from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

Detroit Red Wings vice-president of hockey operations Nicklas Lidstrom was among those in attendance at Wednesday’s Rogle-Farjestad SHL semifinal game. Lidstrom was an intermission guest on the C More Entertainment broadcast and ended up discussing both the present and future of the club.

Admitting that the rebuild was still in the painful stages, Lidstom was also allowing that the Wings will be seeking to beef up their lineup over the offseason via the addition of some veteran help.

“You have to go through difficult times,” Lidstrom said. “And you need strong older players around, so we’re looking at bringing in experienced players to show the way for the young guys. You need to compete every day, that’s what we want to teach our young players.”

At the same time, Lidstrom was acknowledging that it’s one thing to want to add these quality players. It’s an entirely different matter meeting the challenge of convincing them to cast their lot with a rebuilding Detroit club.

“We’re fighting with 31 other teams,” Lidstrom said. “It’s difficult to just go out and sign free agents. There’s also the salary cap, so you have to be able to keep players. So it’s about drafting and development, finding players like (rookie sensations Lucas) Raymond and (Moritz) Seider.”

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