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 25 August 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 2007-08 season, Lydman had the 16th most hits in the league for a defenceman.

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 free agent with the Anaheim Ducks for $9 million over three years. His Ducks debut was delayed until mid-October because of problems with double vision.

After completion of the lockout shortened 2012-13 season, in which he finished the season heavily concussed from a Justin Abdelkader hit in a playoff series loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Lydman retired from professional hockey and accepted a TV analyst role to cover Finnish Hockey.

Personal

He lives in Finland 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996-97	Tappara	SM-l		49	1	2	3	65		3	0	0	0	6
1997-98	Tappara	SM-l		48	4	10	14	48		4	0	2	2	0
1998-99	HIFK	SM-l		42	4	7	11	36		11	0	3	3	2
1999-00	HIFK	SM-l		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	SM-l		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
2011-12	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		74	0	13	13	46		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		35	0	6	6	12		3	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				847	36	206	242	551		55	3	8	11	42

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Finland
Olympic Games
	2006 Turin
	2010 Vancouver
World Championships
	1998 Basel
	1999 Lillehammer
	2000 Saint Petersburg

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995	Finland	EJC18	01 !		5	2	3	5	2
1996	Finland	WJC	6th		6	0	2	2	6
1997	Finland	WJC	5th		6	2	0	2	6
1998	Finland	WC	02 !		10	0	1	1	31
1999	Finland	WC	02 !		10	0	0	0	4
2000	Finland	WC	03 !		9	1	0	1	12
2002	Finland	WC	4th		9	1	1	2	0
2003	Finland	WC	5th		7	2	1	3	6
2004	Finland	WCH	02 !		6	0	3	3	6
2006	Finland	OG	02 !		8	1	0	1	10
2010	Finland	OG	03 !		6	0	0	0	2
Junior totals					17	4	5	9	14
Senior totals					65	5	6	11	71

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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]