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Hall of Fame Red Wings forward ‘Terrible’ Ted Lindsay passes away

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MiHockey Staff
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By @StefanKubus –

Detroit Red Wings legend and NHL Hall of Famer “Terrible” Ted Lindsay has passed away at the age of 93.

A native of Renfrew, Ontario, Lindsay played 14 of his 17 NHL seasons with Detroit and was a part of four Stanley Cup championship teams (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955). Lindsay finished his NHL career with 11 All-Star Game nods and a stat line of 379 goals, 851 points and 1,808 penalty minutes in 1,068 games.

Statement from the Lindsay family, as shared by the Red Wings:

“Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay passed away peacefully this morning at his home in Oakland, Mich. He was 93 years old. Ted was a persistent, courageous and determined man both on and off the ice. He was a man of many firsts. We are comforted in knowing that the Ted Lindsay legacy will forever be a part of history and are so proud of the many lives he helped change for the better through his tireless humanitarian work. Arrangements will be announced when they are finalized.”

The Red Wings went on to retire Lindsay’s iconic No. 7 in 1991 and is one of six numbers hanging from the rafters of Little Caesars Arena.

Statement from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:

“The National Hockey League mourns the passing and celebrates the incomparable life of the legendary Ted Lindsay. One of the game’s fiercest competitors during his 17-season NHL career, he was among its most beloved ambassadors throughout the more than five decades of service to hockey that followed his retirement. In Detroit, he was a civic icon.

What Lindsay lacked in physical stature, he possessed in intensity, desire and will to win. He played 1,068 NHL games for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, scoring 379 goals with 472 assists and 1,808 penalty minutes. He appeared in 11 All-Star Games and was named a First-Team All-Star eight times. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s scoring leader in 1950 and, as a driving force on the dynastic Red Wings teams of the 1950s – including as the left wing on the famed Production Line – he won the Stanley Cup four times.

Named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, he had his No. 7 retired by the Red Wings in 1991 and was named one of the NHL’s Top 100 Players during the League’s Centennial Celebration in 2017. As influential off the ice as he was on the ice, Lindsay was instrumental in the formation of the NHL Players’ Association. In 2010, NHL players displayed their reverence for him by renaming their annual award for the most outstanding player the Ted Lindsay Award.

There was no one quite like Ted Lindsay. We send our condolences to Ted’s children Blake, Lynn and Meredith, his stepdaughter Leslie, his six grandchildren and his three great grandchildren and join them in marveling at his incredible life.”

Lindsay was also instrumental in the organization and formation of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, which was founded in 1967, just one year after Lindsay’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction.

Lindsay was also well known for his work off the ice. In 2001, he and friend John Czarnecki founded the Ted Lindsay Foundation to raise money to fund research on the cause and treatment of autism. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $4 million through events like their celebrity golf outing and wine tasting.

Most recently, Lindsay was named to the “100 Greatest NHL Players” list as part of the league’s centennial celebration.

Some of the stories from Lindsay’s recent charitable work:

Ted Lindsay Foundation donates $1 million to Beaumont Children’s to bring autism services under one roof

Ted Lindsay Foundation donates $36,000 to Beaumont Center

VIDEO: Talking hockey with “Terrible Ted” Lindsay