741 goals, good enough for third most in NHL history. Two-time Stanley Cup winner. Two-time Olympian, a silver medalist on home ice in Salt Lake City. Of all 1984 draft picks, only Mario Lemiuex had more career points.
Not bad for the Calgary Flames sixth rounder.
While Brett Hull may be best known as a member of the St. Louis Blues, and half of the dynamic Hull & Oates goal-scoring tandem, he holds a special place in the hearts of Red Wings fans.
Becoming a Red Wing in the Summer of 2001, Hull joined future Hall-of-Famers Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Nicklas Lidstrom, Luc Robitaille, Igor Larionov, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, and Sergei Fedorov – not to mention Pavel Datsyuk – to form what is possibly the most intimidating roster in NHL history. Instead of asking for his familiar #16 (though he also wore #22 in Dallas), Brett Hull honored the fallen Vladimir Konstantinov by wearing #17 for the first time in his career.
That spring, Hull led the NHL with ten post-season goals, en route to helping the Wings win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons – and Hull’s second in three.
In all, Hull played three seasons in Detroit – missing only one game – scoring 92 goals and 115 assists. He was the veteran cog in the “Two Kids and a Goat” Line – mentoring Pavel Datsyuk, Boyd Devereaux, and later, Henrik Zetterberg.
On February 10, 2003, Hull fired a one-timer past San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, becoming the sixth NHL player to score 700 goals – and only the second to do so in a Red Wings uniform, joining Gordie Howe in the uber-exclusive club. Hull was always an outspoken player, often goading the media, but was a model citizen during his time in Detroit – seemingly truly honored to be a part of the organization and hoped to do it proud. His Hall of Fame speech echoed those sentiments.
In 2004, Brett Hull signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, only to see the lockout wipe the first year away. When play began again in 2005, it seemed time may have finally caught up to the 41-year-old, retiring after only five games played in the desert, failing to score a goal.
Last night, The Golden Brett entered the Hall of Fame, joining his legend of a father and countless players who look up the all-time scoring list at him. He’s the proud recipient of the 1990 Lady Byng, 1991 Hart, and 1991 Pearson Trophies, an 8-time All-Star, and the NHL record holder for post-season powerplay goals, as well as playoff game-winners.
He may have been a member of the enemy Blues for a decade, but another one of our own is enshrined in Toronto.
