There are few experiences on this earth more special than arriving at the rink to watch the Red Wings play the beautiful game that their ancestors helped evolve. Detroit’s deeply-entrenched history mocks most professional sports franchises. And every ounce of that tradition, that visceral connection to the past, can be felt by its vehemently loyal fans when its classic winged-wheel sweaters make their way from the locker room before a game. It cannot be that difficult for fans in Detroit to imagine that the heroes of bygone eras are skating right in front of them if they choose to close their eyes and listen to the blades of the current Red Wings scrape against the ice, just before puck drop. The collective understanding and respect for history, but also the need for progress and growth is what drives the Red Wings, what drives Detroit.

One look up at it’s banners and you’re lost in a sea of red accolades. One look at the ice and you’ll most likely see a future Hall of Fame inductee — and maybe even a flying octopus. The Red Wings have made the playoffs for an incredible 23 consecutive years, they’ve raised Lord Stanley’s Cup 11 times, they’ve boasted many of the game’s most notable stars, and they play in one of the league’s most iconic buildings (Joe Lewis Arena, until 2017). They’re one of the Original Six franchises and the game wouldn’t be what it is today without them. The Red Wings have been in Detroit since before the Great Depression (1927), back when Henry Ford was mass-producing the Ford Model A car. Since then, they have quite literally been the consistent heartbeat of a city that’s had its ups and downs over the last 87 years. They play in Hockeytown. They are Hockeytown. And their fans don’t stop believing in them for anything.

Because of how special the Red Wings organization truly is, I wanted to put together a completely unbiased ‘All-Time Team’ with a complete roster from top to bottom. I say unbiased because I am not a Red Wings fan (quite far from it, in fact) and I am not weighing players based on their popularity or with sentimental value. Likewise, I didn’t want to create a ‘roster’ that was based merely on statistics. But I also didn’t want it to just be based on which players have more rings. There is a middle ground between those two and the closest word that can describe that middle ground is ‘intangibles’ (i.e. leadership, heart, grit, commitment). This ‘roster’ boasts players that possess the necessary intangibles in order to be considered an all-time great Red Wing and worthy of inclusion on this team. Of course, Stanley Cups and jaw-dropping statistics do not hurt, either.

I created a full 23-man roster following that mindset. It should be noted that to be included on this all-time team a player must have spent at least five years in Detroit. I believe this to be one of the most in-depth examinations of Red Wings history, specifically about individual players, that can be found anywhere on the internet. I now present to you the Detroit Red Wings all-time roster, built as if it was assembled to actually play games.