ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski offers a selection of 10 possible 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees in a column for ESPN+, and two of his suggestions are former Red Wings. One is Daniel Alfredsson, who only spent one season with the Wings…
Daniel Alfredsson, right wing (sixth year): The former Senators captain could be part of a Swedish invasion with the Sedins in 2022, or he could continue to inch closer to being in “The Hall of Very Good” instead. His 444 goals are 64th all time and his 1,157 points are 54th. He won the Calder Trophy in 1995-96 and won Olympic gold along with the Sedins in 2006, plus a silver in 2014. But he never won another individual award or the Stanley Cup.
Jarome Iginla was enshrined for being a great player and an even better ambassador for the game. Alfredsson fits that description, too.
And you’ve heard of this guy:
Henrik Zetterberg, center (first year): Zetterberg finished his career with 960 points in 1,082 games, including 337 goals. A great two-way forward, he never won a Selke Trophy and was nominated only once. He was second for the Calder in 2002-03 as well. His greatest individual accomplishment was winning the Conn Smythe in the Red Wings’ 2008 Stanley Cup win. That ring earned him Triple Gold Club status, along with championships in the 2006 Olympics and the 2006 world championships with Sweden.
One could argue his former teammate Pavel Datsyuk has a stronger case. One could also argue that Guy Carbonneau’s enshrinement swung the door open for the former Red Wings captain.
Continued (paywall); I really wonder what people would say about Zetterberg if he had a fully healthy career. It turns out that the degenerative disc issue that plagued him during the second half of his career took a lot of pre-game work in order for Zetterberg to simply play through the pain. As good as he was, and he was damn good, he could have been better with a fully healthy back.
