The legendary player is honored at the downtown arena. (Photo: Detroit Red Wings)
Ten hours of viewing for Ted Lindsay, who died Sunday at 93, are Friday at Little Caesars Arena.
Public visitation runs from 9:07 a.m. until 7:07 p.m. -- times that honor his No. 7 jersey number, as do exterior displays at the arena.
The Red Wings saluted the legendary player Thursday night before playing the New York Rangers in the team's first home game since Lindsay died. His number was displayed on the ice.
His casket will lie in state on the carpet-covered ice, along with historic artifacts. "Members of the Lindsay family will be present to greet the public," posts Kyle Kujawa, a team publicist.
Here are details:
► Free parking: Henry West Garage, 128 West Fisher Service Drive, or the arena garage at 165 Sproat St.
► Doors: Use the Meijer Entrance at the southwest corner to see the Ted Lindsay statue and sign a tribute banner to be presented to the family.
► Memorial gifts can be sent to the Ted Lindsay Foundation, 1819 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48083.
A private funeral Saturday will be at St. Andrew's Church in Rochester.
Earlier coverage March 4:
On the ice, he was cocky and abrasive, someone to be reckoned with. He was nicknamed "Terrible Ted."
"Terrible Ted had a face only a hockey mom could love,” John Finley, the Red Wings’ longtime physician who had stitched up Lindsay many times, wrote in his memoir, according to Bill McGraw, writer of a Detroit Free Press obituary. The doctor added about Ted Lindsay: “I have many fond memories of the grace, respect, and special effort he took with all those close to him.”
Lindsay, the Freep reports, has died at 93. He was under hospice care.
Ted Lindsay: July 29, 1925 – March 3, 2019
The native of Renfrew, Ont., played 13 seasons with the Red Wings from 1944-57, then three more with the Chicago Black Hawks. Then, following a four-year retirement, he played a final season with the Wings in 1964-65.
Off the ice, Lindsay was known as a gentleman and philanthropist who became involved in the community.
On the ice was a different story. He is #70 on the all-time penalty minutes list.
In 2016, he told columnist Dave Stubbs of NHL.com:
"If I had to do it all over again, I'd not change a thing - unless I could be a little meaner still."
"I loved the game of hockey but I never looked at myself as a great hockey player. Owners never paid my salary. I always recognized that it was the people in the seats who did. I always wanted to give my best. Some nights, it was great.
"But there were other nights that I was not too pleased with my performance."
He tells Stubbs of his tought attitude on the ice:
"My hatred was sincere," he said of his foes. "I liked to see them dead. That was my problem, I guess. I understood people, understood human nature. I wasn't a psychologist or anything, but I knew people. You'd figure out who the chickens were on the other side, who the bulls were on the other side, [then] spend your time with the chickens and stay away from the bulls."
Lindsay pushed for a union and eventually helped form a player's association. But it came with a price. The league and Red Wing Coach and General Manager Jack Adams went after him and he was eventually traded to Chicago. A union was eventually formed in 1967. Unfortunately, after Gordie Howe voted against the union, his relationship with Howe soured.
► Commentary: Ted Lindsay's Greatness Was Clear on and Off the Ice
McGraw writes:
Lindsay mocked opponents, pushed referees and argued with Jack Adams, the tyrannical Detroit coach and general manager whom most players feared. Lindsay blasted the disciplinary hearings of NHL president Clarence Campbell, a former war-crimes prosecutor, as a “kangaroo court” and shocked NHL owners when he filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the league during his attempt to form a players’ association in the late 1950s.
The suit was a daring move, and while the union effort fell short, it set the stage for the founding of the NHL Players’ Association in 1967. Adams traded Lindsay for masterminding the union drive (with Montreal’s Doug Harvey), and it soured the once-close friendship between Lindsay and Gordie Howe, who voted against the union.
LIndsay touched many lives.
Bryan Fenster, who grew up in Huntington Woods, played hockey in the travel league as a teen for Lindsay, who was the coach.
"I feel so lucky that my Dad found that USA Red Wings tryout in 'Hockey Weekly' back in 1993 (or '94?). It was only my second or third year playing travel hockey and being at that age, having been able to play for "Mr. Lindsay" (as we called him)...it wasn't even a game-changer, it was a life changer.
"Mr. Lindsay had a massive impact on me as an impressionable 13-14 year old and player still building my skills. Even more so, his lessons and leadership forever shaped me. He not only lit a fire in us on the ice but bestowed upon us the experience and ideals of hard work, discipline and respect off the ice. It was equally important that we were not only strong, sensible hockey players, but that those qualities were applied in our everyday lives. It was an absolute honor and privilege to play for him, and still be connected to his family. Thank you, Coach."
