Whose Number Will The Red Wings Retire Next?

With all these legends in the rafters, there’s certainly some other players that you could argue should be up there. The team has made getting your number retired very exclusive. With that in mind, I think we should be seeing another number go up into the rafters very soon. Let’s take a look at who that could be.

Sergei Fedorov

If this was an article about who SHOULD have his number retired first rather than who will, this would just be dedicated to Sergei Fedorov. It’s an absolute travesty that the number 91 is not hanging up in the rafters yet. He’s the only Red Wing to win the Hart Trophy since 1962-63 (Howe) when he won it in 1993-94. Not only did he win the Hart, but he also won the Selke that season and finished 4th for the Lady Byng.

Fedorov has the fourth-most goals in franchise history with 400 of his 483 goals coming in Detroit. He’s also seventh in assists with 554 and sixth in points with 954. The only players ahead of him either already have their numbers retired, only just recently retired, or are still active. He was a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the team and was the leading playoff goal scorer on their 1998 cup run.

So why isn’t his number already retired? The biggest rumored reason is his relationship with the franchise. He had a very public contract dispute during the 1997-98 season. He held out the majority of the year before the Wings matched the offer sheet given to him by the Carolina Hurricanes. Five years later, his contract expired. Rather than resign with the Wings, he signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Not only did he leave Detroit, but he did it for less money than Detroit offered him. It rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and is probably the main reason his number has yet to be retired.

Brendan Shanahan

When you think of the prototypical power forward, you think of Brendan Shanahan. He’s the only player in NHL history to have 600 goals and 2000 penalty minutes in a career. He’s (fittingly) 14th all-time in goals (656) and 26th all-time in points (1354).

One could argue that he was the final piece needed for the Red Wings to breakthrough and finally win a cup. The Wings traded for him at the start of the 1996-97 season and he proceeded to lead the team in goals and points. His physical presence was very much appreciated in Detroit, and he was a very important member of the infamous brawl with the Colorado Avalanche.

Overall, Shanahan was one of the best goal scorers in Red Wings history. He played nine seasons in Detroit and led the team in goals six times. His 309 goals put him ninth in franchise history. With this in mind, there is one main argument as to why he shouldn’t have his number retired. Every single player who currently has their number in the rafters played most of their career in Detroit. Shanahan only played nine of his 22 seasons in Hockeytown. Despite this, I think you can make an argument that number 14 should go into the rafters one day.

Henrik Zetterberg

It was always gonna be tough to have someone be the captain that follows up Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom. Henrik Zetterberg definitely lived up to it as a fantastic leader for the Red Wings. The 2008 Conn Smythe winner had a fantastic 15-year career in Detroit and he checks all the boxes for a player that sees his number get retired in Hockeytown.

He’s played the sixth-most games in Detroit and is fifth in goals (337), assists (623), and points (960) in franchise history. The only player ahead of him in any of these stats to not have their number retired is the aforementioned Fedorov. He also finished in the top-10 in Selke voting five different times and won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2014-15.

There’s really not much more to say. He’s one of the best players in franchise history and he should have his number retired eventually. The main reason he hasn’t is, well, he retired less than two years ago. There’s plenty of time for the Red Wings to send number 40 to the rafters, and I would expect that soon.

Pavel Datsyuk

While Zetterberg was the captain post-Lidstrom, there’s no more identifiable name with the late 2000s-early 2010s Red Wings than Pavel Datsyuk. The Magic Man started his career during the memorable 2001-02 Stanley Cup-winning season. Among all the legends on that team, there was Russian rookie who finished fourth in Calder voting.

Datsyuk quickly bloomed into a top player on the team and started racking up awards. He’s a four-time Lady Byng winner and also a three-time Selke winner. But what he’s most known for is his unbelievable stick handling and magical goals. As for team rankings, he played the ninth-most games in franchise history. He’s eighth all-time in goals (314), sixth in assists (604), and seventh in points (918).

Much like Zetterberg, Datsyuk played all 14 years of his NHL career in Detroit. It was the end of his time in Detroit that left a sour taste in fans’ mouth and could be what keeps him out. While still under contract with the team, he announced that he was leaving to go play in Russia. If anything keeps him from having his number retired, it’s because of that relationship being tainted. However, the one reason we know for sure is that he’s still active playing in the KHL at the age of 41. We’ll see what happens once he officially announces his retirement.

So…Who’s Next?

We’ve made the case for four different players who could all realistically have their names sent to the rafters of Little Caesars Arena one day. I think there’s potential that all four of them do get their numbers retired. Unfortunately, I think only three of them actually do. Due to less than half of his career being in Detroit, Shanahan unfortunately will be left out and never see his number retired.

Now we move on to the other three. I think Datsyuk will be delayed by him still being an active player (for now). Once he does retire, I think they’ll wait a few years before number 13 gets added to the list.

That leaves it up to Fedorov and Zetterberg. As stated before, if this list was who SHOULD get their number retired, it’d be Fedorov. However, I’m gonna have to go with Zetterberg. The Red Wings are currently a bad team and they need to find a way to put butts in seats (if they’re allowed). What better way to do that than retiring number 40 during the 2020-21 season? I think we see Hank get honored this upcoming season as he joins the elite ranks of the Red Wings franchise. Hopefully, we see all four of these guys join them but for now, Hank is a good start.

Follow me on Twitter at @paullymac7 for more of my content!

Come discuss this and much more at the Overtime Heroics forums!