After reeling from Henrik Zetterberg not being elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame, to being left off the quarter-century team, we decided the best course of action was to take to the Twitterverse.
What's your favorite Zetterberg moment? That's what we asked our social media friends and got some amazing answers.
Detroit Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg had a couple of gems that were shorthanded goals
This is a great memory that brings up a question. Which shift specifically are we talking about?
Now, we could have asked for clarification, there are so, so many examples. My educated guess is a shift we’ll see later in this walk down memory lane, so I’ll just use this one.
Before the Dallas Stars tried breaking current Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin’s neck, Zetterberg owned the Stars’ powerplay. Rather than be a threat on their powerplay, Zetterberg turned it into his own single-handed power play, scoring two shorthanded goals against Dallas in the 2008 playoff run. Just in case you forgot, or haven’t seen it before, here’s a quick look at Zetterberg’s powerplay.
Zetterberg showcased the best parts of a two-way center.
Nowadays, two-way player tends to get attached to any player who isn’t particularly great in either end. Typically, the player is okay or good in either end (or even both). The two-way attachment tends to excuse why the player doesn’t have better counting stats or why he’s not the best defensive player on his team. Back when Zetterberg played, two-way meant something different.
He and his fellow two-way players were excellent on both ends. They were the first guys over the board in any situation. They weren’t just a guy to support his teammates. Sure, they complemented their linemates, but they could also drive the line as well.
In this day and age, it’s hard to find a player who fits this bill. Normally, a player is offensive with defensive deficiencies. Or, they’re rocks in the defensive zone, but couldn’t hit water if they fell out of the boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in terms of scoring or assisting on goals. A lot of times, these supposed two-way players can’t even carry the puck through the neutral zone effectively.
Zetterberg was a gem in every zone, in every capacity.
This will be a multi-part series. So, if you think of something fun we may have missed, you can still chime in! Give @OctopusThrower_ a follow and reply to this message and maybe we will feature it!