From Chapter 9: From the Indian Head to the Winged Wheel ...
I had famously said once in a television interview that I would "never" play for the Detroit Red Wings.
I meant it when I said it. That's how deep the rivalry was between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings.
When I settled into my hotel room after being traded to Detroit, that interview was being played on the local news. I'm sure it was played over and over in Chicago. Blackhawks fans remember that interview and never forgave me for agreeing to play for the Red Wings.
I'm not sure I can really blame them.
In my defense, it was not easy for me to walk into Detroit's dressing room for the first time. It was like crossing enemy lines. I had tussled with Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman a few times during my career, and Sergei Fedorov had been a frequent target of mine. A few years before, the NHL had fined me $500 for slashing him.
"I used to do everything to Sergei," I told Sports Illustrated writer Michael Farber. "Those were the days when you could elbow a guy and not worry about getting suspended. I took advantage of that."
Farber pointed out in his story that I had previously been "hanged in effigy" by some fans at Joe Louis Arena.
The first time I dressed to play for the Red Wings, I had to do it twice because I had forgotten to remove my gym shorts the first time. Then, I mistakenly put on my elbow pads before my shoulder pads. To say I was out of sorts would be an understatement.
My presence in the dressing room was also odd for my new teammates, many of whom had fought me like gladiators through the years. It was pretty awkward for all of us.
On my first day, tough guy Darren McCarty picked up one of my sticks and said, "This is the first time I've ever been this close to one of these without it being broken over my head."
On my second day in Detroit, rugged Red Wings forward Marty Lapointe came up to me and asked, "Are we going to be okay?"
I just laughed. I think he believed we should apologize to each other for all of the bad blood we'd built up over the years.
The one player I did apologize to was center Kris Draper. I had said some mean things to him in the past. After he was hurt by that Claude Lemieux hit from behind in 1996, his mother threatened to file a lawsuit against Lemieux. Not long after, Draper and I were both stretching before one of our games, and I leaned over and called him a pussy and suggested he tell his mother to stay out of it.
I had also uttered stupid comments to defenseman Larry Murphy about dyeing his hair that I regretted saying. I don't recall whether I apologized to Murph about those comments, but I should have. In the heat of battle, you say dumb things. Now, Murphy and I are great friends.
There was a buzz in Detroit about the Red Wings at that time, and not just because I was now playing for the team. Holland had also acquired goalie Bill Ranford, defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, and feisty scoring winger Wendel Clark. All the players were on the ice 15 minutes early for the first practice with the new group.
The Red Wings were now considered the team to beat for the Stanley Cup. After the roster makeover, Las Vegas oddsmakers were now making us a 2-1 favorite, down from 6-1.
According to news reports, the Red Wings sold 171 jerseys with my name or Clark's name on the back the day after the trades were announced.
Many fans in Detroit came up to me and said, "We used to hate you but now we love you."
The Red Wings used the "left wing lock" defensive system at the time, and that was less taxing on defensemen. As a right-side defenseman, I no longer had to make the long diagonal skate to the left corner to get the puck on an opponent's dump-in. The left wing had the responsibility of retrieving the puck in those instances.
Legendary head coach Scotty Bowman had the Wings playing a puck-possession game, so I had more freedom to join the rush under his command. In fact, I was supposed to jump into the play on certain breakouts, and I forgot a couple of times in my first few games. In Chicago we moved the puck from defenseman to defenseman and then fired it up the boards.
My minutes were trimmed in Detroit, but in a good way. In my last three games in Chicago, I had averaged more than 30 minutes per game. In my first three games in Detroit, I averaged just under 25 minutes per game.
The first time I stepped on the ice for a warm-up in a Red Wings jersey, the fans stood and applauded. Apparently they were quick to forgive and forget.
(Visit triumphbooks.com for more info on Chris' book. He will be signing books before Friday's Wings-Blackhawks game, from 6 until 7:30 p.m., in the Joe Louis Arena concourse, Section 104.)
