He’s the Heart and Soul of Red Wings

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, you ought to know plenty about the Detroit Red Wings by now.

Even if you can’t tell the difference between the red line and the blue line, you probably know something about the Red Wings. Call it the osmosis effect.

Turn on ESPN any time day or night and chances are they’re playing the Colorado Avalanche or the Dallas Stars. They’re in plenty of commercials too.

Odds are you have a co-worker or neighbor who’s a certified Wing nut, a Michigan transplant who is always yammering about Stevie Y., Shanny, Sergei and Ozzie.

That’s Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Chris Osgood to those of us with no particular sentiment about Detroit, other than to avoid it at all costs.

However, if that fan mentions another name, one that doesn’t register immediately, it’s a sign he knows something more about the Red Wings and about the game.

If that name is Nicklas Lidstrom, you know this Wing nut hasn’t just jumped aboard the bandwagon. He or she might even not care that Fedorov and tennis player Anna Kournikova are no longer an item.

You see, as great an impact as Yzerman, Shanahan, Fedorov and Osgood have had on the Red Wings’ almost decade-long run near the top of the NHL, they wouldn’t be as good without the calm, cool, collected influence of Lidstrom.

Other Red Wings slump and soar, but Lidstrom always seems to excel in an understated manner. If they are to accomplish the expected and defeat the Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Lidstrom will be their quiet leader.

In many ways, his ninth NHL season has been his best. Lidstrom led NHL defensemen with 73 points--20 goals, 53 assists. He’s a contender to win the Norris trophy as the league’s best defenseman.

Chances are, he will lose out to St. Louis’ Chris Pronger, who also has been touted as an MVP candidate. It doesn’t diminish Lidstrom’s contributions to the Red Wings, according to Yzerman, their captain.

“He’s so quiet, sometimes it hurts him,” Yzerman said. “He doesn’t seek out attention, so people tend to forget how exceptional he really is. There’s always a media favorite you guys jump on. Chris has had an exceptional year. He’s an unbelievable player and his team has done exceptionally well.

“I’m just saying that if you look at what Nick does for his team, playing 30 minutes a night, he’s got to be considered a real strong candidate for the Norris.”

Lidstrom won’t hear of individual rewards at this time of the season. He knows there is more at stake in the coming weeks.

“I’ve always looked at the Norris as being a bonus,” he said. “[But] I think the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup. That’s the way I felt when I was the [Norris] runner-up in ’98 and winning it would, of course, be great. But the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup.”

The Red Wings aren’t considered ancient, but they’re not exactly a young team either. They probably won’t have many more kicks at the can after this season.

To be sure, they have won plenty of games during the last decade, and their place in history has long since been secured. But they have won only two Stanley Cups during their recent reign among the NHL’s elite.

Detroit needs another championship soon or the Red Wings will simply be lumped in with the Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970s as a strong team, a feared team, but far from the dynasties of the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders or Montreal Canadiens.

Certainly, the Red Wings are among several teams that can be considered favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

That wouldn’t be the case if Lidstrom weren’t a part of the team. Fact is, he almost wasn’t. He considered retiring and returning to his native Sweden after last season.

If he had departed, it would have left a gaping hole in the heart of the Red Wings.

“We’re happy with our decision,” Lidstrom said.

It has been only two years since the Red Wings won the second of their consecutive Cups and major roster changes have been infrequent, something Lidstrom believes has kept the team competitive.

Yzerman, Shanahan, Fedorov, Osgood and Lidstrom were joined near the end of last season by veteran defenseman Chris Chelios, which added another all-star to the list.

“I think we’ve added some new players [since] we last won it, but the core of the team is pretty much the same,” Lidstrom said. “I think the teams we had in the past are pretty similar to the team we have now. We try to play the same style that we’ve always had and I think the team is looking good going into the playoffs.”

Asked if he believes the team is better off this season than last, Lidstrom said:

“I think last year the team needed some sort of a shake-up. I thought we played so-so in February and going into the trading deadline last year. This year, I thought the team has been playing solid hockey.”

Considering the meteoric rise of the Blues, who edged the Red Wings in the battle for the top spot in the league standings, it’s going to take better than “solid hockey” to win the Cup.

“I think it’s tough to pick one team over another,” Lidstrom said. “I think St. Louis has really stepped it up and played well throughout the whole year. They might be the favorite going into the playoffs.”

Of the Kings, he said, “Well, we’ve had some difficulties against them. They have been playing really good defensively, not giving up many scoring chances. They had a good team and a good skating club too, with some guys who can really put the puck in the net.”