courtesy of robdumoart.com

The player that I remember the most – besides Gretz – was Teppo Numminen who played against Vancouver first as a Jet and later as a Coyote.

He finished his career as a Buffalo Sabre, but thank goodness for the Canucks he was playing in the Eastern conference.

“Teppo Numminen did more than go into a “zone” before games to gain focus. He entered a “zombie zone.” Others joked; he remained stone-faced.

Numminen, who recently retired from the Buffalo Sabres, played 15 of his 20 seasons with the Jets-Coyotes franchise, setting records for seasons played and games played (1,098).

On game nights, he did whatever it took to focus. An insider at many of those pre-game rituals said the Finn went into a “zombie-like state.” Numminen said he had to approach things that way.

“I was kind of a dreamer,” he said. “I think a lot, so I had to really work on my concentration to be focused for 60 minutes and just clear my mind of all the other thoughts and things.

“From the start, it was really difficult for me to get there. As I got older and played more, I’d find ways to get to that zone. It’s tough for me to concentrate, so I had to work extra hard to get to that zone. If I didn’t get there, I was terrible. That was a big part of my game.”

He played only the final game of the 2007-08 season with the Sabres after open-heart surgery, but the defenseman bounced back last year to play in 57 games, averaging 17:30 of ice time.

Numminen, 41, said he felt it was the right time to retire.

“With the stuff (surgery) I had, I was able to come back and play regular in the NHL again, so it was another dream come true.”

He brought a lot to the table, and it was due to his preparation.

“I think my plan was a year at a game from the beginning,” he said. “Don’t look ahead, don’t look back. I took a month off then trained again in the summer time.

“I really worked hard, didn’t want to risk my season. I guess it starts from there, and when you come to camp you start putting the pieces together. It was a challenge.”

The biggest contribution he made?

“I think it was my style of play,” he said. “I could play defense. I could create some offense, and I think I was kind of an all-around player. I could be put in any kind of situation, whatever the team needed.”

Numminen said he loved his tenure with the Jets-Coyotes franchise.

“It (Winnipeg) was a great place to start a career, and then moved to Phoenix, where I enjoyed myself in the Valley,” he said. “I felt very comfortable with both squads.”

*****

link

Dave Lewis has played with – and coached – some of the best players in NHL history.
Dave played with the Islanders from 1973-74 until 1979-80, when he was traded to the Kings. He played in L.A. from 1979-80 until 1982-83, then to New Jersey for three years, and finally a season and a bit in Detroit, before retiring during the 1987-88 season.
Dave was an assistant coach in Detroit for 15 seasons, under three coaches, and had his name engraved on the Cup twice as an assistant. He succeeded Scotty Bowman in 2002, a month after Bowman had won a record-ninth Stanley Cup. Lewis had 48-victory seasons in 2002-03 and 2003-04, but his contract wasn’t renewed when his teams didn’t advance beyond the second round. Lewis coached the Bruins during the 2006-07 season, and was fired when Boston didn’t reach the post-season. And last season, he was named an assistant by Marc Crawford, but when Crawford left, so did Dave.

Dave Lewis has thus been in the NHL for well over three and a half decades, and has coached and played with some of the best players in the game’s history.
A few years back I talked to him about some of these stars.

The following is an excerpt from an article which I wrote, and was published by Vancouver’s Sports Vue magazine:

MARCEL DIONNE

On bottom-feeding teams, Marcel Dionne still accumulated a remarkable 1771 points in 1348 games. He played in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York from 1971 to 1989. He won the Art Ross Trophy once and was the runner up three times.

“The first thing,” Lewis says, “Marcel was very exciting. He was quick, skilled, and very dangerous in the offensive zone. Marcel wasn’t a big guy but he had very outstanding lateral movement. He could beat a defenseman or two just going laterally. And I think Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor really complimented Marcel in his offensive production. Charlie Simmer was just a natural goal scorer from 10 or 12 feet in. It seemed any time he had the puck close to the goalie he could find a way to get it in. Dave Taylor on the other hand was the ultimate worker. He was the guy to go in and forecheck, hit players, digging pucks out for Marcel. But, Marcel had great vision. All these players have a tremendous vision of the ice.”

MIKE BOSSY

Mike Bossy entered the league a half a decade after Dionne. He played from 1977-78 to 1986-87. His career was hampered by a back injury, but he tallied 1126 points in 752 games. Bossy won four Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Islanders.

