The Free Press is naming “All-21st Century Teams” celebrating each and every one of Detroit’s sports teams.
This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James posts her “All-21st Century” Red Wings team. Her team leans heavily upon the Red Wings’ 21st century glory days, surrounding their 2002 and 2008 Stanley Cups:
In selecting players from the past 25 years, I considered not just tenure, but what impact they had on the team. All stats used are within the time frame of 2000-25, meaning we’re not considering the numbers put up in the 1990s, when the Wings won two Cups and made three Finals in four seasons.
First-line forwards: Pavel Datsyuk (2001-16), Sergei Fedorov (1990-2003) and Henrik Zetterberg (2002-18)
From Datsyuk’s arrival in fall 2001 to his departure in 2016, this Russian magician and Euro Twin electrified teammates and fans with his ability to dangle the puck and make opponents look foolish. With totals of 918 points in 953 games, his 0.96 points-per-game average leads all Wings during the quarter-century. Fedorov, his fellow Russian, was one of the best skaters in the game and a force to behold before departing in free agency in July 2003. In just 236 games this centuty, he put up 220 points, a 0.93 points-per-game average. His 0.878 playoff points average is a franchise best this century – narrowly ahead of Zetterberg’s 0.875. The other half of the Euro Twins (so nicknamed by Kris Draper), meanwhile, was the steadiest, most grounded and gifted performer among this team’s forwards. Zetterberg is the franchise’s 21st-century leader in points (960) and games played (1,082) and captained the team from 2013 to his retirement in 2018.
Second-line forwards: Lucas Raymond (2022-25), Brendan Shanahan (1996-2006) and Steve Yzerman (1983-2006)
Continued (paywall), with four full lines’ worth of forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders’ worth of “All-21st Century” players.
This is an obvious question, but what does your “All-21st Century” team look like? St. James mostly makes no-brainer picks, but there are some eyebrow-raising selections as well.
