The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe offers a list of the best non-Hockey-Hall-of-Famers to play for 30 of the NHL’s 32 teams, and he makes a selection for the Red Wings that I’ve got something to say about:
Detroit Red Wings
I kind of love the Red Wings’ all-time top five, which starts with four all-time greats in Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio and Nicklas Lidstrom, before winding up at pretty much the perfect archetype for today’s list: checking line legend Kris Draper, whose 1,137-game stint in Detroit included a Selke, four Stanley Cups and the launch of a legendary rivalry. Not a bad value for a dollar.
Continued; as far as I’m concerned, the Red Wings need a banner in the rafters for “The Grind Line.” Why? Its 4 members–Draper, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Joe Kocur–have 14 Stanley Cup rings between them.
That banner should be right up there with #91.
