yes, looking around the League, every team seems to have their own standards, and willingness to retire non-HHOF worthy players seems to vary. I think that Tony Esposito, Doug Wilson and Ed Belfour all have cases to be made for post-O6 era players. Thanks to the Wirtzes there weren't so many long-standing Blackhawks..
Hossa's number being retired by Chicago was surprising. It's the equivalent of Shanahan getting his jersey retired in Detroit. Yeah, Shanahan won 3 Cups and was a crowd favorite but he's not a career Red Wing.
He was part of the "Big 4" of HHOF bound players part of the best stretch in Blackhawks history. Those 3 Cups in six years matched all other Cups since the Blackhawks existence. It was not surprising to me in that context, even if other players based on longevity/performance strictly in a vacuum could have a stronger case. Perfect player for them in that era, the reason they could have two dominant lines at even strength, puck possession, do it all monster at a time scoring dried up to a second DPE. I would definitely say he was a more impactful player than Seabrook or Sharp.
You followed those teams more than I did obviously. I always figured Sharp was more impactful because you need a 2nd line center more than a 2nd line winger. Also, did Hossa significantly outscore Sharp during their Chicago years? I thought their numbers were close. BTW, I'm not saying Sharp's jersey should be retired either.
Sharp was primarily a wing. He played center during the 2010 playoffs. In 2013, Michal Handzus was the center on the Kane line at even strength and in 2015 it was Brad Richards.
You have to wonder though with the upsets to the Ducks, Flames and Oilers a constant expectations to make it far. Perhaps in a way losing in 98 means they pick it up in another year.
Another way to look at this is Detroit using those picks in a trade. The 98 team probably doesn't win because of losing both Konstantinov and Fedorov plus how close the Stars and even Blues series were. But I'd still expect them to win one in the 99-02 period and hell less we forget 03-06 consecutive upsets by Cup Finalist (who themselves all lost in 7 games) I felt the team was somewhat cursed and paying the karma queen for those 3 Cups.
Funny enough I think Sakic on the Rangers is a pretty big boost for them. The biggest problem with those New York teams was trying to buy a title and therefore signing big names without any thought going into chemistry. I'm not looking it up but I think 2003 the names on that roster were rather ludicrous, Fleury, Lindros, both Bures I think and still the old guard. Anywho Sakic was signed to replace Messier and to be frank that would have been a noticeable upgrade for Gretz to work with, at least for the 97-98 season which yeah Detroit but if that Rangers team makes say the Conference Final it's a whole other domino effect and hell maybe Gretz even plays 99-00 if he has a Cup contending team (the 9 goals is a punchline but Wayne wasn't exactly trash on a pretty bad team).
The Wings organization has a noticeably high bar for number retirements. I think Datsyuk and Zetterberg are probably going to have theirs retired with only 1 Cup as starters (Datsyuk was nowhere near a contributor in 2002) because they have the individual accolades and never played for another NHL franchise. Zetterberg being a Captain and Smythe winner makes his case marginally better despite Datsyuk having the better numbers and Selke/Byng trophies but I'm betting both are indeed retired. Fedorov's chances flew out the window when he went to the Ducks for a payday. It's certainly arguable the Wings don't win either of the 97-98 Cups without Fedorov but not overwhelmingly so as not only were they deep teams but you assume they have some compensation for losing him. That said I think he's closer to Shanahan in terms of his Wings career as I think too often people forget Brendan who finished with way more goals and points was also on those 3 Cup winning teams and nobody brings up his jersey.
