Red Wings Mount Rushmore: The Four Faces of Hockeytown

Four legends from different eras stand above the rest in Detroit's storied history.

Red Wings center Steve Yzerman / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The difficult part about constructing a Detroit Red Wings Mount Rushmore isn't finding four worthy players. It's figuring out which legends to leave off.

The Red Wings have one of the deepest collections of Hall of Fame talent in NHL history. And you can't have a Wings Mount Rushmore without Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Terry Sawchuk.

Gordie Howe: The Original Face of the Franchise

Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe Credit: Dick Raphael-USA TODAY NETWORK / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What can you say about Gordie Howe that already hasn't been said? Howe wasn't simply the greatest player of his generation for decades; he was the standard against which NHL players were measured.

He became synonymous with both the Red Wings and hockey itself. His combination of scoring, toughness and longevity helped create the "Mr. Hockey" identity. Howe's elbows were infamous for inflicting pain on many an opponent.

His franchise numbers will probably never be touched. He amassed 25 seasons with the Red Wings, 1,687 games, 786 goals, 1,809 points, four Stanley Cups, six Hart Trophies, six Art Ross Trophies, and 23 NHL All-Star Games. Before there was Hockeytown, there was Mr. Hockey.

Steve Yzerman: The Captain Who Brought Detroit Back

Detroit Red Wings center Steve Yzerman Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If Howe represents Detroit's original dynasty, Steve Yzerman represents its rebirth. If the Red Wings were any more dead in the early 1980s, they would have needed a coroner.

Yzerman gave the Wings a much-needed pulse when he arrived in 1983. He became the captain at just 21 and evolved into one of the greatest players in NHL history.

Initially known as an explosive offensive player, Yzerman evolved into a complete two-way leader under head coach Scotty Bowman. His numbers and accomplishments certainly tell the story. He played his entire 22-season career with the Red Wings while playing in 1,514 games.

He finished with 692 goals, 1,755 points, three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, a Selke Trophy, the Lester B. Pearson Award, and 10 NHL-All Star appearances. Yzerman eventually became the Red Wings' general manager after a successful run as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nicklas Lidstrom: The Perfect Defenseman

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Howe and Yzerman were the faces of two great Red Wings eras, Lidstrom was the constant through Detroit's modern dynasty. One of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, Lidstrom wasn't necessarily flashy, but he was the player you wanted to build your defense around.

His positioning, intelligence, puck movement, and seemingly never making the wrong play were second to none. He played on four Stanley Cup-winning teams while compiling 264 goals and 1,142 points in 1,564 career games. He played his entire 20-season career in Detroit while winning seven Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and he played in 12 NHL All-Star Games. He was the first European-born captain to lead an NHL team to the Stanley Cup when the Wings won it in 2008.

Terry Sawchuk: The Man Between the Pipes

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Terry Sawchuk credit: The Detroit News-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arguably the greatest goaltender in franchise history, Sawchuk dominated during an era when goaltending was physically brutal. He didn't have a mask for a majority of his career, and his famously scarred face became symbolic of what NHL goalies endured.

Detroit's early 1950s dynasty wasn't just Howe scoring goals, it was also Sawchuk stopping them at the other end.

He recorded 11 shutouts in 70 games in 1950-51 and then had 12 shutouts the next season. That's a rate of blanking your opponent 16 and 17 percent of the season, respectively.

Sawchuk played 14 seasons with the Wings over three stints in Detroit while winning 351 career games. He had 85 shutouts and won three Stanley Cups, a Calder Trophy, and three Vezina Trophies with the Red Wings. His career 103 shutouts over the course of his career stood as the NHL record for decades.

We Are Going to Need a Bigger Rushmore

The Red Wings could build multiple Mount Rushmores from the players who didn't make this one and still have four Hall of Fame-caliber faces staring down from the mountain.

Players such as Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan, Pavel Datsyuk, Norm Ullman, Chris Osgood and Henrik Zetterberg could fill the other ones.

Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, and Sawchuk have something extra. Howe established the standard while Sawchuk backstopped a dynasty. Yzerman restored the franchise to glory while Lidstrom kept it there. And nearly eight decades after Howe first pulled on the Winged Wheel, those four careers provide a complete history of what made the Detroit Red Wings the Detroit Red Wings.