Wings agree to terms with D Lidstrom

Dec 26, 2007 - 6:06 PM DETROIT (Ticker) - The Detroit Red Wings will have one of the top defensemen of this era patrolling their blue line for at least the next three years.

The Red Wings on Wednesday agreed to terms with Nicklas Lidstrom on a two-year contract that will keep the 37-year-old Swede with the club through the 2009-2010 season.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

A five-time winner of the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league's outstanding defenseman, Lidstrom is currently second among defenseman in scoring with three goals and 29 assists. He also is the second-highest scoring defenseman in Red Wings history and ranks second all-time among Swedish-born players.

Lidstrom has played all of his 15 NHL seasons for the Red Wings, recording 205 goals and 695 assists in 1,212 games. In 192 playoff games, he has 39 goals and 97 assists, helping Detroit win the Stanley Cup winning in 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Lidstrom scored the winning goal for Sweden in the gold medal game against Finland. That made him one of the few players belonging to the Hockey Triple Gold Club, having been part of teams winning a Stanley Cup, a hockey world championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

Currently the leading vote-getter in Western Conference All-Star balloting, Lidstrom became Detroit's captain after the 2006 retirement of long-time Red Wings center Steve Yzerman.

In 2007, Lidstrom became the fourth defenseman in history to earn the Norris Trophy for the fifth time, joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven), and Raymond Bourque (five).