The Grind Line refers to a former

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

line for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. Red Wings head coach

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

modeled it after the Crash Line of the

1995 Stanley Cup The 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1994–95 NHL season, 1994–95 season, and the culmination of the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Confer ...

champion

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

History

The original Grind Line in Detroit consisted of

Kris Draper Kristopher Bruce "Kris" Draper (born May 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current director of amateur scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, the team which he played 17 seasons for during his 20-year National Hockey ...

Joe Kocur Joseph George "Joey" Kocur (born December 21, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then- Detroit Red Wi ...

, and

Kirk Maltby Kirk Frederick Maltby (born December 22, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, the latter with whom he won the Stanley C ...

, during the Red Wings' heyday in the late-1990s. Draper played the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

position and was known for his speed and ability to win

face-off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

s. Maltby played

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and served as a checking forward and agitator in the Wings' left-wing lock defensive scheme. Kocur played

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

and served as a physical presence and team

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

. During the

1997 Stanley Cup Finals The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1996–97 season, and the culmination of the 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hocke ...

, the line was effective against the Philadelphia Flyers' "Legion of Doom" line that featured

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals pr ...

John LeClair John Clark LeClair (born July 5, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. With the Flyers, LeCl ...

, and

Mikael Renberg Mikael Bo Renberg (born 5 May 1972) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player, last playing for Skellefteå AIK in Elitserien. He spent ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and eight in the Swedish Elite League. Playing caree ...

. After the 1998 season,

Darren McCarty Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, best known for his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known for taking on the role of th ...

replaced

as the third linemate. The line was effective at "

grinding Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...

" and wearing down the opposition's top-scoring line by providing an enforcing presence, helping the team win four

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s. After the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

in 2005, McCarty's contract was bought out by the team in an effort to make them compliant with the new salary cap. This broke up one of the most famous lines in Detroit Red Wings' history. In the 2007–2008 season, the Red Wings re-signed McCarty, and after a brief stint with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey, hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National H ...

, he rejoined the Detroit Red Wings for the end of the regular season and the playoffs. In his first game back on March 29, 2008, versus the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

, head coach

Mike Babcock Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

sent out his starting line of McCarty, Draper, and Maltby, reuniting the "Grind Line".

References

History of the Detroit Red Wings Nicknamed groups of ice hockey players 1997 Stanley Cup {{Icehockey-stub fr:Grind Line

History

See also

References