The pair will miss the Red Wings' regular-season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets under a policy established last year, Colin Campbell, the NHL's senior executive vice president of hockey operations, said Friday.
Sidney Crosby, on the other hand, will not miss the Pittsburgh Penguins' next game because he was in attendance in Montreal, even though it was announced Thursday he would not take part in on-ice activities during All-Star Weekend as he rests an injured left knee.
Campbell said he felt bad for Lidstrom, who has played in 10 All-Star Games and often brings his family to the event."Unfortunately he's caught up in this," Campbell said.
But, the league's top disciplinarian said, players who are voted or named to All-Star rosters have an obligation to attend if they aren't injured.
Detroit GM Ken Holland said Lidstrom, 38, has been dealing with tendinitis for a number of seasons and wanted to use the All-Star break to try to get into a position where he can play pain-free down the stretch. Holland knew there was the potential for Lidstrom to miss a game after the break, but didn't pressure his star defenseman to play."Nik Lidstrom has been an incredible ambassador for our team and for our game. I respect his decision," Holland told ESPN.com on Friday.
Holland was less enthusiastic about the policy that will sit his star defenseman for a game. "I disagree with the decision, but I'm not running the league," he said.
Tuesday's game is looming as a difficult outing for the Central Division-leading Wings, as Holland said they might be without defenseman Brad Stuart and forward Johan Franzen as well.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman imposed the policy, established at last year's general managers meetings, to legitimize injury claims and improve All-Star Weekend attendance. The policy states All-Stars who are injured must have missed at least the last game before the All-Star break in order to be excused; otherwise, they must sit out the first regular-season game after the break.
Former NHL goalie Glenn Healy, now director of player affairs for the NHLPA, disagrees with the league's stance on the issue. He said the league needs to look at the big picture."It's not good for hockey and it's not good for the fans," if Lidstrom and Datsyuk are held out of play, Healy said.
Players invited to the YoungStars competition are still exempt from the policy, and several have bowed out of the event, including Columbus goalie Steve Mason and Washington center Nicklas Backstrom.
Campbell said the attendance policy eventually may be extended to cover the YoungStars as well.
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