Nicklas Lidström Nicklas Erik Lidström ( born April 28 , 1970 in Västerås , Västmanland , Sweden ) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman who played his entire National Hockey League ( NHL ) career with the Detroit Red Wings , and was their captain . In his 19 NHL seasons , Lidström won four Stanley Cup s , seven James Norris Memorial Trophies as the NHL ' s best defenseman , and has been voted into eleven NHL All - Star Games . He is the first European - born and trained NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup , as well as the first European player named playoff MVP . Lidström is also the active leader in NHL games played . Representing Sweden , Lidström won the World Championship in 1991 . At the 2006 Winter Olympics , Lidström was a major factor in Sweden ' s win over Finland in the finals , scoring the gold medal clinching goal , thus earning him a spot on the Olympic All - Star Team . He also became the 17th member of the Triple Gold Club . " The Hockey News " selected Lidström as the " " Best European - trained player ever in the NHL " " . The " Sporting News " and " Sports Illustrated " selected Lidström as the " " NHL Player of the Decade " " . Playing career . Lidström is considered the top NHL defenseman of his era , having won the Norris Trophy as the NHL ' s best defenseman three consecutive seasons from 2000 – 01 to 2002 – 03 and again from 2005 – 06 to 2007 – 08 . He has been nominated for the award a total of twelve times in the past fourteen seasons , the first three times finishing as the runner - up , and has won it in seven of the last ten ( 2004 – 05 had no winner due to the NHL lockout ) . In fourteen consecutive seasons ( since 1995 - 96 ) , he has finished no worse than 6th place in Norris Trophy voting . As of 2012 , Lidström has played all of his 19 NHL seasons for the Detroit Red Wings . He has been a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams in 1996 – 97 , 1997 – 98 , 2001 – 02 and 2007 – 08 . With the exception of the lockout year , Lidström has been on a team in the playoffs in every season since his rookie year of 1991 - 92 . Lidström began his career in Avesta , Sweden , playing with Skogsbo SK , before moving on to play with VIK Västerås HK of the Swedish Elitserien . In three seasons with the team , he played in 103 games , scoring 12 goals and 30 assists . Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 53rd overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft , Lidström joined the team in the 1991 – 92 NHL season , though he returned to play for Västerås IK for a brief period during the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout . Lidström scored 60 points in his rookie season , finishing second to Pavel Bure in voting for that year ' s Calder Trophy . He was selected to the 1992 NHL All - Rookie Team along with fellow Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov . Known for his durability , Lidström consistently ranks amongst the top in the NHL in ice time per game . He averaged 28 : 07 minutes in the 2005 – 06 season , a career high . He won three consecutive Norris Trophies , from 2001 to 2003 , becoming the first defenseman since Bobby Orr to win three straight . In the 2003 – 04 season , he played in his 1 , 000th game of his career , having missed only 17 games in 12½ seasons ( 1994 – 95 was shortened to 48 games instead of the usual 82 by a labor dispute ) . Never a big and bruising defender , many experts say that the secret behind Lidström ' s consistent game is his ability to read the game ; this , combined with his excellent skating ability , allows him to be at the right spot of the ice at the right time . Instead of delivering a big body check , Lidström prefers to steal the puck and create a turnover . His reliance on brains rather than brawn might explain his lack of injuries , and also his low penalty minute totals . For most of his NHL career , he has studiously avoided drawing penalties , although the introduction of many new rules in 2005 – 06 saw him rack up his career high ( 50 ) in penalty minutes . The 2005 – 06 season also brought him his career high of 80 points ( 16 goals , 64 assists ) . In the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs , Lidström was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player during the playoffs , becoming the first - ever European to be awarded the trophy . Lidström was set to make $ 10 million during the 2005 – 06 season , but because of the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement created in July 2006 , salaries on pre - existing contracts were reduced by 24 % , which lowered his compensation to $ 7 . 