“It’s a huge honor for me,” Oates said. “It’s a special day for me and my family.” Brendan Shanahan, who helped the Wings win three Stanley Cup championships, however, was not picked in his first year of eligibility. Also left out this year was former Philadelphia Flyers star Eric Lindros.
Shanahan scored 658 goals and 1,354 points in a 21-season career spent with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers and Wings. He won Stanley Cups with the Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
Shanahan is only player in NHL history to eclipse 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. He spent nine seasons with the Wings, after being acquired two games into the 1996-97 season from the Whalers for forward Keith Primeau, defenseman Paul Coffey and a first-round pick.
The Wings won their first Cup in 42 years in Shanahan’s first season, after he led them the team with 46 goals and 87 points.
Shanahan now works for the NHL, for which he is in charge of on-ice player discipline. He angered some Red Wings fans by declining to suspend Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber for slamming Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the glass at the end of Game 1 of their first-round playoff series this spring.
Oates, 49, joined the Wings as an undrafted free agent in 1985 and stayed with the club until 1989. He and Paul MacLean were traded to the Blues for Bernie Federko and Tony McKegney in one of the most lopsided trades in Wings history.
Oates also played for the Blues, Boston Bruins, Capitals, Flyers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. He amassed 341 goals and 1,420 points in his 19-season career.