”My analogy of him,” Lewis explains, “is a shark just waiting to feed on other teams’ goaltenders. Very dangerous. Outstanding shot. He always knew where the goal was from the marks on the ice. He knew if the goalie was a standup goalie or a flopping goalie and would shoot accordingly. He never missed the net. He didn’t have the lateral movement like Marcel. He’d put the puck through you and slip by you. He was a very slippery-type player. Marcel used the ice more, but Mike would patrol down the right side and rarely get on the other side of the rink.”

BRYAN TROTTIER

Bryan Trottier was Bossy’s linemate. He played from 1975-76 to 1993-94 and accumulated 1410 points in 1238 games. He won the Art Ross Trophy once and was the runnerup a second year. Like Bossy, Trottier won both the Calder and Conn Smythe Trophies. Because of his aggressive play, Trottier never won the Lady Byng like Dionne and Bossy. But, he was the runnerup for the Frank J. Selke Trophy. And as Dionne had been nominated for the Hart Trophy (for the value to his team), Trottier won the award once and was a runner-up twice.

”Bryan was more of a bulldog type,” Lewis continues, “where he’d go right through you. He’d challenge you physically. He would go to the net and defy you to move him. He would get into traffic and make plays. He’d draw two players to him and feed Bossy. That was more his style. He was more a strong, bull-headed player who would challenge the other team to stop him.

“Try ‘n stop me!” was his attitude.

As Trottier and Bossy were Calder winners, Stevie Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov were runners-up. Yzerman entered the NHL in 1983-84 and accumulated 1755 points in 1514 games before retiring after the 2005-06 campaign. Fedorov joined Detroit in 1990-91, has played on three other teams to date, and had 1146 points in 1196 games by  last April.

STEVE YZERMAN

According to Lewis, Yzerman is ”kind of a cross between Marcel and Brian. Stevie is highly-skilled. Has tremendous vision of the ice. And he also has that determination. But, he has that ability to beat you one-on-one. He doesn’t go through you as much as around you like a Bossy. But, he also challenges you.

He says, ‘Try and stop me!’

That’s been his strength. His skating is something when he’s going. He’s just dancing on the ice. He has Marcel’s lateral movement. He can beat you one-on-one. The puck finds a way to go in for him.”

SERGEI FEDOROV

Like Trottier, Fedorov has been rewarded for both his defense and offense. He has been a runner-up for the Art Ross Trophy and has won, and been the runner-up for, the Frank J. Selke Trophy. And like Dionne, he has won the Lester B. Pearson Award.

“Federov is a tremendously skilled skater, a power skater,” Lewis concludes. “And tremendous hands. He can go through you. He can go around you. He can beat you one-on-one. He can take the puck from behind your net to the other end. He’s one of the few guys who can do it now, in today’s game with such great skaters as there are. He’s one of the best skaters is the league.”

THE BEST?

So, who’s the best of these legends? Lewis won’t say.

He just smiles that, “They’re all great players and all of them will be in the Hall of Fame.”

But, he’ll admit who was the best he played against.

“I remember playing against Bobby Orr,” he grins, “and I was on the left side and he went around me like I was standing still.”

]]> http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/12/11/dave-lewis-remembers/feed/ 0 http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/11/25/mario-bliznak-the-next-ryan-johnson/ http://crashingthegoalie.com/2009/11/25/mario-bliznak-the-next-ryan-johnson/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:23:02 +0000 Ron http://crashingthegoalie.com/?p=13658 Mike Gillis has his Jordan Schroeders and Michael Grabners in the system, but he also has some future 3rd and 4th liners.

One of them is former Giant Mario Bliznak.

“Bliz is Bliz and that’s a compliment — he gives you the same thing all the time,” said Scott Arniel. “We saw what he could do last year and he’s continued on. He’s taken on more of a role, he’s up there in ice time for forwards and he’s gotten a lot better with face-offs.”

cont.

*****

photo courtesy of cdn.nhl.com

Third on Vancouver’s depth chart, he stopped 45 of 47 Stars’ shots.

Hoping to follow in Schneider’s footsteps is Merrimack College’s Joe Cannata, drafted by Mike Gillis last June, in the 6th round – 173rd overall.

courtesy of merrimackathletics.com

Merrimack had been a collegiate doormat, but with their improved goaltending, they’re doing well this season.

Alternating Goaltenders Successful
Through the first six games, goaltenders Joe Cannata and Andrew Braithwaite have alternated games, with each goaltender posting a 2-1 record and both recording save percentage over a .915. Merrimack ranks fourth in Hockey East in goals allowed.

