Ted Lindsay. Photo taken on Saturday, December 10, 2011 in the concourse of Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by David Wesley via Wikimedia Commons)Ted Lindsay. Photo taken on Saturday, December 10, 2011 in the concourse of Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by David Wesley via Wikimedia Commons)
Windsor

Hockey legend to lie in state Friday

Hockey fans will have a chance to pay respects to a pioneer in professional hockey.

Detroit Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay will lie in state at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, and fans will have a chance to say goodbye to a player who made up a huge part of the franchise's 1950s dynasty but also paved the way for hockey players to be paid adequately. Lindsay died on Monday at age 93.

Following a family visitation Thursday night at a Royal Oak Funeral Home, Lindsay's casket will be moved to Little Caesars Arena and placed on carpeting right on the arena floor Friday morning. Visitors will be able to file past beginning at 9:07 a.m. and ending at 7:07 p.m. The time of seven minutes past the hour ties into Lindsay's retired #7, which hangs in the rafters of the arena.

If you're planning to go, the Red Wings are offering free parking at the Little Caesars Arena garage on Sproat Street as well as the Henry West garage on the west Fisher Freeway service drive. Fans are asked to enter through the Meijer entrance at the southwest corner of the arena, where they will be able to view Lindsay's statue and sign a banner of condolence which will later be presented to the Lindsay family.

Family members will be available to meet with the public and memorabilia will be on display throughout the arena, according to the Red Wings.

Lindsay will be remembered in a requiem Mass on Saturday morning at St. Andrew's Church in Rochester. The funeral is closed to the general public, with the family and Red Wings asking fans to respect the family's privacy and only attend the public event Friday. In lieu of flowers, contributions are being sought to support the Ted Lindsay Foundation.

Lindsay was born in 1925 in Renfrew, Ontario and played junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals, winning the 1944 Memorial Cup. He soon signed with the Red Wings, where he would eventually join Gordie Howe and Sid Abel as part of the famed Production Line, feared by opponents throughout the 1950s. Nicknamed "Terrible Ted" and hated by opposing fans for his tough, aggressive style of play, he compiled 1,808 penalty minutes. Lindsay scored goals over 17 seasons, 14 with Detroit and three with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer in 1950 and had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup four times. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

During his career, Lindsay became involved in an effort to form an NHL player's association, to ensure higher salaries and a pension plan. The movement had widespread support from players but was opposed by team owners and general managers like Detroit's Jack Adams, who stripped Lindsay of his captaincy and traded him to struggling Chicago. For his original efforts, the NHL renamed their Lester Pearson Award after Lindsay. A 1995 TV film, Net Worth, chronicled Lindsay's activism.

Lindsay later worked as a TV commentator, doing play-by-play on local television for the New York Rangers, then analysis for NBC. He was the centre of one of the few bright spots of the so-called "Dead Wings" era of the 1970s and early 1980s. He became the Wings' general manager in 1977, and the following season Detroit made the playoffs for the first time since 1969. He also served as head coach of the Wings at the start of the 1980-81 season.

The NHL is also joining the Red Wings in tribute to Lindsay. For games played through Sunday, all 31 NHL arenas will display Lindsay's #7 on their arena boards.

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