Pavel Datsyuk had a dazzling 14-year career with the Red Wings. (Mike Mulholland/MLive)
Pavel Datsyuk won two Stanley Cups and several individual honors while displaying dazzling skills during a 14-year career with the Detroit Red Wings.
On Tuesday, he was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.
The 171st pick in the 1998 draft with exceptionally fast hands tallied 314 goals and 918 points in 953 games from 2001-02 to 2015-16. Datsyuk had an uncanny ability to pick-pocket the puck from unsuspecting opponents and he often neutralized high-end players, earning him three consecutive Selke Trophies as the NHL’s top defensive forward (2008-2010).
He also is a four-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy (2006-09), presented to the player who displays the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.
The Red Wings reached the playoffs every year they had Datsyuk, winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008.
Datsyuk is the 10th player from the Red Wings’ remarkable 2001-02 club to be selected to the Hall, joining Chris Chelios, Sergei Fedorov, Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull, Igor Larionov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman. The coach, Scotty Bowman, was inducted in 1991 and the general manager, Ken Holland, in 2020.
Datsyuk is a member of the elite Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, World Championship gold medal).
Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl also were inducted in the players category. Colin Campbell, a former Red Wings forward and assistant coach and longtime NHL executive, and David Poile were selected in the builders category.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be inducted on Nov. 11 during a ceremony in Toronto.
Notable former Red Wings players who didn’t get in include Henrik Zetterberg, who has been eligible the past three years, and goaltenders Chris Osgood and Curtis Joseph.