Goaltending Solid in Opening Weekend
Arguably the best 1-2 combination in college hockey, Joe Cannata and Andrew Braithwaite both had solid starts to the season in North Dakota. On Friday, Cannata stopped 35 shots, keeping the Warriors in the game in the third, stopping 15 shots, including an incredible, sprawling save, getting a piece of the puck with the blade of his stick off a Brett Hextall shot midway through the third. Braithwaite recorded 32 saves, including 28 in the final two periods, in the second game in North Dakota.

Cannata in the Record Books
Joe Cannata saw his shutout streak end at 101:09 to start last season when he gave up a third-period goal at Canisius on October 26, 2008. Cannata stopped the first 55 shots he faced, setting a Merrimack record, and turned aside 66 of his first 67 shots. He was the first goaltender in school history to register a shutout in his first start. His 2.35 goals-against-average as a freshman is the second-best in school history for a single season.

link

courtesy of thehockeywriters.com

Schroeder was picked by the WCHA coaches and media to be the conference’s Player of the Year or, in one poll, the co-Player of the Year with St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch.

“I am not worried about that [goals] as long as he is picking up points,” Lucia said. ”The [Alaska Anchorage] goalie made a great save on the one. That line is starting to get some chances and scored two goals. That’s the important thing for me.:

Mike Hoeffel and Jay Barriball, Schroeder’s linemates, each had one goal. Schroeder had two assists Sunday for the second day in a row as the Gophers won 4-1 over the Seawolves.

“Jordan is a great assist guy, too, and those guys have to finish those plays when he sets them up,” Lucia said.

Schroeder had only 13 goals last season but 32 assists for 45 points. This past weekend he had six shots on goal against the Seawolves in the two games and was a plus-four.”

Roman Augustoviz previously wrote  on  October 29th.

“Gophers coach Don Lucia said this week that sophomore center Jordan Schroeder played much better against Denver University than he did the first weekend of the season at North Dakota. Lucia said he is not concerned Schroeder has no points in four games.

“You can’t do it by yourself,” Lucia said. “You have to do it as a linemate. …. In one of [the DU] games he had six scoring chances. He is starting to get the scoring chances and he is too good of a player not to have some of those start to go in.”

“You can’t focus on individual scorig, getting points yourself,” Schroeder said. “It’s about the team and right now we have been shut out three of the four games. So no one is scoring points which is unusual.

“We just got to bear down when we get our chances and hit the net.

“Our line, maybe me in particular, might be a target out there because of the success that I’ve had. You just got to battle through it. You got to keep moving your feet and playing hard and hopefully it will turn around.”

This from John Vogl of The Buffalo News:

“The Sabres have signed veteran left winger Jeff Cowan, who more than likely will earn a ticket to Portland rather than a spot on Buffalo’s already crowded forward lines.

Cowan has played in 413 NHL games since debuting with Calgary in the 1999-2000 season. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder has also played for Atlanta, Los Angeles and Vancouver, recording 47 goals, 34 assists and 695 penalty minutes. He spent last season with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen, the St. Louis Blues’ affiliate, and had five goals, 10 assists and 94 penalty minutes in 71 games.

The Sabres’ minor-league team in Portland is in need of veteran depth after losing numerous players since last season.”

One of the players who Portland lost was former ‘nuck Tyler Bouck, who will be playing in Europe this season.

He’s both a leader and a bonding agent in his team’s dressing room.

Todd Reirden – the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – recalls:

“I played my very first NHL game in Phoenix against the Coyotes. It was well documented I was 27 years old and hadn’t played an NHL game at the time. I started the game, and I remember Billy [Guerin] making some comments before it that I was getting to start the game that night against [Jeremy] Roenick and [Keith] Tkachuk and these guys.”

The Oilers won the game and afterwards:

“[Guerin] grabbed the puck. Most times when someone plays his first game it’s ‘Congratulations on your first game,’ and he throws you the puck. But I’ll never forget the comments that he made.

“He took his time, said ‘Everyone stop getting undressed. I want to point something out that occurred today. There’s this guy that battled for the last four or five years to prove people wrong to get his chance to play in the National Hockey League. I just want to make sure that everyone understands that this guy has earned every bit of the chance he got tonight. I want to present him with this NHL game puck.’”

But according to Reirden, Guerin’s kind words that night in Phoenix are hardly out of character.

