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Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection
The life and career of Nicklas Lidstrom almost reads like a real-life hockey fairy tale. Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings as a 19-year-old defenseman out of his native Sweden, Lidstrom spent the next two decades manning the Motor City blueline. During those years he became a Hockeytown legend, amassing a mind-boggling collection of accomplishments and four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman, a Conn Smythe Trophy, 12 All-Star selections, and gold medals in both the Olympics and World Championships.
Off the ice, life appears equally Lidstrom is uniformly respected and admired by opponents, observers, and teammates alike, and he and his wife of more than 20 years have four boys who split their time between Sweden and their adopted homeland.
Perhaps only one question remains unanswered about the man teammates referred to as the Perfect exactly how did he do it?
In Nicklas The Pursuit of Perfection , the Hall of Fame defenseman and a who’s-who of hockey luminaries investigate and reveal precisely how he made dominating the game he loves appear so effortless. How did an unimposing prospect catch the eye of Red Wings scouts during an era when few Swedes made it to the NHL? What was the secret to his remarkable endurance and longevity, allowing him to miss just 44 games in 20 grueling NHL seasons? And what level of preparation and study was required to transform a man who was not the biggest or fastest at his position into one of the greatest defensemen in hockey history?
You’ll find the answers to all of this and more in Nicklas The Pursuit of Perfection
Off the ice, life appears equally Lidstrom is uniformly respected and admired by opponents, observers, and teammates alike, and he and his wife of more than 20 years have four boys who split their time between Sweden and their adopted homeland.
Perhaps only one question remains unanswered about the man teammates referred to as the Perfect exactly how did he do it?
In Nicklas The Pursuit of Perfection , the Hall of Fame defenseman and a who’s-who of hockey luminaries investigate and reveal precisely how he made dominating the game he loves appear so effortless. How did an unimposing prospect catch the eye of Red Wings scouts during an era when few Swedes made it to the NHL? What was the secret to his remarkable endurance and longevity, allowing him to miss just 44 games in 20 grueling NHL seasons? And what level of preparation and study was required to transform a man who was not the biggest or fastest at his position into one of the greatest defensemen in hockey history?
You’ll find the answers to all of this and more in Nicklas The Pursuit of Perfection
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2019
46 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
January 8, 2020
Hoped to get inside the head of someone who consistently performed at the highest level. Despite the books title, the book gave zero insight to Nick. Lengthy chronology of his career and little else.
December 30, 2020
Nicklas Lidstrom is universally considered one of the greatest hockey players to lace up the skates. Over a 20-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, his accomplishments include contributing to four Stanley Cup championships, seven Norris Trophies (awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL), 12 all-star selections and gold medals representing his native Sweden in the Olympics and World Championships. With such an outstanding resume, one would think that a book about him would strive to be as good. While this memoir/biography co-written with Gunnar Nordstrom and Bob Duff is engrossing at times, overall, it doesn't match his play on the ice.
The bulk of the book is a chronological study of his Red Wings career, with some text about his play in Sweden where the Red Wings couldn't believe their luck to find a defenseman with his skill set being under the radar of most scouts. This is mainly because at that time in the 1990's, there was still a misconception that European players couldn't excel in North America. Even though there were stars from Europe previous such Borje Salming (who is mentioned in the book), that mindset allowed Detroit scouts to draft Lidstrom in a lower round that really didn't reflect his greatness.
Because the book concentrates heavily into his Red Wings career, the reader will only gain minimal information on other aspects of Lidstrom's other experience and also his personal life. The most that is covered is the last 10% of the book when his family headed back to Sweden after he retired from the Red Wings. Even that isn't described in great detail – at least nothing close to his time in Detroit.
There is a LOT of praise for Lidstrom throughout the book and numerous quotes from many different people in the NHL. Not only Detroit teammates, but coaches, general managers, fans – just about anyone who saw him play and would be willing to speak to the authors were quoted. While there is no question he was worthy of praise, it was almost too much. He was often called "perfect" as in the perfect player, the perfect person, and such. About the only person who refuted this reputation was Lidstrom himself, who would often remember imperfections he would exhibit. The best example of this was his memory of the last shot of game 7 in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals that a Pittsburgh Penguins defender blocked and thereby denied the Red Wings a second straight championship.
