Nicklas Lidstrom has signed a one-year deal to remain with the Detroit Red Wings, ending speculation that the team captain and multiple Norris Trophy winner would retire.
Lidstrom, 40, scored 9 goals and 40 assists and was a plus-22 in 82 regular-season games. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he scored 4 goals and 6 assists in 12 games.
For his illustrious career, Lidstrom has played in 1,412 regular-season contests over 18 seasons, scoring 237 goals 809 assists and is a startling plus-431.
In the playoffs, Lidstrom has scored 50 goals and 125 assists in 247 games and is plus-53.
Lidstrom has won four Stanley Cups with the Wings, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. He also is the first European-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, and in 2008 became the only European-born captain to lead his team to the Stanley Cup. Lidstrom took over as Red Wings' captain following Steve Yzerman's retirement and has won six Norris Trophies in his career.
Speculation rose that Lidstrom was planning to retire when he enrolled his son in a school in Sweden, but Lidstrom downplayed the talk, noting the enrollment was a move the family needed to make if Lidstrom were to opt for retirement.
All along, the Red Wings wanted him back and coach Mike Babcock said he was proceeding along the lines that his captain would return for 2010-11.
"I don't have a timetable," Lidstrom said after the Wings were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round. But he also didn't want to handicap the Red Wings in free agency if he opted to leave, so Tuesday's decision was expected sooner rather than later.
"We want him back," Wings GM Ken Holland after the Wings were eliminated. "I don't know what process he's got to go through."
The one-year deal signifies the process worked for both player and team.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.