“There’s a million other things about Bill Guerin I could go on for days about … his leadership, in terms of making sure young guys are taken care of. He takes you out to dinner, makes sure you’re with four or five other guys. You’re in a brand new situation, and he makes sure you’re never alone and by yourself, and you feel part of the group. “

“It always means a lot when you’re included by someone you’re on a new team with, but when it’s your top player, it’s even more.”

When did he realize he needed to leave the Canucks?: I felt maybe last year that, in this business when you have a year left or just over a year left, you realize you might be heading in this direction to unrestricted free agency and we had some discussions but in all honesty I never really felt a big interest from their side. I might be wrong. I think it was mutual. I felt I needed a change. I had a great 11 years I have no hard feelings. But I just felt I needed a change. I’m not sure exactly when that happened but it was a while back.

It’s going to be a big change but I’m excited about it. I’m curious how it’s going to be. I haven’t spent a lot of time down there and I know it’s going to be different. Positive thoughts and I’m looking forward to it.

What will he miss about Vancouver?: It’s a fantastic place to live. We raised two wonderful kids in Vancouver and they have a lot of friends and we have a lot of friends we met through our kids’ schools and stuff, and we’re going to miss that. But that’s part of life. Just because you move to a different city, you won’t keep your friends. I met a lot of people in Vancouver I know I’m going to be in contact with the rest of our lives.

How did GM Brian Lawton sell you on Tampa?: Brian spoke about there team and the city of Tampa and it’s a very talented hockey club, and I do feel like I can bring a lot to this hockey team with my experience. I’m 32 years old I feel like I have my best years ahead of me and to be able to help Victor Hedman out is an important part of my job. So there’s a lot of stuff I’m excited about.

Is there a mental adjustment going to a bad team?: This team won a Stanley Cup not too far away and they have some guys who were part of that team. Last year they didn’t have a great year. Obviously, I’d like to be part of turning things around here, and I do feel like I bring a lot to the hockey club. But in fairness, we only played them once last year and I haven’t seen them play over the years tons. I do feel like I can be part of hopefully bringing this team on the right track again.

Is Tampa Bay’s ownership situation troublesome?:: No, I spoke to Brian and I felt like this was a good situation for me. I felt this was the team that wanted me and wanted me to be a big part of the organization and that’s all I needed to hear.

On mentoring draft choice Victor Hedman: I’m real excited about joining him. I never met Victor to be honest but I heard so many good things about him. I was sitting tonight with Daniel and Henrik Sedin and they’re from the same hometown and know him quite well. They had nothing but good things to say about him as a person and a hockey player.

On Hedman’s reputation in Sweden: Victor has a great reputation. He’s from the same town as a lot of NHL hockey players. The Sedins (Daniel and Henrik) and Markus Naslund are three of them. I spoke to the three of them about him and hear only good things about him. I’ve barely seen him play. I saw the world junior championships a few games they played and noticed he was an extremely skilled player. I heard only good things about him as a person and I’m looking forward spending the next few years with him.

On creating a relationship with Hedman: You make a phone call. I’m sure I’m going to be calling him and talking to him the next few days after things settle down. You share your experiences you had when you were younger. I made mistakes when I was young and hopefully I learned from them and I can prevent him from making th same ones. It’s a tough league to play in he’s got a lot to learn. I’m excited to be a small part of getting him started here.

Advice he would give Hedman: First of all realize how lucky we all are to be in this league. It’s a great league to be part of. Come in with a smile on his face regardless of whether he had a tough day the night before. You got to realize your extremely lucky to be part of this league.

Is he a good fit for Tampa?: Tampa has a very talented hockey team. They have a talented group of guys. I do think I can help out with a lot of experience and be a big part of helping their D corps. I feel like I have my best years ahead of me and I’m extremely excited about my next little while here.

I do feel like I have my best years ahead of me and I’m going to push to get better and better every year. If I can help some young guys out with my experience, that’s great.”

Dave Nonis – and most of the NHL’s other GM’s – had wet dreams about a late-blooming Swede named Fabian Brunnstrom.

“This is a player,” said TSN’s Bob McKenzie, “who, right now, is demanding ‘Top 5′ entry draft-level money. If you draft a guy in the Top 5, you have to pay out all those extra bonuses. That’s what you have to pay…The other thing determining where he wants to sign is who’s going to promise him top six minutes right off the hop.”

Vancouver had very little scoring during the 2007-08 season, so wanted Brunnstrom to be a top six guy.

They weren’t thinking of any downside.

