Goodbye and Thank You: Nick Lidstrom

Nick Lidstom: 7 Time Norris Memorial Winner

 I didn’t grow up watching Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe. Wayne Gretzky retired when I was 8 years old. My memories of Mario Lemiuex are filled with cancer, comebacks and retirements rather than scoring titles. But there is one player I had the pleasure to spend most of my life watching, and that is Nicklas Lidstrom.

This morning on May 31, 2012, my pick for the second best defenceman of all time announced his retirement from a 20 year NHL career that saw him compile stats that wowed, win both individual and team trophies, and become the first European born and trained player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup.

If it was there for him to do, Nick Lidstrom did it. And his reputation and likeability throughout the league is obvious with the amount of press this announcement is generating; not to mention the now famous plea from Barry Trotz to “please don’t retire” after the end of this year’s Red Wings and Predators series. So here is a look back at the career of one of the all time greats: Nicklas Lidstrom.

Lidstrom was drafted in the third round, 53^rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 1989 entry draft and made his debut with the Wings in the 1991-92 season. In his career that spanned from 1991 until this moment today Nick Lidstrom played in 1,564 regular season games – until today it was a record amongst active players (and a record for active players with a single team) while scoring 264 goals, 878 assists and an astounding 1,142 points. Talk about producing for a defenceman. However, the most amazing statistic in my mind is the fact that in his 20 years in the NHL, Nick Lidstrom was a career +450 and only had one season in the negatives. Combine this with the fact that he was playing against the other teams’ best forward lines night in and night out and you’ve got a huge reason for a hall of fame career. Additionally, Lidstrom played 263 career NHL playoff games and totaled 54 and 129 for a great 183 points. These on ice stats tell only half the story though.

First European Player to Win Conn Smythe (2002)

Nick Lidstrom was a 12 time NHL All-Star, a 7 time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner (second only all time to Bobby Orr’s 8 Norris Trophies), a 4 time Stanley Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion Gold Medalist, and a Conn Smythe Trophy Winner.

Speaking of these awards; Nick Lidstrom was the first European player to win the Conn Smythe in 2002, and in 2008 became the first European player to captain a team to the Stanley Cup. Some may say that these are superficial accolades, but they only speak to the legend and career that Mr. Lidstrom put together.

First European Captain to Win the Stanley Cup (2008)

This is an emotional day for me. Like I said, I had spent most of my 21 year old life as a AAA defenceman watching and trying to emulate (unsuccessfully I might add) the play of one of the greatest all time players in this league. To the Hockey Hall of Fame: induct this man on his first go around. To Nick Lidstrom: Thank you so much for being such a pleasure to watch for the last 20 years. You will be missed. 

My Take on Tom Renney's Release

Tom Renney - Former Oiler's Bench Boss

On Thursday, May 17^th the Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced that the hockey club would not be renewing head coach Tom Renney’s contract and that a search for a new bench boss would begin. In the world of today’s NHL where coaches’ effectiveness is determined by wins and losses, this is understandable. And for me, it is hard to be objective because of my position as a die hard Oilers fan. However, there are a lot of factors that suggest this was a bad decision by the Oilers, and one that probably should not have been made for another year or two, if at all.

Now obviously most people who are reading would stop there and say “okay, irrelevant opinion – he’s an Oilers fan” but lets take a look at what Tom Renney has had to deal with in his last 2 years as head coach after being hired as an assistant to Pat Quinn.

In the 2010 – 2011 NHL season, Renney guided the Oilers to a 25-45-12 record, worst in the NHL, and got the number 1 overall pick in Ryan-Nugent Hopkins. This team was led mostly by youth in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi, as well as quite a bit of underachieving veterans with outrageous contracts they didn’t deserve (Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky being the prime examples here). This was Renney’s first full season as a head coach and he did exactly what the NHL expected of him. But let’s look at some of the stats that the youngsters put up (and totally ignore an abysmal defensive and goaltending squad that no team could win with). In their rookie appearances Jordan Eberle and Taylor hall put up 18 goals, 25 assists, 43 points, -12; 22 goals, 20 assists, 42 points and -9 respectively. Neither of these rookies played a full 82 games due to time lost to injury so these stat lines are more than impressive considering they were thrust into first line action on a team that Phoenix Coyotes enforcer Paul Bissonette called “an AHL team”.  This wasn’t helped by the underachieving nature of Horcoff and Hemsky who put up 27 and 42 points respectively. These guys were supposed to be the club leaders and they were putting up less points than the rookies. Did anyone expect to win with these kind of stats from “team leaders”?

So it makes sense that the Oilers didn’t fire Renney, but instead put faith into him for the upcoming 2011-2012 season simply because the team did exactly what was expected of them.

In 2011-2012 the Oilers improved their record to 32-40-10 and instead of finishing dead last, they finished 2^nd last and secured the number 1 overall pick once again. You can read my article on this year’s NHL Entry Draft here to see my take on it. This season saw significant improvement from Hall and Eberle in their sophomore campaigns, and saw an explosive season from the rookie Nuge in which he became a season long Calder Trophy candidate even though he lost significant time to a shoulder injury. Nuge posted 18 goals, 34 assists and was only -2 on the second worst team in the league. Pretty impressive rookie season considering he only played 62 games. Eberle cemented himself as a star in this league by piling up 72 points in 78 games to lead the team and become an All-Star, while Hall lost time to injuries yet again and still managed to contribute more points (53) than veterans Hemsky and Horcoff who 36 and 34 points respectively. 

Most people will agree that Renney was a players coach and was doing a phenomenal job developing youthful talent like the Kid Line and Magnus Pajaarvi who spent time between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate the Oklahoma City Oil Barons. And while Maggy didn’t produce on the stat sheet, his attitude towards his development was just a testament to the mind frame Renney was instilling in the organization: Patience. This team was never a team that was going to storm around the league winning games and instantly becoming a Stanley Cup contender. Even GM Tambellini said that they were on a 5 year development plan. Improvement from 1 year to the next suggested they were well on their way to achieving success in this plan. The improving record and stats of the youth on the team point towards a solid improvement that one would expect to continue into this upcoming year. Bolstered only again by another 1^st overall pick.

So with the announcement of the release of Renney as a coach, we in the media and as fans have to begin to ask. How much of the blame in this situation falls on the coach? Is it Renney’s fault that the so-called leaders of the organization were underperforming? Was he the one responsible for the lack of defensive talent and inconsistent goaltending? Obviously coaches can’t play and do their job based on what they are given. The Oilers are well on their way to becoming offensive successes, but are still struggling on the back end. This isn’t completely Renney’s fault. Yes it is his job to prepare the players he has and in a sense he failed to do so, but it is not his responsibility to get the players he needed in order to succeed on the ice. This falls into the front office. In my opinion there hasn’t been enough emphasis on obtaining defense and goaltending in this organization and that falls with general manager Steve Tambellini, and the other Oilers front office staff. Renney was a players coach, and well liked in the organization. Ask anyone around the team that. This release was a mistake in my mind. Renney was doing the best job possible with what he was given (the improving record and stats of the Kid Line speak for that); and in some areas, this wasn’t a whole lot (goaltending and veteran stats also speak for this). Renney was a scapegoat and in my mind there was pressure on Tambellini to release him, or be fired himself.