After the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom at the end of the 2011-2012 season, many hockey fans assumed that the next captain of the Detroit Red Wings would be one of two people: Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk. Both players have led their team and the NHL in class and ability for quite some time, and both were more than capable assistant captains under Lidstrom. The only question was which player would win out? Turns out it's Zetterberg. Zetterberg was drafted 210th overall by the Wings in the 1999 entry draft, making him the lowest drafted Conn Smythe winner in history, and presumably the lowest drafted NHL captain in history as well.
Teammate Tomas Holmstrom will not get a chance to skate with the new captain, however. Holmstrom, whose contract expired at the end of last season, has decidied to retire. Holmstrom, 39, was drafted 257th overall in 1994, and has earned four Stanley Cups with the Wings. He's one of the most frustrating players on the ice during any given game thanks to his talent for parking himself in front of the crease and the goalie. His rear-end is one of the world's great immovable objects, and will probably only be missed by players on the Red Wings. Homer was rumored to be thinking about taking an office job with Detroit if he retired, but no official announcement has been released regarding his next career move.
