Tag Archives: best Red Wings players

H2H 99: Jarome Iginla vs. Brendan Shanahan – Who was Better?

With his selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, Jarome Iginla represents perhaps the last of a dying breed of hockey player: the quintessential power forward (think Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Cam Neely, Phil Esposito, or Eric Lindros).  In fact, with both his physical style of play plus his knack for putting points on the board (career totals of 600+ goals and 1,300+ points), Iginla’s game in many ways resembles that of another great power forward from an earlier generation in Brendan Shanahan.  Both were not only consistent point-per-game producers for two decades each, but were also not afraid to drop their gloves if necessary – see this fight between the pair from 2001.  Thus, with Iginla rightfully joining Shanahan in the Hall of Fame, let us compare these two skilled physical forces and ask:

Who was better – Jarome Iginla or Brendan Shanahan?

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H2H 75: Pavel Datsyuk vs. Henrik Zetterberg – Who was Better?

As one of the Original Six NHL franchises, the Detroit Red Wings have been blessed with a plethora of superstars throughout the years, from Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Terry Sawchuk in the mid-20th century to the likes of Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, and Nicklas Lidstrom in more recent times.  Detroit has always embraced foreign stars (see the “Russian Five” from the 1990s) and thus, it should come as no surprise that in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the latest generation of Red Wings was led by Pavel Datsyuk from Russia and Henrik Zetterberg of Sweden. Though each dealt with his fair share of injuries, the duo were among the most electrifying players in the league when fully healthy, and helped Detroit add to its Stanley Cup trophy case.  With their stellar careers essentially overlapping, let us look back and ask:

Who was better – Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg?

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