Best Detroit Red Wings by Jersey Number: 51-60

The Detroit Red Wings have a storied history as an Original Six Franchise. Many have worn the Winged Wheel on the front of the sweater and shared a number with another on the back. Some of those numbers hang proudly in the rafters. Others are forgotten and given to the next person on the roster.

Over the next week and a half, Octopus Thrower will write-up the greatest names to wear every number (where applicable). Today we continue with #’s 51-60.

#51 – Valterri Filppula

Many fans, including myself, still get upset when they think of Valterri Filppula and the way the Red Wings decided to let him walk and signed Stephen Weiss instead. A few years have passed and without a doubt the Tampa Bay Lightning made a much better decision stealing Filppula from the Red Wings. The Lightning have a solid 2nd or 3rd line center who will put up 40-50 points a season while the Red Wings hope to move on after buying out Weiss during the off-season. Even though Filppula is no longer a Wing he still put up consistent numbers during his tenure in Detroit. He was also a key contributor during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs where he earned his first and only Stanley Cup to date. In 73 playoff games with the Red Wings Filppula notched an impressive 46 points. To top it all off Filppula is the first Finnish born player to wear the Red Wings jersey.

Other notables who wore #51 – Dmitri Mironov

Currently: N/A

#52 – Dave Lewis

Best known as an assistant coach during the Bowman years, Dave Lewis once patrolled the blue line for the Detroit Red Wings. At 6′ 2″ and over 200 lbs, Lewis was a steady defensive defenseman that could throw his weight around. Not known for being a point producer, Lewis put up 224 points in 1008 career games. Playing most of his career for the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings, Lewis finished off his playing career with two years in Detroit. What really put Lewis over the top for this list is his success as an assistant coach for the Red Wings and the amount of time he spent with the organization. He won 3 Stanley Cups as an assistant of Scotty Bowman’s and spent two years trying to fill the legendary Bowman’s shoes as his successor. Lewis has not been able to find success outside of Detroit but will always be remembered as an integral part of the Bowman dynasty.

Other notables who wore #52 – Ryan Barnes and Jonathan Ericsson

Currently: Jonathan Ericsson

#55 – Larry Murphy

It’s not over for Niklas Kronwall but he will need to have some impressive years to match the resume of NHL Hall of Famer Larry Murphy. After 21 seasons in the NHL, Murphy accumulated 287 goals and 929 assists in 1,615 regular season games. Add to that 152 points in 215 career playoff games and it is easy to see why Murphy beat out Kronwall on this list. Murphy was also the only player to win the Stanley Cup 4 times during the 1990’s. He won back to back championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992 and with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. Murphy went on to finish his storied career in Detroit playing a total of 5 seasons with the Red Wings. Averaging 3 points every four games throughout his career, Larry Murphy proved to be a winner at every level.

Other notables who wore #55 – Tiger Williams, Keith Primeau, Dmitri Bykov, and Niklas Kronwall

Currently: Niklas Kronwall

All stats obtained from www.hockeydb.com

Next: Numbers 41-50

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