The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
Nick Lidstrom was at his peak in around 2001 and 2002.
He was a great defenseman -- perhaps the best player in the NHL at that time. (Either him or Forsberg).
But come on. If Lidstrom was such a god -- so great that he'd singlehandedly turn a bottom 6 NHL team into a playoff team and maybe more, then how in the **** did the Red Wings lose in round 1 in 2000 and 2003 - the prime of Lidstrom's career.
Hockey is still a team game. It's not so easy to add a man to a roster and say "There's X wins and X points."
A hot goalie can and will win a series. They lost in the playoffs didn't they, you know something he never missed once...
I didn't say they would win the cup, what I said is Nick Lidstrom could drag teams to the playoffs. Since the guy never missed I don't really need to point to much more than that. But he dominated the game, he controlled over half the proceedings. In this parity league, I think he could push a team towards the playoffs. There is a lot to say over 82 games he could night in and night out impact the standings in a way where a hot Giggy might not be his undoing. He dominated the league for 20 years, it took some people time to catch up, but the Wings were saying it for longer than the media.