With the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom becoming official on Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings not only have to fill a pretty big hole on their blue line, they also have to find a new captain.Lidstrom spent the past six seasons wearing the "C" in Detroit, taking over the honor after current Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman retired following the 2005-06 season.
The list of possible candidates to replace Lidstrom in that leadership role is a short one, and was pretty much limited to just three players by general manager Ken Holland: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Niklas Kronwall.
"Three come to mind: Z, Pav and Kronner," said Holland, via Brendan Savage of Mlive.com. "They've got the A's. It's hard to think you're going to take someone without a letter and go past guys with letters. It's hard to think you're going to bring somebody from the outside to be your captain. So in all reality, one of our assistants will probably be the captain."
There's also these words from veteran forward Dan Cleary:
"We'll be in great hands," Cleary said. "We'll have a great captain in Zetterberg. Z is the ultimate ... he's like Nick, but a little more vocal. Ultimate team player, all he cares about is winning. Great work ethic.So he already has the support of some of his teammates.
It's long been assumed since he signed his 12-year contract to remain with the club that Zetterberg would be the heir apparent to Lidstrom and eventually slide into that role. He's been with the club since the start of the 2002-03 season, and has been one of the better two-way forwards in the league for most of his career. He's viewed as a leader in Detroit, and has consistently come up big for the team in the playoffs, including the 2007-08 postseason when he become the second European-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Lidstrom, of course, was the first.
Zetterberg is signed through the 2020-21 season.
So, for now, it appears that the biggest question for the Red Wings this summer isn't who is going to replace Lidstrom as captain, but rather who is going to replace on the ice defensively. The answer to that question might already have some folks in Nashville a little nervous right about now.
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