Overall, this book is fine to read if one is a big fan of the Red Wings or Lidstrom. However, if a reader wants to learn more about him outside of the Red Wings, there won't be a lot of material. Decent book for a quick read.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The bulk of the book is a chronological study of his Red Wings career, with some text about his play in Sweden where the Red Wings couldn't believe their luck to find a defenseman with his skill set being under the radar of most scouts. This is mainly because at that time in the 1990's, there was still a misconception that European players couldn't excel in North America. Even though there were stars from Europe previous such Borje Salming (who is mentioned in the book), that mindset allowed Detroit scouts to draft Lidstrom in a lower round that really didn't reflect his greatness.
Because the book concentrates heavily into his Red Wings career, the reader will only gain minimal information on other aspects of Lidstrom's other experience and also his personal life. The most that is covered is the last 10% of the book when his family headed back to Sweden after he retired from the Red Wings. Even that isn't described in great detail – at least nothing close to his time in Detroit.
There is a LOT of praise for Lidstrom throughout the book and numerous quotes from many different people in the NHL. Not only Detroit teammates, but coaches, general managers, fans – just about anyone who saw him play and would be willing to speak to the authors were quoted. While there is no question he was worthy of praise, it was almost too much. He was often called "perfect" as in the perfect player, the perfect person, and such. About the only person who refuted this reputation was Lidstrom himself, who would often remember imperfections he would exhibit. The best example of this was his memory of the last shot of game 7 in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals that a Pittsburgh Penguins defender blocked and thereby denied the Red Wings a second straight championship.
Overall, this book is fine to read if one is a big fan of the Red Wings or Lidstrom. However, if a reader wants to learn more about him outside of the Red Wings, there won't be a lot of material. Decent book for a quick read.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
April 1, 2021
A pretty good book on the career of one of the best hockey players ever -- Nicklas Lidstrom. I enjoyed watching the Red Wings in the late 90s and early 2000s when they were really good and Lidstrom was on all the great teams, winning Stanley Cups in 97, 98, 2002, and 2008. His career spans about 20 years so a lot of good stories. What I wish the author did though is cut out a chapter of him being respected by peers. Throughout the entire book the author presents that case with multiple quotes so it seemed like overkill at times. Get rid of that one chapter and the book is a lot tighter. Also, a little more detail besides the scores of playoff games would have been nice. However, it was fun going down memory lane with a lot of clutch games, the wons that Detroit won and the ones the team lost. A must for hockey fans.
August 29, 2024
As a die hard red wing fan, I always took Nick’s athletic prowess and seemingly innate hockey intelligence for granted. I will never look at his career the same way again. Because everything was done so effortlessly, so meticulously, so brilliantly and consistently over almost a 30 year span, he truly is one of the all-time greats. A wonderful read if you’re a hockey fan, and a satisfying journey for curious readers interested in discovering what the term “generational talent” means in professional sports.
March 18, 2025
Lidstrom is my all-time favorite hockey player, but this book fell a little flat for me.
August 7, 2020
This is very much a quote-driven tribute to Nicklas Lidstrom rather than a biography. If you are a fan of his and the 1990s-2000s Detroit Red Wings as I am, then you will enjoy it. Just don’t expect any hard-hitting journalism or a lot of surrounding analysis, read it as a celebration of his career.
Lidstrom truly was a remarkable player who carried himself very well. I thoroughly enjoyed reliving his career and learning more of his background and some stories behind the scenes of the Red Wings’ most glorious era.
Lidstrom truly was a remarkable player who carried himself very well. I thoroughly enjoyed reliving his career and learning more of his background and some stories behind the scenes of the Red Wings’ most glorious era.
December 8, 2019
Even by the standards of authorized hockey bios, this one is pretty thin and dry. Love Lidstrom, but this is not a great read.
May 10, 2024
Teammates and coaches in the NHL have called Nicklas Lidstrom “the perfect human”. Reading the book will explain why they gave him that name. When you read the title of the book “The Pursuit of Perfection” it is assumed before you read one page that Lidstrom achieved perfection in hockey. The book is a biography of Nicklas Lidstrom’s 20 year career with the Detroit Red Wings and a chronology of what made him the greatest defenseman in NHL history. It explores Lidstrom’s childhood in Sweden when he was just beginning to learn the sport. It talks about his admiration for other Swedish players such as Borje Salming who eventually played in the NHL too. The book discusses how he was drafted by the Detroit red Wings and interestingly how many of the NHL talent scouts didn’t realize how great a player Lidstrom really was. This was one of the reasons the Detroit Red Wings were able to contract Lidstrom, they were the first to realize his great talent.
