Another ‘Mount Rushmore’ for the Red Wings’ Quarter Century team

Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson has compiled a list of the “Mount Rushmore” fours for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams over the course of the last quarter-century, and his picks for the Red Wings’ foundational players are, for the most part, empty-net tap-ins:

Nicklas Lidström, Defense

Steve Yzerman, Center

Pavel Datsyuk, Center

Henrik Zetterberg, Center

Lidström won the James Norris Memorial Trophy seven times from 2000-01 to 2010-11 and was the first European to captain an NHL team to the Stanley Cup (2008).

Yzerman is the franchise assist leader (1,063) and captained the Wings to three Stanley Cups, including his last in 2002. Both are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Datsyuk is also in the Hall of Fame, winning four Lady Byng Memorial Trophies and three Frank J. Selke Trophies between 2005-06 and 2009-10.

Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2008 and is fifth among the franchise leaders with 337 goals, 623 assists and 960 points.

I’m not certain whether I’d have Yzerman as one of the Wings’ Quarter Century icons as his career was a little more prolific in the 90’s, but that’s just a small quibble.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!