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Jersey Wing

Who is YOUR most under-appreciated/unsung Red Wing?

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I've been watching some video of Wings teams of yore and I was wondering which Red Wing do you think went under-appreciated or was unsung yet did a lot of good or great things. I think my choice would be Kozlov.

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I'd say Holmstrom.

Guy was never remotely close to being an All star caliber player, and his 530 career points won't impress anybody who didn't see him play, when they look back at his stats 20 years from now.

However, he was so important, even when he didn't score a point. Imagine how many goals were scored that he didn't even register a point on, where he was somehow largely responsible for the goal with his screens.

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I agree with holmstrom.

As soon as he left, our PP went from #1 to 20. Obviously this is in part to Lids + Raffi, but theres no doubt he played a huge part. We havn't been able to do anything net-front wise since he left.

Holmstrom created so many chances just by being there, frustrating goalies and tipping shots. So many ugly rebound goals or screened shots from the point went in because of him

You could also make the argument that our PP stinks because we can't take it into the zone, but thats another argument.

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Here I am, number9. I vote for . . . Homer. A truly unique player -- literally no one else has ever been really like him. Some guys (like Dino C) did some of the things he did, but only Homer had the complete package of screening and annoying goalies, deflecting deadly shots and digging the puck out of the corner the way he did.

Paul Woods ranks in my top five, tho.

Edited by paulwoodsfan

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I would have to say Chris Osgood. The guy definitely had his faults, and had stretches where he was god awful, but what he was able to accomplish in his career here was on paper HOF worthy. People always seem to jump to the "Anyone could have won the cup with those teams in front of him" argument, but to me that isn’t fair. Many great teams have been eliminated by inferior teams due to goaltending (Detroit (Legace) vs Edmonton (Roloson)).

Even after the 2 year stretch in 08 & 09, I still here people calling him garbage.

I think on a mainstream level Holmstrom is a good pick, but I think most diehards give him the credit he deserves. I don’t think I have ever met a Wings fan who doesn’t give Holmstrom his due.

Edited by kliq

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I would have to say Chris Osgood. The guy definitely had his faults, and had stretches where he was god awful, but what he was able to accomplish in his career here was on paper HOF worthy. People always seem to jump to the "Anyone could have won the cup with those teams in front of him" argument, but to me that isn’t fair. Many great teams have been eliminated by inferior teams due to goaltending (Detroit (Legace) vs Edmonton (Roloson)).

Even after the 2 year stretch in 08 & 09, I still here people calling him garbage.

I think on a mainstream level Holmstrom is a good pick, but I think most diehards give him the credit he deserves. I don’t think I have ever met a Wings fan who doesn’t give Holmstrom his due.

It depends on who you ask. Wings fan give Holmstrom credit. Maybe even other teams fans do. I'm confident, though, that in the future, people will not give him enough credit. His stats won't look all that impressive.

Osgood is another player I thought about voting for. He was a really good goalie. Almost a HOF goalie (thanks Brad Stuart). What will hurt him in this argument is that Detroit won 3 Cups with three different goalies from 1997-2002.

Edited by GMRwings1983

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It depends on who you ask. Wings fan give Holmstrom credit. Maybe even other teams fans do. I'm confident, though, that in the future, people will not give him enough credit. His stats won't look all that impressive.

Osgood is another player I thought about voting for. He was a really good goalie. Almost a HOF goalie (thanks Brad Stuart). What will hurt him in this argument is that Detroit won 3 Cups with three different goalies from 1997-2002.

ya, but Osgood won 2 of the 4 and was 1 game away from a 3rd, plus a near MVP.

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ya, but Osgood won 2 of the 4 and was 1 game away from a 3rd, plus a near MVP.

The one in 2008 was a different era. I was talking about the first three Cups.

I can see the argument. Wings fans think of him as an above average goalie who was a good whipping boy. In truth, he's a borderline Hall of Famer with two Cups and over 400 wins. He was more than a good goalie.

At the end of the day, though, he'll be more remembered than someone like Holmstrom, who only had two 50 point seasons in his career. For those who never saw him play, people looking back at his stats will think of Ozzie as a good goalie. I doubt people will do the same for Holmstrom.

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The one in 2008 was a different era. I was talking about the first three Cups.

I can see the argument. Wings fans think of him as an above average goalie who was a good whipping boy. In truth, he's a borderline Hall of Famer with two Cups and over 400 wins. He was more than a good goalie.

At the end of the day, though, he'll be more remembered than someone like Holmstrom, who only had two 50 point seasons in his career. For those who never saw him play, people looking back at his stats will think of Ozzie as a good goalie. I doubt people will do the same for Holmstrom.

He was also able to change his playing style from a standup goalie to a hybrid. I think that often gets overlooked.

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Gotta be honest...Kozzie's 1st 3, or 4 seasons in Detroit were solid, but I grew weary of watching him screw up, and play with a great amount of indifference...I was oh so happy seeing him traded to Buffalo for Hasek.

This is probably redundant, but I gotta say Konstantinov...

I was a fan of his long before that horrible night (in fact - my 1st customized jersey was a home white #16)...I recall reading an article many years ago that his 1st NHL contract included a brand new Chevy Caprice...He was the type of player that wasn't a fighter, but found himself in many a scrum, and was always ready for retaliation (Jocelyn Lemieux tasted Vladdy's lumber one night when he took a run at Vladdy - was cut for over 100 stitches - and Vladdy didn't even get a pen - :lol:).

Konstantinov was arguably one of the Wings most consistent Dmen back then, and would've won a Norris Trophy or two had he not been in that accident.

I'm pretty sure in 1997 he was second to Brian Leetch in Norris voting.

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Larionov. I don't know that he was "under appreciated" per se, but I feel like he had such a fantastic mind and hockey sense while not being the most physically skilled, or strongest, or fastest, etc. He could read a play and position himself a step ahead every time.

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Larionov. I don't know that he was "under appreciated" per se, but I feel like he had such a fantastic mind and hockey sense while not being the most physically skilled, or strongest, or fastest, etc. He could read a play and position himself a step ahead every time.

He's always going to be unappreciated by North American audiences, because they didn't see him play in the NHL in his prime. Same thing as Fetisov.

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Guest DeGraa55

The master of deflections guy gave his body for this team and was a huge part of our former dangerous pp

Not only that but he also showed something that can't be graded by any scouts. That's true heart and determination. He wasn't a good player in terms of typical hockey skills like skating but his will to be great overcame that.

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Konstantonov got screwed out of at least one and probably more Norrises because he was Russian. If he'd been from Medicine Hat or Saskatoon the media would have loved him.

Until this last contract Bertuzzi was pretty underrated. He got around 40 points, played the best 2way hockey of his career, and could stop some of the nonsense.

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