The book title also gives the reader the impression that Lidstrom was always the best goal scorer, fastest skater, tallest defenseman, great and most exciting goal scorer. If you read the book, it becomes clear that Lidstrom was not the fastest, not the tallest and not the most physical player. He wasn’t even good at getting physical with other players to help defend the Red Wings. It is exciting to read that Bill Clement who was a hockey broadcaster, said about Lidstrom that “His hockey IQ was off the charts. His anticipation of what was happening on the ice was flawless. His execution was almost always without a mistake. I consider him the greatest defensive defenseman of all time.’ (The Pursuit of Perfection page 7.) It is also mentioned many times that not only was Lidstrom a really nice person but he never lost his temper and he was always calm. The book with comments from other players and coaches as well as journalists show that Lidstrom had an incredible talent that got better because of his other personality traits and good character traits. He was willing to learn and was able to focus without being distracted by anger or impatience. These are the many things explored in this book. It is not a true biography of Lidstrom because it mostly talks about his career in hockey especially when he played with the Detroit Red Wings. This book doesn’t discuss in great details his childhood or his personal family life. The book does show Lidstroms courage he had to leave his country and family members behind to live in Detroit and play for a new team. It is very interesting to read how Lidstrom became the perfect human.
The book title also gives the reader the impression that Lidstrom was always the best goal scorer, fastest skater, tallest defenseman, great and most exciting goal scorer. If you read the book, it becomes clear that Lidstrom was not the fastest, not the tallest and not the most physical player. He wasn’t even good at getting physical with other players to help defend the Red Wings. It is exciting to read that Bill Clement who was a hockey broadcaster, said about Lidstrom that “His hockey IQ was off the charts. His anticipation of what was happening on the ice was flawless. His execution was almost always without a mistake. I consider him the greatest defensive defenseman of all time.’ (The Pursuit of Perfection page 7.) It is also mentioned many times that not only was Lidstrom a really nice person but he never lost his temper and he was always calm. The book with comments from other players and coaches as well as journalists show that Lidstrom had an incredible talent that got better because of his other personality traits and good character traits. He was willing to learn and was able to focus without being distracted by anger or impatience. These are the many things explored in this book. It is not a true biography of Lidstrom because it mostly talks about his career in hockey especially when he played with the Detroit Red Wings. This book doesn’t discuss in great details his childhood or his personal family life. The book does show Lidstroms courage he had to leave his country and family members behind to live in Detroit and play for a new team. It is very interesting to read how Lidstrom became the perfect human.
April 7, 2023
I love hockey and have read lots of books on the great sport, including a few on the great Red Wings teams of the 1990s/2000s, but my goodness..even the great, perfect human, awesome, wonderful, humble, super, Nicklas Lidstrom would be embarrassed by the fawning nature of this book. I'm not saying that it should be critical of him because he was a great and highly respected hockey player on great, title winning teams..but perhaps that's what makes it a slightly uninteresting topic or one that would have been better served to be covered within a broader book on the Red Wings great teams. It's just so much laudatory praise on the great Lidstrom, etc. etc. etc. etc. These "perfect" athletes are not that interesting to read about (see Jeter, Derek). The parts where the game of hockey is actually covered is good but then it will slip back to Lidstrom's perfection, other players and coaches thoughts on Lidstrom's perfection, Lidstrom's humble thoughts on Lidstrom's perfection. To quote Higgins from Magnum PI (Detroit Tigers hat) - "Oh my God!!"
April 21, 2024
Worth the read, especially if you are a Red Wings fan. Many trips down memory lane to what is the peak of Red Wings franchise from the mid to 1990’s through the early 2000’s and finally through the their most recent Stanley Cup win in 2008 and the rest of Lidstrom’s career.
There is some repetitiveness to some of the stories through the book coming from the perspective of different players, coaches, etc.
It was a good read though and takes through Lidstrom’s time playing for his high school team in Sweden, his time as a junior on the Swedish National Team, the professional leagues in Sweden, and his entire career as a Red Wing.
The book wraps up with some insight into his life after retirement from the NHL. This was a great trip down memory lane and gave some great insights to Lidstrom’s mindset throughout his career.
There is some repetitiveness to some of the stories through the book coming from the perspective of different players, coaches, etc.
It was a good read though and takes through Lidstrom’s time playing for his high school team in Sweden, his time as a junior on the Swedish National Team, the professional leagues in Sweden, and his entire career as a Red Wing.
The book wraps up with some insight into his life after retirement from the NHL. This was a great trip down memory lane and gave some great insights to Lidstrom’s mindset throughout his career.
