Alex: "Ill take Retirement and 4 Stanley Cups for a Dollar please!"

[mattola]

congrats to Kris Draper who will retire today after 4 Stanley Cups with the Detroit Redwings.

Red Wings' Draper to announce retirement on Tuesday

What a career.

 

[higgyfan4]

congrats to Kris Draper who will retire today after 4 Stanley Cups with the Detroit Redwings.

Red Wings' Draper to announce retirement on Tuesday

What a career.

A sad day and an end of an era. RIP Grind Line. Now only Homer and Lidstrom left from the 97 team. Drapes was a great team guy and an even better human being.

15 years later (hard to believe it's been that long already, sheesh) and it still puzzles the hell outta me how Av's fans hated him so much during the rivalry years, like it was his fault LePuke rearranged his face. They hated him as much as they hated D-Mac.

ahh memories. I miss those 90's Red Wings teams.

 

[4thstreet]

Best $1 investment ever made by the Wings.
Solid performer who didn't have to put up huge numbers to prove his worth.Solid defender and faceoff guy.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Not much to say about Drapes that hasn't already been said. A true professional, a hard worker, and a key ingredient to Detroit's success the last 15 years.

 

[johnnytata]

if there was a role player HOF, he would be a first ballot inductee.

hope the wings, as usual, find a place for him in the organization.

 

[Smoke]

 

[higgyfan4]

Michael Rosenberg: Most thankful man in NHL? Kris Draper thanks 109 people in retirement speech

One hundred and nine. I counted.

Oh, I might have missed somebody when I listened to the speech again. But I'm pretty sure Kris Draper thanked 109 people in Tuesday's retirement speech, which might be a record for a hockey player -- the only record Draper will ever hold, and the one he deserves most. Nobody in NHL history has been more thankful than Kris Draper.

Draper had attended retirement news conferences for several teammates in this very room at Joe Louis Arena, but he said he never took mental notes for what he would say when his day came. This is just who he is.

He worked on the speech for a few days. ("It kept getting longer and longer," his wife Julie said. "He kept printing out revisions.") His 11-year-old daughter Kennedi proudly reported that she caught a spelling error and found a missing word.

Then Draper spoke. And he thanked 109 individuals, including 22 teammates, eight doctors, two dentists, three Lions, two Tigers, all his Red Wings coaches, several minor league coaches, at least two parking-lot attendants; assorted trainers, equipment managers ("I always had sticks, gloves and skates waiting for me"); friends and family members.

Understand: These are just the people he thanked by name. He also thanked "every player that I have ever worn the Red Wing jersey with"; the media ("every single one of you treated me fairly"); everybody who worked at Joe Louis Arena ("each and every single gray coat"); the "entire" public-relations staff; the "entire" marketing staff; Hockey Canada; and of course, Red Wings fans.

"Hockeytown fans are the greatest fans," he said.

You want to know why Draper is so popular around here? That is why. Draper was never really a great player, just a very good one. But he was a great Red Wing, and that seemed to mean even more to him. He saw teammates leave for a fresh start (Sergei Fedorov); more money (Martin Lapointe); and because they had no choice (Chris Osgood). But Draper wanted, above all, to stay. It meant everything to him.

He stuck around long enough to get his name on the Stanley Cup four times. But how do you quantify the thank-yous, the you're-welcomes or the patient answers to tough questions after playoff losses? How about the hospital visits or the chats with fans in coffee shops and restaurants?

Owner Mike Ilitch said Tuesday that he finally had to tell his marketing folks: Leave him alone. Draper would never say no to anything.

The last four people Draper thanked Tuesday were Julie, his son Kienan and his daughters Kennedi and Kamryn. The night before, Kienan had cried as he pointed to the poster on his bedroom wall of his dad playing hockey, and said, "I'm gonna miss that guy."

"You guys inspired me every day," Draper told them. "Every day I went to the gym, I thought of you guys. Every game day, I wanted to play so well because I knew you guys would be watching. I wanted to work so hard ... so you guys would be proud of me."

Kamryn is 3; it was obvious, as she sat in the front row, that she didn't quite understand why Tuesday was so special. I can think of 108 people who would be happy to tell her.

Michael Rosenberg: Most thankful man in NHL? Kris Draper thanks 109 people in retirement speech | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

 

[Automattic]

Michael Rosenberg: Most thankful man in NHL? Kris Draper thanks 109 people in retirement speech | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Draper was never really a great player, just a very good one. But he was a great Red Wing, and that seemed to mean even more to him.

These two sentences stick out the most to me. I'm proud to be a Wingnut. You, Kris Draper, are one of the reasons for that.