norris Trophy and four Stanley Cup titles.
Nicklas Lidström’s dominance was at times ridiculous to watch, and then just imagine what it was like for his teammates to be pitted against a defender of that caliber every day. And Lidstrom being as skilled as he was also led to some truly humorous moments at Detroit practices, at least if icon Brendan Shanahan is to be believed.
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Cheered right through training
With Lidstrom recently named the eighth best player in modern NHL history by the respected site The Athletic, Shanahan talked about what used to happen during the few times Lidas was actually outplayed in practice.
– When it happened that he lost the puck or got hit in a one-on-one situation… It was so unusual that all the guys on the team started screaming and hitting their clubs on the ice, he says.
– He always took it well. He could always laugh at himself at such times because he didn’t have the biggest ego.
Shanahan can only agree with Nicklas Lidström’s completely magical nickname.
– He never had a bad day. He never made a mistake, he was never beaten in any way. Very, very, rarely.
READ MORE: Nicklas Lidström reveals the moves of the NHL tough guys – how they wanted to get the star off the ice: “A circle around my name”