Nick Lindstrom retired from the Red Wings today. He was one of the best players ever to play the game. Aside from his accomplishments as a player he was also considered one of the finest people in sports. He will be missed.
from the Detroit News by Gregg Krupa
The kindness, the compassion, the courage, the forthrightness, the emotional equilibrium that Lidstrom showed throughout his brilliant, nonpareil career is what should remain with us.
Long after the debates about whether he or Bobby Orr was the greatest defenseman, long after the debates about whether he or Steve Yzerman were more important to the teams that won Stanley Cups for the Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002, and long before we are done missing Nicklas Lidstrom, what we should take from him is the gift of his humanity.
He is the son-in-law we would like for our daughters, the big brother we would like for our sons, the father-in-law we would like for ourselves.
I would grow quickly weary of a debate with an athlete who insisted he is not an example and does not intend to be. How much more rewarding to contemplate one who is?
To be so unaffected by the accomplishment and fame he has accumulated, to have remained almost precisely the same person throughout the years certainly sets a standard. To be such a nice guy and such a rare athlete is a measure of his greatness.
After praising his wife for doing "the incredible job of raising four boys" with a husband on the road for much of nine months of the year, Lidstrom reflected on his career.
"I take a lot of pride in what I have done here in over 20 years,"
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120531/OPINION03/205310436#ixzz1wVVvX0Cx
from the Detroit News by Gregg Krupa
The kindness, the compassion, the courage, the forthrightness, the emotional equilibrium that Lidstrom showed throughout his brilliant, nonpareil career is what should remain with us.
Long after the debates about whether he or Bobby Orr was the greatest defenseman, long after the debates about whether he or Steve Yzerman were more important to the teams that won Stanley Cups for the Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002, and long before we are done missing Nicklas Lidstrom, what we should take from him is the gift of his humanity.
He is the son-in-law we would like for our daughters, the big brother we would like for our sons, the father-in-law we would like for ourselves.
I would grow quickly weary of a debate with an athlete who insisted he is not an example and does not intend to be. How much more rewarding to contemplate one who is?
To be so unaffected by the accomplishment and fame he has accumulated, to have remained almost precisely the same person throughout the years certainly sets a standard. To be such a nice guy and such a rare athlete is a measure of his greatness.
After praising his wife for doing "the incredible job of raising four boys" with a husband on the road for much of nine months of the year, Lidstrom reflected on his career.
"I take a lot of pride in what I have done here in over 20 years,"
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120531/OPINION03/205310436#ixzz1wVVvX0Cx
