|
Were the '01-02 Red Wings the best team ever? |
|
|
|
|
|
The Best Team Ever?
The case for the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings got another shot in the arm Monday when defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and center Sergei Fedorov were both announced as first-ballot inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
That gives that Detroit Stanley Cup championship club nine players enshrined in the Hall of Fame, with Lidstrom and Fedorov joining defenseman Chris Chelios (2013), goalie Dominik Hasek (2014) and forwards Brendan Shanahan (2013), Steve Yzerman (2009), Luc Robitaille (2009), Brett Hull (2009), and Igor Larionov (2008). Scotty Bowman, coach of the team, is also a Hall of Famer.
“That was a special team we had,” Lidstrom said. “We had an all-star cast that played as a team.
“Guys accepted their roles, even though you might not get the ice time you got on other teams. You might have been a 40- or 50-goal scorer on other teams but you accepted the role on our team for the team’s best. That’s what won us the Cup that year.”
As to whether they are the best team to ever win a Cup, that debate remains open. You can make a case for the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, who won 60 regular-season games and the Cup, or any one of the Habs teams that won five Cups in a row from 1956-60. Even the 1951-52 Wings, who swept the playoffs without suffering a defeat, merit consideration.
The Wings also still have some work to do to be the No. 1 team in terms of suiting up Hall of Famers.
That honor currently belongs to the 1972-73 Canadiens, who put 11 hall of famers on the ice – goalie Ken Dryden, defensemen Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe and Jacques Laperriere and forwards Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Henri Richard, Frank Mahovlich and Steve Shutt.
The 1978-79 Canadiens featured 10 hall of famers - Dryden, Robinson, Savard, Lapointe, Cournoyer, Lafleur, Lemaire, Shutt, forward Bob Gainey and defenseman Rod Langway.
The 1955-56 Habs also went 10 deep in hall of fame players – goalie Jacques Plante, defensemen Emile (Butch) Bouchard, Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson and forwards Jean Beliveau, Maurice Richard, Henri Richard, Bert Olmstead, Dickie Moore and Bernie Geoffrion.
The 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs were another team with 10 hall of fame players – goalies Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk, defensemen Tim Horton, Marcel Pronovost and Allan Stanley and forwards Mahovlich, Dave Keon, Red Kelly, Bob Pulford and George Armstrong.
As for the 2001-02 Wings, there’s only one remaining player from that club who figures to have his face etched on a hall of fame when he hangs up his skates – that would be center Pavel Datsyuk.
Nine Qualified
The Red Wings qualified all nine of the restricted free agents in the organization on Monday.
Forwards Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Jurco, Teemu Pulkkinen and Landon Ferraro and defenseman Brendan Smith were all tendered qualifying offers, as were minor-league goalie Jared Coreau, defenseman Nick Jensen and forwards Mitch Callahan and Pierre-Marc Aubry.
Development Camp
Big news on the prospect front – there will be a Lidstrom back in a Detroit uniform next month.
Two of them, in fact.
Left-winger Adam Lidstrom and defenseman Kevin Lidstrom, both sons of the Wings’ newest hall of famer, were invited to partake in the camp from July 3-7 at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich.
“I’m not nervous about it,” Nicklas Lidstrom said. “I’m more excited for them that they get a chance to interact with all the young talent the Wings have drafted. I know they’re really looking forward to going out there.
“I’m really proud to be heading into the hall of fame and I’m also proud of my kids pursuing their dream of playing hockey.”
Each of Detroit’s first-round picks from the last three NHL entry drafts are slated to be in attendance - Anthony Mantha (20th overall in 2013), Dylan Larkin (15th overall in 2014) and Evgeny Svechnikov (19th overall in 2015).
Each of the team’s selections from the weekend’s NHL entry draft are slated to be in attendance - defenseman Vili Saarijarvi, goaltender Joren van Pottelberghe, center Chase Pearson, defenseman Patrick Holway and left wing Adam Marsh.
The camp includes six players drafted in 2014, five drafted in 2013, four drafted in 2012 and 22 invitees from various major junior, collegiate and European or Asian clubs.
Some curious names on the list – left-winger Michael Babcock, the son of former Wings coach Mike Babcock and right-winger Jin-Hui Ahn and defenseman Won-Jun Kim from the Korean national team current coached by former Grand Rapids (AHL) assistant Jim Paek. All are camp invites.
The complete roster:
Centers: Andreas Athanasiou; Christoffer Ehn; Alex Globke; Axel Holmstrom; Dylan Larkin; Conor McGlynn; Hampus Melen; Zach Nastasiuk; Chase Pearson; Dominic Turgeon.
Left wingers: Michael Babcock; Tyler Bertuzzi; Alex Kile; Adam Lidstrom; Adam Marsh; Mike McKee; Evan Polei; Tyson Spink; Evgeny Svechnikov; Julius Vahatalo.
Right Wingers: Jin-Hui Ahn; Nick Betz; Bryce Gervais; Anthony Greco; Anthony Mantha; Jerome Verrier.
Defense: Jalen Chatfield; James de Haas; Grant Gabriele; Joe Hicketts; Patrick Holway; Won-Jun Kim; Kevin Lidstrom; Kevin Lough; Marc McNulty; Jarett Meyer; David Nemechek; Vili Saarijarvi; Travis Walsh.
Goaltenders: Tomas Kral; Jake Paterson; Chase Perry; Joren van Pottelberghe.
Grand Rapids Staff Completed
The Wings announced the addition of Bruce Ramsay and Ben Simon to head coach Todd Nelson’s staff with their Grand Rapids (AHL) farm club.
Ramsay and Nelson were teammates with Grand Rapids in 1996-97 and from 2004-06, Ramsay worked as Nelson’s assistant with Muskegon of the UHL. He then spent three seasons as Muskegon’s head coach and for the past seasons was Tulsa’s head coach in the CHL and ECHL.
Also a former Griffin, Simon worked as an assistant last season with the AHL Toronto Marlies. He’s also been an AHL assistant in Rockford, and served head-coaching stints with Cincinnati (ECHL) and Sheffield (EIHL).
In addition, assistant coach and former Wings forward Mike Knuble, goaltending coach Jeff Salajko and video coach Bill LeRoy will reprise their coaching roles with Grand Rapids.
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»