Nick Lidstrom reveals the “best” player he played with

He'll forever go down as not only the greatest defenseman in Detroit Red Wings history, but arguably the best at the position to ever suit up in the National Hockey League. But who would former Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom say is the most talented teammate that he ever played with? 

There's certainly no shortage of options for Lidstrom to choose from, considering that he played with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Dominik Hasek, Brendan Shanahan, and several other Hall of Fame talents in his career. But for the beloved Swede, there is one who stands above the rest.

“I played with Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Brett Hull,” Lidstrom explained recently during an interview with Hockey Morning, a feature of Swedish website Aftonbladet.se.

But who is the most talented teammate he shared the ice with? 

"Pavel Datsyuk is the most skilled player I have ever played with,” Lidstrom said. “Datsyuk’s skill and what he could do with the puck. He is the best I have ever played with.”

One of the most dynamic and creative players in National Hockey League history, former Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk wowed the fans of Hockeytown for his 14 seasons wearing the Winged Wheel. However, the lure of the motherland was too much for him to turn down, and he would return to his native Russia to continue his playing career. 

Over the course of his NHL career, Datsyuk appeared in 953 games, all with the Red Wings. He'd score 314 goals along with 604 assists during the regular season, while scoring 42 goals and 71 assists in 157 career postseason games. Meanwhile, he'd rack up a total of 60 goals and 144 assists in 260 career games in the KHL with SKA Saint Petersburg and later Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. 

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