With Nicklas Lidstrom deciding whether he's going to call it a career after 20 years with the Detroit Red Wings, or if he's going to push back his Hall of Fame induction ceremony for at least another season, it seems like an appropriate time to talk about some of the "senior" players in NHL history.

If Lidstrom returns to Detroit, he'll be 42 years old. Only 20 players in NHL history have played beyond that age. Of course, 100 different people could have 100 different lists of those players, so this isn't meant to be definitive, rather to spark discussion. Still, Lidstrom will surely shoot near the top of this list if he's in a Red Wings uniform next season.

For now, though, here is my list of the top 10 NHL players ever to play at 42 or older:

10. Tim Horton – Sure, the chain of doughnut shops bearing his name makes a delicious maple dip and brews up an outstanding cup of joe, but in Toronto, Horton was known for being a skilled defenseman with outstanding strength. He played in 1,446 games, scoring 518 points, while helping the Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups. He was durable, too, appearing in 486 regular season games during a seven-year stretch between 1961 and 1998. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Horton was a member of the Buffalo Sabres, and had played in 24 NHL seasons, when he was killed in a high-speed car accident.

9. Claude Lemieux – "The Turtle" wasn't just one of the most reviled rivals in Red Wings history, he was also a terrific player for a lengthy career. As the only player to win four Stanley Cups with four different teams, Lemieux is ninth on the all-time playoff goal-scoring list with 80. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 1995, while with the New Jersey Devils. The right winger played for six different NHL teams across 22 seasons, scoring 786 points.

8. Dave Andreychuk – Like Lemieux, this big forward got around, playing for six different NHL clubs. Also like Lemieux, his teams were nearly always successful. Only five times in 23 seasons did Andreychuk not go to the playoffs. Nearly half of his career goals (274) came on the power play – more than anyone else in league history. He was a two-time All-Star and helped lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup championship in 2004.

7. Dominik Hasek – One of four Red Wings to make the list (just what's in the water in Detroit?), Hasek played in "only" 16 NHL seasons, but he was worthy of his Dominator nickname throughout his career. He spent most of his time in Buffalo, where he was a six-time All-Star and led the league in save percentage for six years. Hasek also has the highest career save percentage at .922. Along with winning the Vezina Trophy six times, Hasek won the Hart Memorial Trophy twice, and scored a couple of Stanley Cups with Detroit.

6. Igor Larionov – As one of the leaders of the Soviet Union's dominant national hockey team, Larionov had a career's worth of accomplishments before setting skate in the NHL. He was 29 when he started playing for Vancouver in 1989, yet he managed to play 14 seasons, including five and a half in Detroit, where he was one of the "Russian Five" who played critical roles in three Red Wings Stanley Cup titles. Larionov, a center, managed 644 points in his 921 regular season NHL games, while maintaining a 104 point edge in plus-minus.

5. Chris Chelios – Although he's the second-oldest player ever to play in the NHL, the 5-foot-11, 191-pound defenseman is probably the most accomplished older player in league history. Two of his three Stanley Cup championships came after he turned 40, while he managed to remain competitive until he retired from the NHL at 47. The five-time first-team All-Star played in 1,651 games – more than any other defenseman, and fifth overall – scoring 948 points and accumulating a plus-minus of plus-350 over 27 seasons.

4. Johnny Bucyk – Technically, Bucyk is the fifth former Red Wings player on the list, but he only played 104 games over two seasons in Detroit. The Hall of Fame left winger's remaining 21 seasons and 1,436 games were spent in Boston, where he played in six All-Star games (one other appearance came in Detroit) and won a pair of Stanley Cup titles. The Red Wings received legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuck in exchange for Bucyk – a coup at the time – but the Bruins wound up with the fourth-highest point scorer in NHL history.

3. Jacques Plante – The first NHL goaltender to wear a mask, Plante made his mark during 11 seasons in Montreal. He was a part of six Stanley Cup-winning teams, including a string of five straight titles, from 1956-1960. Among his 437 career wins, Plante earned 82 shutouts, good for fifth all-time. He was 44 when he played his final game for his fifth team – the Boston Bruins – and ended his 18-year NHL career with a 2.38 goals against average. The seven-time Vezina Trophy winner also was named league MVP in the 1961-62 season.

2. Mark Messier – Messier's career, which spanned 25 NHL seasons with three different teams, began in Edmonton, where he won five Stanley Cups. It was the last one with the Oilers, in 1990, that proved he could lead the team without The Great One, as Wayne Gretzky had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings two years prior. Messier also captained the New York Rangers to the title in 1994. He has 15 All-Star appearances and two Hart Trophies to his credit. Messier's 1,756 games played are second in NHL history, as are his regular season points (1887) and playoff points (295).

1. Gordie Howe – As arguably the greatest player ever to play the game, there's little doubt Howe belongs at the top of this list. He led the Red Wings to four Stanley Cup wins in the 1950s, and played in an incredible 23 All-Star games over his 26 seasons in the NHL. He's the only player in league history to play in five different decades, playing the 1979-80 season with the Hartford Whalers before retiring for good. "Mr. Hockey" finished his career with more games (1,767), the second-most goals (801) and the third-most points (1,850) in NHL history.