If Nicklas Lidstrom announces his retirement on Thursday, and it's very likely that he will do so, he will have led every Red Wings team he's ever played for to the playoffs. Among his many great accomplishments, the Detroit Red Wings success during his team is one of his finest. Lidstrom won the Stanley Cup four times and he played a significant role in all of those runs. He's participated in 263 playoff contests, second only to Chris Chelios, who continued to play well into his late 40s.

Nicklas Lidstrom and Detroit GM Ken Holland will meet with the media at a news conference Thursday and speculation is that it will be to discuss the future of the Hall of Fame defenseman. The 42-year-old just completed his 20th NHL campaign with the Red Wings in 2011-12. If he calls it a career then he will go down as one of the top defenders to ever play the game.

Nicklas Lidstrom isn't ready to make a decision regarding his future. "I've been taking my time and I haven't really gotten to that process yet," said Lidstrom on Friday. "I haven't really gotten any closer to a decision." Red Wings GM Ken Holland is hoping that Lidstrom will reach a decision by mid-June so that Detroit can factor it into their free agency plans. Lidstrom indicated that he'll make his decision by then.

Detroit GM Ken Holland will meet with veteran defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom in the next few weeks. Lidstrom is contemplating retirement as well he should be at the age of 42, but he could return for another season as his skill level is still top ten in the NHL among defensemen and possibly higher than that. He should decide by mid-June. If he decides to retire, his next stop will be the Hall of Fame.

Nicklas Lidstrom was not one of the three nominees for the James Norris Trophy this season. Lidstrom has won seven Norris Trophy's and is second all-time to Bobby Orr who won eight. Lidstrom has 34 points in 70 games this season to go with a plus-21 rating but did not deserve to be in the top three as Erik Karlsson, Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara were better this season. Lidstrom is contemplating retirement this off-season so this could have been his last chance to tie Orr.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland is hoping that Nicklas Lidstrom will come to a decision about his future by mid-June. That would allow Detroit to know where Lidstrom stands before the NHL entry draft and free agent period. "I'm hoping Nick comes back," Holland said. "He told me he's not sure. Which, to me, that's a good thing." Lidstrom will turn 42 on Saturday, but he's still capable of contributing.

Nicklas Lidstrom indicates he could make a decision by July 1 on whether returns for 2012-13. Lidstrom will turn 42 on Saturday and instead of getting ready for a second-round series he will contemplate his immediate future. He chose July 1 as that is when the window opens on free agency. In the five-game series defeat to Nashville, Lidstrom was without a point with an even plus/minus while averaging 23:43. He was 11-23-34 and plus-21 in 70 regular season matches.

Although the Red Wings' season is over, Nicklas Lidstrom isn't ready to talk about his future yet. "I'll sit down with Kenny (Holland) in the next few weeks and go from there," Lidstrom said. "The factors haven't changed." Lidstrom will turn 42 on April 28 and while he's still capable of playing at the NHL level, there's a good chance that he'll decide to hang up his skates.

Friday's game might be Nicklas Lidstrom's last, although he's probably much more focused on extending the Red Wings' playoff run with a win. Nashville has a 3-1 series lead and while Lidstrom might retire this summer, it's a safe bet that he's more focused on the present. You just can't get discouraged," Lidstrom said following Tuesday's defeat. "We have a lot of veteran leadership in here, and that's gonna come into play. I don't think you change a whole lot. We have to play better defensively, but we're doing a lot of good things offensively." At some point, doing good things offensively needs to result in actual goals for it to matter. Detroit has scored just eight times in four games and Lidstrom is still searching for his first point of the playoffs.

Nicklas Lidstrom returned to action on Saturday March 24.