Niclas Lidstrom is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman and current vice president of hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings, with an estimated net worth of $60 Million. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, which he captained for the final six seasons of his career. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defencemen in NHL history.

Bio Data

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Biography

Niclas Lidstrom was born on 28 April 1970 in Krylbo, Sweden. He was born to Jan Erik Lidstrom and GERD Lidstrom. He 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 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.

Career

Lidström played his entire 20-year NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings, finishing his career with the second-most Stanley Cup playoff games played in NHL history, with 263 appearances. He was a member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams, in 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02 and 2007–08.

Widely considered one of the greatest defencemen of all time, Lidström was awarded the Norris Trophy seven times, a feat matched by only two other players: Doug Harvey and by Bobby Orr (who won the trophy eight times).

Lidström, known for his durability,consistently ranked 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 to become the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to win three straight.

In the 2003–04 season, he played in the 1,000th game of his career, having missed only 17 games in 12-and-a-half seasons. 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 European to ever be awarded the trophy.

Honours and Accolades

Over his 20 NHL seasons, Lidström won four Stanley Cup championships, seven James Norris Memorial Trophies (awarded to the NHL’s top defenceman), one Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, and was voted into 12 NHL All-Star Games.

The Red Wings never missed the playoffs during his career, the longest in league history for a player never missing the playoffs. He is first European-born-and-trained captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team, as well as the first European player named playoff MVP.

Lidström is also the all-time leader in games played with a single NHL team by a European-born player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on 9 November 2015. In 2017, Lidström was named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history.

Niclas Lidstrom Net Worth

Niclas Lidstrom is one of the richest Hockey player in the world, with an estimated net worth of $60 Million. He earned a total of US $100,318,571 in his entire NHL career, ranking #17 in NHL / hockey career earnings.

Lidström was set to make $10 million during the 2005–06 season. However, due to the new terms of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement during the 2004–05 season, salaries on pre-existing contracts were reduced by 24%, which lowered his compensation to $7.6 million.

In 2006  Lidström signed a two-year, $15.2 million contract extension with the Red Wings.  After contemplating retirement in 2010, he agreed on a one-year contract with the Red Wings worth $6.2 million. In 2011, after briefly contemplating retirement yet again, Lidström signed a one-year contract worth $6.2 million with Detroit, the same amount he had been paid the previous season.