There are teams that retire numbers left and right (Colorado with Bourque and Foote), but the Wings have very strict standards. The fact that we are even discussing whether a first ballot HOF (like Fedorov) deserves to have it retired, should tell you that.
I could also argue that Syd Howe, Ebbie Goodfellow and Herbie Lewis (all in the HOF) were more instrumental than Larry Aurie in the early years. Aurie got his number retired not because of Adams, but because he was former owner James Norris' favorite player. It's been so long that hardly anyone remembers them anymore. Hopefully they have a team hall of fame at the new arena so they can honor legends from the early years, but I honestly don't believe Aurie's #6 deserves to be in the rafters. I think the number should stay out of circulation just like Konstantinov's #16.