This week’s guest on The Broadway Hat Podcast is two-time Stanley Cup Champion Doug Lidster. Doug has played and coached at pretty much every level of hockey. Doug played college hockey at Colorado College, where he was a First Team All-American. While at Colorado College, he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 7th Round of the 1980 draft. After his Senior season, Doug was selected to join the 1983-1984 Canadian National Team. He went on to make the 1984 Olympic team and represented his county in Sarajevo.
Vancouver Canucks
After the Olympics, Lidster made his NHL debut with the Canucks. Doug would play 10 seasons with Vancouver. Doug was a top-pairing defenseman during a down time in Canucks history. During his time with the Canucks Doug would set a team record for most points scored by a Defenseman in one season (63) in the 1986-1987 season. A record that still stands today.
He was also named the 7th Captain of the franchise during the 1990-1991 season. Following that season, he would also be named Captain of Team Canada for the 1991 World Championships, where he won his second World Championship Silver medal. Doug was traded following the 1992-1993 season to the New York Rangers for Goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. At the time of the trade, Lidster had played the 4th most games in franchise history. He is currently 11th on the all-time list.
New York Rangers and his first Stanley Cup
After being a top-pairing defenseman for most of his career, Lidster took on a new role with the Rangers. Coach Mike Kennan informed him he would be a depth player for the team, a decision Lidster took in stride. Lidster only played in 37 regular-season games for the President’s Trophy-winning Rangers.
Then during the Rangers’ run to the Stanley Cup, Coach Keenan called upon him in the Rangers’ biggest game of the season. Trailing the New Jersey Devils 3 games to 2, the veteran defenseman entered the lineup for Jeff Beukeboom, who was suspended for the game. The Rangers would keep their season alive after Mark Messier backed up his “we will win tonight” guarantee with a hat trick. Lidster remained in the lineup the rest of the playoffs. After Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime game-winning goal, Doug would square off with his former team in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the Stanley Cup Finals, Lidster provided some surprising offense. Lidster scored 2 goals in the series, the only defenseman with more goals than him was Conn Smythe winner Brian Leetch. The Rangers would go on to win the series in Game 7 with Lidster out on the ice for the final seconds. Defeating his former team and winning his first Stanley Cup.
St Louis, New York, Dallas and a Second Cup
In the offseason following the Stanley Cup victory, Lidster was traded to the St Louis Blues. Doug would play just one season there before being traded back to the Rangers. He would play three more seasons on Broadway before “retiring.” He took a coaching/playing position with the Canadian National Team. Doug represented Canada at the 1998 Spangler Cup and caught the eye of the Dallas Stars. Lidster was brought in to Dallas to play a similar role to the one he had on the 1994 Rangers team. A veteran depth defenseman that could provide leadership on and off the ice. Lidster arrived late in the season and would play 17 games for the eventual Presidents Trophy-winning team. He would then play in 4 playoff games helping the Stars win their first Stanley Cup in team history.
Coaching
After retiring, Doug has been an extremely successful coach. He coached the Canadian Men’s National team to a Spengler Cup Championship in 2003. While coaching the Canadian National Women’s team, he led them to a Gold medal in the 2004 World Championship and a Silver medal at the 2009 World Championship. He then coached them to a Gold medal at the 2010 Olympic games. He won the Calder Cup as an assistant with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League in 2014. Doug was named an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks before the 2014-2015 season, where he was the top assistant for three seasons. Doug returned to the Victoria Honda AAA junior program in 2018, where he is still coaching.
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