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Getting to know a Duck: Toni Lydman

Posted on by Dirk Hoag

Back when they won the Stanley Cup in 2007, the Anaheim Ducks boasted an All-World defense corps headed up by Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. Those days are long gone, but Anaheim GM Bob Murray has steadied the blueline situation somewhat by reacquiring Francois Beauchemin from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and signing 10-year veteran Toni Lydman to a 3-year, $9 million contract as a free agent over the summer.

Toni Lydman

#32 / Defenseman / Anaheim Ducks

6-1

210

Sep 25, 1977

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG SOG PCT
2010 – Toni Lydman 78 3 22 25 32 42 0 0 0 99 3.0

Scouting Report

Assets
  • Looks after his own zone first and foremost, but also possesses some puck-moving ability. Rarely gets caught out of position and is an outstanding skater.

Flaws
  • Doesn’t produce enough points for his skill level and, at this point in his career, probably never will. He’s also not as physical as he could be.

Career Potential
  • Big-minute defenseman, when healthy.

Lydman leads the Anaheim D in penalty-killing time along with Beauchemin and Andreas Lilja, and the fans in Buffalo still miss his steady presence on their blueline. He’s one of those defensemen who does his best work when you really don’t notice him much; in 5-on-5 play, he’s usually busy providing the safety net so Lubomir Visnovsky (the NHL’s top-scoring D-man) can take chances offensively.

In short, he may not get the star attention that the RPG line or Visnovsky get, but he is perhaps as critical as any of those guys to the Ducks’ success. The Preds will need to get a body on him early and often, and particularly with a confident puck-handler like Dan Ellis in goal for Anaheim, I expect we’ll see Nashville dump the puck into the corners quite a bit in order to get the forecheck going. When they do, following through with a big hit on #32 consistently could lead to dividends down the road.

Talking Points