Future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom to Retire

Captain Niklas Lidstrom retires after 20 seasons with the Red Wings.

Nicklas Lidstrom, defenseman and captain for the Red Wings is set to retire on Thursday after 20 seasons with in the NHL,  all of which with the Red Wings. Lidstrom has quite the resume, winning four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies as the NHL's top defensemen and was also a winner of the Conn Smythe Award.

The news for Red Wings fans will be devastating no doubt. But Lidstrom, who is known in Hockeytown as "the perfect human",  has a family and kids that he wants to see grow up. Statistically, Lidstrom didn't see a drop off in point production from previous seasons and fans hate to see him go because he is still producing points and playing shutdown defense regardless of him being 42 years old. His body did wear down a little bit at the end of the season, he was forced to sit out 12 games this season. That could have factored into his decision to walk away from the game.

Lidstrom leaves Detroit as one of the best defensemen the league has seen. He is 10th all time in regular season games, 21st in career assists, 8th in plus/minus, 2nd in career playoff games played, and 5th in playoff assists. Someone that good leaving your organization will leave a hole to fill.

The Wings will have to reload on the back end to replace the future hall of famer. Brad Stuart, another top defenseman is an unrestricted free agent and is likely to sign with a team out west, mainly California teams, to be closer to his family. This will leave the door open for prospect Brendan Smith to step in and make an impact and the organization will surely be looking to fill back end voids in free agency. The name atop their list, Ryan Suter, who is the top defenseman in free agency would help ease the pain of Lidstrom's retirement if he would sign a contract.

After great seasons with the Red Wings, tomorrow at 11 am Lidstrom will say goodbye to Hockeytown. Niklas Lidstrom, you will be missed.