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In what comes as no shock to anybody anywhere, the Detroit Red Wings will retire the No. 5 sweater of Nicklas Lidstrom.
The Wings announced that the ceremony to honor Lidstrom, one of the very best players to ever skate, by retiring his jersey on March 6 against the Avalanche. It's an honor more than deserved for a former captain and star on the Detroit blue line for many years.
When Lidstrom's No. 5 goes up it will join No. 1 (Terry Sawchuk), No. 7 (Ted Lindsay), No. 9 (Gordie Howe), No. 10 (Alex Delvecchio), No. 12 (Sid Abel) and No. 19 Steve Yzerman. Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is also retired by the Wings and every other franchise.
This is the first of many post-career honors that Lidstrom will receive. He will surely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in a couple of summers when that time comes as well.
Lidstrom finished his career second all-time in Wings history with 1,564 games played and fourth in points with 1,142. He was also a seven-time Norris Trophy winner and also took home the Conn Smythe in 2002. The Red Wings made the playoffs every season Lidstrom played from 1991-92 until 2011-12, a run that included four Stanley Cup championships.
