A Tale of the Hawks and Wings

The Detroit Red Wings beat my Chicago Blackhawks to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. The Hawks had a great season and appear to be set to have a bright future.
When I was in Novi recently, I happened upon another convention. There was Ted Lindsay, one of the all-time great Red Wings. I couldn't pass up the chance to meet this legend. Apparently it was late in the show, because most of the crowd was gone. I had a little extra time to talk to the Hall of Famer.
At the time, the Detroit-Chicago series had not started. I joked with him that I really admired his playing career, but I was still solidly behind my Hawks. He reminded me that he played 3 of his last 4 seasons with the Hawks.
I had forgotten that a dispute with the management in Detroit, over his efforts to form a union, led to his being traded to the then-last place Hawks. Lindsay retired after 3 seasons in Chicago, where he helped the team reach the playoffs twice.
He came out of retirement several seasons later for one last run with the Wings. Naturally, he helped them reach the playoffs.
Lindsay is another of the great hockey players of the past who are simply classy gentlemen. It is always a pleasure to meet an NHL great!

Ted Lindsay and me in Novi, MI-May 2009.

A Hockey Hall of Famer

One of the real shames in sports today is that too often, the players from yesteryear are under appreciated. At a sports convention in 2006, former NHL'er Alex Delvecchio (a Hall of Famer) had one of the shorter lines, despite having one of the lowest price lists for signatures.
Delvecchio played 24 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, appearing in more games for them than anyone else for one team. He was a three-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy for combining good sportsmanship with excellence on the ice. At the time of his retirement in 1973, he was #2 all-time in the NHL for games played, assists and points.
It is just odd for me to see a former player of Delvecchio's calibre get second billing to second-tier players of today. It's not that he was ignored, but Delvecchio is a Hall of Famer! At least I was able to spend a little extra time chatting with him. He is a true gentleman.

Alex Delvecchio and me in Rosemont, IL-November 2006.