ESPN ranked the “Top 25 NHL Players of the 21st Century,” and two Red Wings made the list outright…
5. Nicklas Lidstrom, D
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), seven-time Norris winner, 2002 Conn Smythe winner, four-time Stanley Cup champ, Hockey HOF in 2015
Lidstrom’s career had several touch points. He was part of four Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman seven times and became a model that many of today’s defensemen look to emulate.— Ryan Clark
22. Pavel Datsyuk, C
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), three-time Selke winner, four-time Lady Byng winner, two-time Stanley Cup Champ, Triple Gold Club
The Red Wings’ stalwart never won a Hart Trophy or a Ted Lindsay. But Datsyuk also never failed to amaze the players he went up against night after night: “He’s just one of those players who is special,” said Marian Hossa. “He is sick defensively. I think he’s the best in the world at stealing the puck. To watch him is fun. Sometimes when you have the puck and he steals it from you, you just have to laugh because of how easy he made it look.” — Kristen Shilton
And we’ll allow riding the coattails of this guy:
4. Patrick Kane, LW
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), 2007 Calder, 2012 Smythe, 2015 Ross, 2015 Hart, three-time Stanley Cup Champion
A nine-time NHL All-Star Game participant, Kane won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane’s goal-scoring exploits made him one of the game’s most dangerous players as a well as one of the NHL’s most prominent faces. In 2016, he became the first American-born player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and ranks third all-time among U.S. players in points. — Ryan Clark