“He’s coming pretty much from nowhere,” said Farjestad GM Hakan Loob. “Mentally, he has grown strong in the past year, but he has the potential to become mentally stronger. He looks like he has been in the Elite League for a couple of years the way he moves the puck and skates and everything like that.”

Loob warned the NHL’s decision makers:

“If they treat him the right way, I think he’s got a good future ahead of him. But if he’s thrown into the NHL too soon, he might not do anything.”

Dave Nonis literally had Brunnstrom signed, and then was fired, so the kid joined the Dallas Stars – on May 8, 2008.

The Stars didn’t heed Loob and rushed the kid into the mix – right away.

First, he responded with a hat trick during his first NHL game.

Unfortunately, he must have hurt his back picking up some hats, as he faltered during most of the season – and only came on near the very end.

The following is a media relations piece written by the Stars on May 13, 2009.

It provides some insights into a player, who wouldn’t have fit into Mike Gillis’ and Coach V’s vision:

*****

“While his overall performance certainly had its ups and downs, something seemed to click for Dallas Stars left winger Fabian Brunnstrom over the final week and a half of his rookie season. Brunnstrom showed flashes of excellence throughout and finished the 2008-09 campaign on a high note, leaving his teammates and coaches excited about what next year could bring.

…Despite some growing pains, Brunnstrom, 24, still completed his rookie year with an impressive 17 goals and 29 points in 55 games.

His final month and a half typified how the entire year went for him. After struggling through a 13-game stretch in March where he sat out as a healthy scratch six times and failed to register a point in the seven he did suit up for, Brunnstrom was outstanding in the final five contests, contributing four goals and two assists and firing 14 shots on goal.

Of course, team-first player that he is, he was more consumed with disappointment that the club missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

“Yeah, I felt a little bit better the last games,” noted Brunnstrom, whose 17 goals ranked fifth on the Stars and 10th among all NHL freshmen. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough because we’re missing the playoffs, but maybe for myself, it was a little bit better. I was trying to skate a little bit more and dig in a little bit more. I felt a little bit better and of course, I’ve learned stuff over the season.”

“The last seven games here, he’s been awesome, he’s been great,” said fellow Swede Loui Eriksson. “Obviously, he’s been pretty good the whole season, he scored 17 goals? That’s a helluva job from a new guy coming in to this league, to score that many goals.”

With all the injuries to forwards that the Stars encountered this season, Brunnstrom was thrust into probably more of a primary role than he was maybe ready for at times, but the learning curve was undoubtedly accelerated because of that. The development of young players like Brunnstrom was one of the biggest silver linings from what turned out to be a sub-standard season in Dallas.

“It’s very disappointing, but you look at the season and the injuries, just never really got anything going, we seemed to be chasing it from Day One,” Stars co-General Manager Brett Hull said. “But then you look and the opportunity a lot of our young guys got to play and to show what they can do, was very encouraging. The strides that a young Fabian Brunnstrom made, coming into a completely foreign situation for him and the strides he made as a player, and learning what it’s like to play in the NHL.”

“There are some young guys I think really took steps forward this year that we expect them to take another step next year,” coach Dave Tippett added. “There are some real bright futures within the organization.”

Brunnstrom was a key performer this year, coming through in the clutch often, topping the team – and all league rookies – with five game-winning goals. Plus, while averaging just 11:37 of ice time per game, he totaled 81 shots on goal and his shooting percentage of 21.0 percent would have tied for the NHL lead if he’d taken enough shots to qualify for the list.

Eager to continue where he left off, Brunnstrom hopes to take his game to a new level next season, acknowledging that he still has many areas to improve in.

“I think I have to work on everything, but try to shoot a little bit more maybe, dig in a little bit more,” the 6-foot-1, 202-pound Brunnstrom said. “It’s more physical over here too, so it’s a new part of the game for me, too, but as I said, I think I have to work on everything. I’ll try to spend the summer now to work on small things and come well-prepared for next year.”

“He has the skill to play in traffic, he’s not scared to go in traffic, he scores goals from in front of the net, which are all great signs for him,” Tippett said. “As he gets more adept at playing the NHL game and the smaller rink, he’ll become a more complete player.”

He agreed he still needs to get better defensively, although he has already made significant progress since he first arrived.

“My strength is, I think, the offensive part of the game, so defense is something I have to work on,” said Brunnstrom, who finished with a plus/minus rating of -8. “But I also think it’s something I’ve been better on this year, too.  So hopefully, I can get even a little bit better next year.”

