YZERMAN SURPASSES HOWE AS GREATEST RED WING
There is no denying Gordie Howe had an exceptional career with the Detroit Red Wings in this sim. Mr Hockey scored 1,165 career goals placing him first all-time in that list with 99 more than Wayne Gretzky, who finished second. Howe's 2,417 points rank third all-time and no one played more regular season NHL games than the 1,952 Howe suited up for.
Gordie won the Calder Trophy in 1947-48 when he broke into the NHL as a 19 year old, recording 25 goals and 44 points that season. He would be a fixture in the Detroit lineup, rarely missing time with injury, until announcing his retirement in 1975 at the age of 44. Howe would win 7 Hart Trophy's, led the NHL in points 6 times and goals on 10 occassions. He would help the Wings win their first 3 Stanley Cups in franchise history- 1960, 1965 and 1969.
However, when asked who the greatest Red Wing of all-time was, fans in this universe are quick to say Steve Yzerman before they would say Gordie Howe. Yzerman finished as the Wings all-time point leader with 2,545 and when you added his totals from his final two seasons with the Rangers StevieY is second only to Gretzky with 2,625 career points. Yzerman is third behind Howe and Gretzky in goals with 1,060 but is the all-time leader in NHL history for assists with 1,681.
The biggest number supporters of Yzerman will point to is the number 8 - as in how many Stanley Cups he led the Wings to. Included in that total were 4 straight titles from 2000-2003. Yzerman, who scored 205 goals and 469 points in 319 career playoff games, was at his best in the post-season. His 5 Conn Smythe Trophy's are the most any player has won.
Yzerman holds the NHL single season record for goals with 89 in 1989-90 and points with 187 that same year. His 89 goals broke the previous mark of 84 set by Mario Lemieux a year earlier after Lemieux had topped Yzerman's 1987-88 total of 81 goals. Yzerman, Gretzky and Lemieux are the only players to top 155 career points and did it 18 times between the three of them (6 times for Yzerman). He also holds the single season assist record with 120 recorded in 1992-93.
After 21 seasons in Detroit and with Henrik Zetterberg, Keith Primeau and Mike Sillinger taking his ice time away, a now 38 year old Yzerman was dealt to the New York Rangers in November of 2003 in exchange for much-travelled winger Jason Pominville. The move would pay off as Pominville was packaged to Nashville a year and a half later in a trade that would net the Wings Dan Hamhuis - who would be a key defenseman on the Wings final two Cups. As for Yzerman he would play a year and a half in New York before retiring in 2005 at the age of 39 and go on to join Howe in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Yzerman's number 91 (Alex Delvecchio wore 19 and it was retired after his stellar career) and Howe's #16 (Ted Lindsay beat him to #9) are both retired and hanging from the rafters of the Little Caesar's Arena along with 13 Stanley Cup banners
Of course if we are only talking Stanley Cups than Nik Lidstrom ranks number one in Red Wing history. The defenseman would win 8 alongside Yzerman and than add two more at the end of his career in 2009 and 2010. There is no official list of Cup wins by player in the game but I would have to think Lidstrom's 10 is the most all-time by a non-Montreal Canadien. (The Habs were dominant in the 40s and 50s winning 16 Cups in 21 years). Lidstrom also won 3 Conn Smythe Trophy's and a record 11 Norris Trophy's in his career.