Tribute Niklas Kronwall

[The Zetterberg Era]

My favorite Kronwall story came from Hakan Andersson. It was over the summer and Kronwall was doing summer training with his team in Sweden. Hakan went to check on him and asked the coach how he was looking. The coach replied that he was looking a bit sluggish, to which Hakan was surprised. Later on he spoke with Kronwall asking what was going on. Kronwall told him he was having difficulty doing both the workout regiment the Wings gave him as well as the one he was doing with the team in Sweden. He had been doing the full training regiment the Wings gave him in the mornings before going to workout with the team. Hakan was in disbelief he was doing both full training regiments and told him to stop doing the one from the Wings.

That’s the player Kronwall was. He was the ultimate competitor and we were so lucky to have him. I’m really glad that he is still a part of the organization.

Kronwall is still doing a lot for us in Sweden, love his impact on our European prospects development.

One of my favorite players, people can keep saying second pairing, but he was really a #1 D-man for a decade in this league. Being behind the second best D-man ever might have hid that from some, but man was he a really great player.

 

[SoupGuru]

I never cared for Kronwall. He was good offensively but not great in his own zone. Stuart maybe wasn't a great partner either. I remember them getting pinned in their own zone again and again and both of them kind of wandering. Kronwall never seemed to care to clear the crease or get physical, which is funny considering he would thump guys in the offensive zone no problem.

I think it probably wasn't fair to him to have to follow Lidstrom. Everyone is going to look bad in that situation. But I was just never a Kronwall fan.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Had the honor of seeing a Kronwall special three feet away from me, which was pretty cool.

Guy definitely wasn't afraid to go balls to the walls when a good hitting opportunity came across, albeit with questionable legality.

Was a solid piece for us and got himself a cup along the way. Not a bad career.

 

[The Zermanator]

Kronwall is still doing a lot for us in Sweden, love his impact on our European prospects development.

One of my favorite players, people can keep saying second pairing, but he was really a #1 D-man for a decade in this league. Being behind the second best D-man ever might have hid that from some, but man was he a really great player.

#1 is a bit of a stretch IMO even for his peak, never mind a decade. But definitely was a great player for the Wings. I'd liken him a little more to what McDonagh was for the Lightning in terms of presence and impact, a good to great #2. Was definitely a huge stabilizing presence keeping the husk of the team afloat along with Hank and Dats following Lidstrom's retirement.

Agreed with his impact in Sweden though, heard nothing but glowing praise from all the big names that have come through there in the last few years. We're lucky to have him working with ASP and MBN to help prepare them for their eventual transition to the NHL. A lot of these guys that come through there seem really composed and mature when they ultimately get to Detroit. Part of that is definitely because they've played in a pro league against men for a couple years, but I think Kronwall is also contributing a lot towards making their transition smoother.

Really love how these players who carved a place for themselves in Red Wings history have their fingerprints all over the team now, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Draper, Kronwall all helping to lead the charge in their own way.

 

[Konnan511]

Watching the Main boards explode when Kronwall crushed a guy was always fun to read. Seeing still images of highly pixilated photos and debating whether his feet were on the ice or not or whether the principal point of contact was the head will always live rent free in my head.

 

[PelagicJoe]

Like most of us, I remember the monster hits. I miss him and Vlad.

 

[RedHawkDown]

Man I thought he died with this title. Shat my pants.

 

[Henkka]

#1 is a bit of a stretch IMO even for his peak, never mind a decade.

Imo, he was great #1D on his prime, those 3 years after Lidström retired and he got clear #1 role.

10th at points of NHL defencemen from 2012-13 to 2014-15.

At 2015-16 there was some injury and he started to regress.

 

[raymond23]

Still one of the more important people in our organization when you consider his role in Sweden and the draft capital we've spent over there

So awesome to have guys like him be a part of the organization after their playing days

 

[SoupNazi]

Honestly, no one ever realized just how good this guy was in his prime because when you thought of Wings d-men, it was always Lidstrom and then "those other guys."

If Kronwall had played elsewhere, he'd probably have gotten a lot more notice for just how good he was.

 

[Frk It]

Was always one of my favorites on those 2000's and 2010's teams. He was such a smart and entertaining player to watch. The way he could headfake and manipulate people in the offensive zone was a lot of fun.

Honestly one of Holland's most impressive draft picks too I'd say. To take a defenseman this size in the first round with this skill set was pretty ahead of it's time.

 

[KJoe88]

He was fantastic.

And his hits were amazing. Always thought he was supremely underrated

 

[OneMoreTry]

Man I thought he died with this title. Shat my pants.

I actually considered reporting the OP - for emotional violence!

 

[Retire91]

We were so spoiled with that dynasty roster that it takes some reflection to appreciate how good he was. He was one of the last players around from the good old days before off season after off season of Dan Cleary signings. We basically had a first paring D in our second pairing. Even when he didn't land those highlight hits he was making defense happen just by opposition having to keep their head on a swivel. He also took relatively few penalties considering the way he played. And he brought the offense too. One of the best 2 way defenseman we have had the pleasure of seeing.

 

[Stony Curtis]

Man was he good at setting up those opposing forwards waiting along the half wall for a breakout pass. They'd see him retreat a bit, but as soon as that forward looked back for that puck, Nik would reverse direction and explode on them. They had no idea they were about to go into protocol.

 

[tabness]

I remember when Jiri Fischer was supposed to be our next big guy, literally real big, so unfortunate what happened to him. Kronwall came in right after and it was so nice to see this smallish guy still be able to throw those big ass hits. Like so many Wings of the time, he just seemed to be underrated by non Wings fans, really only Lidstrom and Datsyuk got their due because they got trophies, and even with Datsyuk there was a backlash from the nerdy points are everything point of view.

 

[RRhoads]

The perception of how Kronwall was as a number 1 defenseman is tainted by how good Lidstrom was. We went from a guy who hardly made a bad decision on the ice, and those are hard shoes to fill.

 

[FMichael]

What are you guys memories of him? What did he bring to the ice?

View attachment 894208

I knew he was gonna be a real beauty after winning the Eddie Shore Award while in the AHL.