Brunnstrom indicated that he would like to even out some of the ups and downs next season by playing with more consistency.

“Try to be ready all the time,” he said, stating his goal for next year. “I think as you’re growing older, you learn to be more consistent, too. I’m still a pretty young player, so maybe I’ll learn to be more consistent.”

While adjusting to the smaller North American ice rinks, which are 85 feet wide as opposed to 100 in Europe, was a challenge for him, playing an 82-game season (compared to 55 in Sweden) and traveling multiple time zones to road games also required adapting to.

“I felt great all season, actually, I wasn’t tired,” maintained Brunnstrom, who missed 17 games due to injury from late December through early February. “We play a lot of games and do a lot of traveling, but I felt good. We have everything great at the practice facility here, our own plane, good hotels, so it’s not tough that way, it’s just a lot of games. Of course, it takes some time to get used to it, but I like it. It’s hockey all the time. It’s just fun.”

So now, with a full NHL season spent under his belt during which he learned many lessons, Brunnstrom is looking forward to continuing his upward progress next year, believing that the team overall will rebound with a positive showing as well.

“I knew the season was going to be really tough for me,” Brunnstrom said. “The smaller rinks, you don’t have the time, the D’s coming right at you. It’s better players, stronger, faster and everything – this is the best league in the world. This is the league that I want to be in and it’s my dream. It was tough, but now I can look at it and I think it was really valuable for me. I played (over) 50 games and for next season, I think it’s going to be really valuable for me. I learned lots of things this year.

“I enjoyed the whole season even if I was hoping that we’d make the playoffs. But I think next season is going to be great for us. We can work from now, get a good vacation and come back ready next year.”

Mike and Marian Ilitch have a framed one dollar bill hanging on a wall in one of their offices. And, it wasn’t the first dollar that they’d earned when they were establishing their Little Caesars Pizza empire.

On June 30, 1993, the Wings had acquired Kris Draper for future considerations. 

Draper had played in only 20 games over 3 seasons for the future Coyotes, and the Jets wanted to unload the frisky forward. 

“We ended up giving them a buck,” laughed Jimmy Devellano.

Then, four years later, when Detroit had won their first Cup since the fifties, Draper handed a dollar bill to the Ilitchs, “Here you go. Investment paid in full!“ 

Detroit Red Wings – Stanley Cup Champions – 1997

Kris Draper has been a key player in Detroit’s regular and post-season successes. 

He’s provided stability, skill and grit throughout his decade and a half in Motown. 

On March 17th, he became only the 5th person to play 1,000 games in a Red Wings uniform (The others were Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom.). 

He’s tied for second place – with Steve Yzerman – in the number of post season games played.

Detroit Red Wings – Stanley Cup Champions – 1998

Draper is 25th in all time Detroit Red Wings’ points scored during the regular, and 18th in points tallied during the post-season. 

Draper is Detroit’s 14th highest with 22 game winners, and is 15th highest with 3 game winners during the playoffs.

Kris Draper is behind only Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov with 21 shorthanded goals – during the regular season – and is behind only Fedorov and Kirk Maltby with 4 shorthanded goals in the second season.

Draper won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2004, as the NHL’s defensive player of the year.

Detroit Red Wings – Stanley Cup Champions – 2002

Kris Draper should be earning his fifth Stanley Cup ring a week or so from now.

Also receiving their fifth ring will be Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby, and Darren McCarty.

Draper has been a team leader, a defensive specialist as well as an offensive threat. 

And he was always willing to take one for the team – or many, as he did when Claude Lemieux ran him face first into the boards.

It was during the 1996 Western Conference Finals, and Draper suffered a concussion, broken jaw, nose and cheekbone. 

This attack would later “[bring] the Red Wings together,” according to goalie Mike Vernon.

On March 26, 2007, the Red Wings avenged Draper, and with the emotion and momentum, went on to win their first Cup in a quarter century.

Detroit Red Wings – Stanley Cup Champions – 2008

courtesy of intergoldltd.com

*****

The 1997 and 1998 rings were designed by Diamond Cutters International, and the 2002 and 2008 were designed by Intergold Ltd.

The 2008 ring was also given to retired Red Wings who had played on Detroit’s Stanley Cup championship teams during the 1940s and 1950s. Each ring has the player’s name on one side, plus extra diamonds symbolizing how many Cups that player had won wearing a Red Wings uniform.

Stats courtesy of nhl.com