6 million . That season , he posted career high 64 assists and 80 points to go with 16 goals . On June 30 , 2006 , it was announced that Lidström had signed a two - year , $ 15 . 2 million contract with the Red Wings ; instead of seeking more money elsewhere — certainly possible for a defenseman of his caliber , especially considering his stellar numbers in the past season — Lidström decided to remain with Detroit for the same annual salary as he earned during the 2005 – 06 season . Lidström was an alternate captain of the Red Wings since the 1997 – 98 season , and was awarded the captaincy after the 2006 retirement of long - time Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman . It was an honor made more special by the fact that he became the first European captain in franchise history . In his first year of captaincy , Lidström led the Red Wings to the conference finals , but lost to eventual Stanley Cup champions , the Anaheim Ducks . In the off - season , Lidström joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the League ' s outstanding defenseman for the fifth time . Lidström became the fourth defenseman in league history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins , joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr ( eight ) , Doug Harvey ( seven ) , and Ray Bourque ( five ) . Near the beginning of the 2007 – 08 season , in an October 8 win against the Edmonton Oilers , Lidström registered two assists , passing Peter Forsberg as the second - highest scoring Swedish - born NHL player of all - time . He trails only Mats Sundin ( as of the end of the 2009 – 10 season , Lidström has 1 , 046 points to Sundin ' s 1 , 349 ) . Later in the campaign , on December 26 , Lidström signed a contract extension through the 2009 – 10 . Several months later , on April 3 , 2008 , he assisted on a goal by Johan Franzén to tie Luc Robitaille at 42nd all - time with 726 assists . Entering the playoffs as Presidents ' Trophy winners , the Red Wings met the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals . Despite a game five , triple - overtime victory by the Penguins to stave off elimination , Lidström and the Red Wings defeated Pittsburgh in game six to capture the Stanley Cup . In doing so , Lidström became the first European - born - and - trained captain to win the Stanley Cup . In 1934 , Charlie Gardiner , a goalie born in Scotland had captained the Chicago Black Hawks to win the Stanley Cup and in 1938 , Johnny Gottselig , a left winger born in Russia also captained Chicago to a championship , but both players were trained in Canada . Just over a week after winning his fourth Stanley Cup in eleven seasons , on June 12 , Lidström won the Norris Trophy for the third straight season and the sixth time in seven seasons . As the Red Wings opened the 2008 – 09 pre - season against the Montreal Canadiens , Lidström suffered a broken nose as a shot from Canadiens forward Christopher Higgins ricocheted and hit him in the face . From then on he began wearing a visor . He returned in time for the regular season and was selected to the 2009 NHL All - Star Game in Montreal . However , in the midst of dealing with tendinitis that had been bothering him all season , Lidström chose to sit out All - Star weekend , along with Pavel Datsyuk . Consequently , Lidström and Datsyuk were both suspended one game by the NHL due to league policy for missing the All - Star Game without significant injury . The Red Wings opened the 2009 - 10 season in Stockholm , Sweden . During the team ' s trip in Sweden , Lidström was honored by his home county as an Ambassador of Honor . On October 15 , 2009 , in a game against the Los Angeles Kings , Lidström became the first European - born defenceman to reach 1000 points with 2 assists in the game . He is the fourth player to score 1000 points as a Detroit Red Wing ( after Gordie Howe , Alex Delvecchio , and Steve Yzerman ) , and the eighth defenseman to do so in the history of the NHL . On March 5 , 2010 Lidström got his 800th career assist . Also during the 2009 - 2010 season , Lidström played in his 1 , 395th game ( finishing the season with 1 , 412 ) , setting an all - time record for NHL games played by a player born in Europe ; earlier in the season , Lidström had passed Teppo Numminen for games played by a player trained in Europe . Lidström is also fourth - all time in games played in a Red Wings uniform , behind Howe , Delvecchio , and Yzerman , all forwards . On April 23 , 2010 , Lidström played in his 237th career playoff game , moving past Mark Messier into sole possession of third place on the NHL ' s all - time list ( Chris Chelios 266 ; Patrick Roy 247 ) . In the same game , he had an assist to tie Al MacInnis ( 121 ) for