January 22, 2020
I was disappointed in this book. It was a lot of quotes from hockey players and coaches about how he was a once in a lifetime player with great hockey intelligence. He was-is-those things, but I didn’t need page after page of it. The book also seemed to jump from one subject to a completely different one quite abruptly. There was one spot where they were talking about Nick getting into wine drinking and collecting. Next paragraph was talking about the 1999 off season. Boom. No warning. Guess we’re done talking about wine. I was hoping to learn more about him and his time in Detroit with perhaps some juicy stories, but that was not to be.
**Also Goodreads, you spelled Nicklas wrong in the author section of this book. It shows as “Niklas”.
**Also Goodreads, you spelled Nicklas wrong in the author section of this book. It shows as “Niklas”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2022
This is a nice review of Nick's hockey career and is aptly supported by quotes from people who know him well. It is autobiographical; one can glean insight into certain aspects of his personality and character for sure. I enjoyed learning his perspective on situations in his professional career, life decisions and his role models who helped him on his journey through life thus far. The inner workings of his thinking machine are, however, not fully disclosed. One cannot learn how to become the perfect human!
August 16, 2023
Nick Lidstrom was absolutely incredible....this book, not so much. As other reviewers have stated, the vast majority of this book is just accolades coming from fellow players, coaches, and writers. The best part about reading this book is just the nostalgia it brings up for those Red Wing teams of the mid-nineties to the mid-aughts, and how insanely talented they were. And thats coming from an Islanders fan.
March 22, 2020
I enjoyed reading about someone who used to jokingly pull my pigtails when I was younger. Reading this book reminded me of what a wonderful person he is. So humble and kind. I really enjoyed reading about his personal life (moments with his family, where he used to eat, etc.) and wish there would have been more of those in the book.
December 24, 2020
This book was tight because I like Nicklas Lidstrom and I like reading about the red wings. I just was thrown off because I thought it'd be at least written from the perspective of lidstrom. but it isn't. also sometimes it feels tedious. but it really inspired me to do better and it helped me think about stuff too. i guess i never really understood little casesrs
March 31, 2024
If you are a fan of hockey's great players, or a Detroit Redwings fan you will enjoy this book. The book is an inside look into Mr. Lindstrom's hockey philosophy and the manner in which he played the game for 20 years, all for the Detroit team. There are many inside stories and a plethora of accolades for Nick and his style of play.
February 5, 2020
An interesting read into the life of the greatest Defenseman of the modern era. A look into his early life, growth as a Wing and life after hockey. Also interesting view behind the scenes of the Red Wings Stanley Cup victories.
May 3, 2022
I loved getting more detail and background on this great guy and amazing hockey player. But to make this book-length, it felt they had to do a play by play of his life, which got a little tedious. Glad to have him back in MI!
December 19, 2023
Lots of good information about Lindstrom's career, but no good behind the scenes stories, look into his personal life, etc. Also, listing him as the author is totally misleading. Lidstrom is interviewed throughout, but in no way is the author.
July 6, 2024
as a big fan of hockey and memoirs i was looking forward to reading this for a while, but i was disappointed. it felt like reading a very detailed wikipedia page of lidstrom's career achievements instead of something with actual storytelling and personality. boring and repetitive.
March 28, 2025
Was hoping for some cool stories or a little more insight to who Lidstrom was away from the rink but it was pretty much just chronologically breaking down his career (which was unbelievable) but not exactly what I was looking for.
November 3, 2019
He was my idol growing up. That was a great read!
November 29, 2019
There was little depth. I loved Lidstrom but the whole book was people talking about how great he was and little else. I don’t think I learned much about him in this book.
January 9, 2020
Ton of great stories. Easy read. Would of read it quicker if I didn’t stop and relive some of the games on YouTube. Thick as thieves over there in Sweden with my man Henrick Stenson too.
April 11, 2020
One of the best hockey bios. To get some of his insight into the game was extremely riveting.
April 20, 2020
Great look into the journey of one best to ever play the position!!
June 20, 2020
Straightforward but lacking much insight into what made Lidstrom tick. Would have loved to read more about the thesis written and the conclusions gathered about his play
July 18, 2020
Listened on audible and the narrator was the worst, good book all and all.
September 25, 2020
Very good book. It had a ton of things I never would have known about the game of hockey from a fan perspective
June 10, 2021
A decent book, but a bit bland. Not much discussion about regular season action. It seemed like there was not a critical word in the entire book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews