Toni Lydman

Toni Lydman
Born	September 25, 1977 (1977-09-25) Lahti, FIN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Anaheim Ducks Buffalo Sabres Calgary Flames HIFK (SM-liiga) Tappara (SM-liiga)
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	89th overall, 1996 Calgary Flames
Playing career	1996–present

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for Finland
Olympic Games
Silver	2006 Turin	Team
Bronze	2010 Vancouver	Tournament

Toni Lydman (born September 25, 1977) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. He has previously played for the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Tappara (Sm-liiga), and HIFK (SM-liiga). He lives with his wife Heta and his two daughters, Amanda and Ellen. Lydman is also a guitarist in the band Mononen, which was started by some friends of his.

Playing career

Lydman was drafted by Calgary in the fourth round, 89th overall at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons playing in Finland's SM-liiga for Tappara in Tampere and HIFK in Helsinki before making his NHL debut for the Flames in the 2000–01 NHL season.

His best season came in 2001-02, when he scored 28 points on 6 goals and 22 assists, tying for fifth for his team in assists and sixth in points scoring. In the 2002–03 NHL season, Lydman led his defense in points with 26 and managed to remain injury-free the whole season, only missing one game due to illness. Calgary made it to the Stanley Cup finals in the 2003–04 NHL season, but Lydman missed most of their playoff campaign due to injury. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, which wiped out the entire 2004–05 NHL season, Lydman returned to Helsinki for HIFK but only managed to play eight games.

On August 25, 2005, Lydman was traded from Calgary to the Buffalo Sabres for a third-round draft pick (John Armstrong) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft,

In the 2007-2008 season, Lydman had the 16th most hits in the league for a defenceman. He is also known for his steady neutral zone play.

Having lost the Olympic final (2006), World Championship final (1998, 1999), World Cup final (2004) and Stanley Cup final (2004), Lydman and his fellow countrymen Jarkko Ruutu, Kimmo Timonen and Sami Salo, are the only members of the unofficial "Quadruple Silver Club", a somewhat humorous reference to the Triple Gold Club and the unofficial "Quadruple Gold Club" for players who have won the most important championships available to the sport.

On July 1, 2010 signed as a UFA with the Anaheim Ducks for $9 million over three years. His Ducks debut was delayed until mid-October because of problems with double vision.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996–97	Tappara	FNL		49	1	2	3	65		3	0	0	0	6
1997–98	Tappara	FNL		48	4	10	14	48		4	0	2	2	0
1998–99	HIFK	FNL		42	4	7	11	36		11	0	3	3	2
1999–00	HIFK	FNL		46	4	18	22	36		9	0	4	4	6
2000–01	Calgary Flames	NHL		62	3	16	19	30		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Calgary Flames	NHL		79	6	22	28	52		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Calgary Flames	NHL		81	6	20	26	28		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Calgary Flames	NHL		67	4	16	20	30		6	0	1	1	2
2004–05	HIFK	FNL		8	1	2	3	2		5	0	3	3	0
2005–06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		75	1	16	17	82		18	1	4	5	18
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		67	2	17	19	55		18	1	4	5	55
2007–08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	4	22	26	74		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		80	3	20	23	70		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		67	4	16	20	30		6	0	1	1	6
2010–11	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		78	3	22	25	42		6	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				738	36	187	223	493		52	3	8	11	42

Awards

• Pekka Rautakallio trophy for best defenceman in the SM-liiga - 2000
• Silver Medal Winner at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Men's Ice Hockey
• Bronze Medal Winner at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Men's Ice Hockey

External links

• Toni Lydman's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Toni Lydman - Sabres.com

Preceded by Brian Rafalski	Winner of the Pekka Rautakallio trophy 1999–00	Succeeded by Jouni Loponen
Preceded by Jochen Hecht	Buffalo Sabres captain November 2007	Succeeded by Brian Campbell