the third most assists in the postseason by a defenseman ( Ray Bourque 139 ; Paul Coffey 137 ) . On April 27 , 2010 , a day before his 40th birthday , Lidström had 3 points in a game 7 win over the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the 2010 NHL playoffs , pushing his active playoff points lead to 171 points , and tying him for 17th on the all - time playoff points list with fellow countryman Peter Forsberg . His next point will make him the highest playoff scorer in the NHL by a player born in Sweden . As of the end of the 2009 - 10 season , Lidström has missed only 28 of a possible 1 , 440 regular - season team games ( 1 because of suspension ) . After contemplating whether or not to retire , Lidström agreed on a 1 - year contract with the Red Wings on June 1 , 2010 . The new contract will pay him slightly over $ 6 million . On December 15 , 2010 , Nicklas Lidström recorded his first career hat trick , at 40 years of age , against the St . Louis Blues , sealing a 5 - 2 victory . After the game , he was asked how it feels to score his first hat trick " It feels great , I ' ve never in my life been able to notch 3 goals in a game " . The hat trick made him the oldest player in NHL history to record his first hat trick ( previously held by Scott Mellanby at 36 years old ) , and the oldest defenseman in NHL history to record a hat trick ( previously held by Mathieu Schneider at 37 years old ) . On January 18 , 2011 , Lidström was named the captain of the 2011 NHL All - Star Game In Raleigh , North Carolina . His team won by a final score of 11 - 10 over Team Staal , captained by Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes . Lidström finished + 7 with one assist . On June 20 , 2011 , after briefly contemplating retirement yet again , Lidström signed a one - year contract worth $ 6 . 2 million with the Detroit Red Wings the same amount he had been paid the previous season . On June 23 , 2011 he won his 7th Norris trophy tying with Doug Harvey and one behind Bobby Orr for most Norris Trophies . On October 22 , 2011 , in a game against the Washington Capitals , Lidström became the 14th player in the history of the NHL to play 1500 games . He is the first player not being born in North - America and therefore the first Swedish and European player as well as the first player to accomplish this in only his 20th season . Lidström also joined former " Red Wings " Alex Delvecchio and Steve Yzerman as the only 3 players having played exclusively for just one team throughout their careers . International play . Prior to his NHL career , Lidström competed in two European Junior Championships in 1988 and 1991 , one World Junior Championship in 1990 and one Canada Cup for Sweden . Following his rookie season with the Red Wings , he earned his first gold medal with Sweden at the 1991 World Championships . Three years later , he competed in the 1994 World Championships in Italy and won a bronze medal . Two years later , he participated in the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey ( successor of the Canada Cup ) and contributed 3 points in 4 games . He made his Olympic debut with Sweden at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano . Four years later was his next international appearance , playing in his second Olympics at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , where Sweden was upset by Belarus in the quarterfinal after being heavy favorites in the round - robin . Lidström made his third World Championships appearance in 2004 , but only appeared in 2 games . That summer , he also competed in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey where he scored 1 goal . In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino , Lidström helped Sweden avenge their quarterfinal upset to Belarus in Salt Lake City , scoring the game winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland . In doing so , Lidström became a member of the Triple Gold Club , adding an Olympic gold medal to go with his previous Stanley Cup s with Detroit , and his World Championship gold medal in 1991 . Lidström was also selected to the 2006 Olympic All - Star Team . Lidström also played for Sweden in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver serving as team captain in what would be his final Olympics . Lidström announced his retirement from Olympic competition following Sweden ' s loss to Slovakia . Nicklas is married to Annika . They have 4 children : Kevin ( born 1994 ) who attends a hockey school in Sweden for his junior year of high school , Adam ( born 1996 ) , Samuel ( born in 2000 ) and Lucas ( born in 2003 ) . Records . All records are as of the end of the season unless otherwise noted .