Terrible Ted Passes

Great players always leave a lasting legacy on whatever games they play. In Hockey, one of the greats was Ted Lindsay, who stared for the Red Wings on the famed "Production Line" of the 1950's with Gordie Howe and Sid Abel. He was a scoring star who could do it all pretty much for the Wings. He won Cups, he made big plays during his career. Even as his career was winding down, he had an impact on the game that can still be felt even today. This hockey legend passed away on Monday, at the age of 93.

Looking back at his legacy, you have to start with what he did as a player. Lindsay, who is considered to be one of the greatest left wingers to ever play in the NHL, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. He played in 1,068 games, scored 379 goals, adding in 472 assists, totaling 851 points, all of this to go along with 1,808 penalty minutes. He was an eight time first team all star and a one time second team all star. He played in the mid season all star game for ten straight years. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the leagues leading scorer in 1950 and he has name engraved on the Stanley Cup four times (1950, 1952, 1954, and and 1955).

Even though he never scored 100 or more points in a season, he still had a steady level of consistency to his game. He scored about 30 goals a year in every full season he played. Besides the offensive touch, he had a mean streak to his game, which earned him the nickname Terrible Ted. His rough play caused the NHL to develop penalties for 'elbowing' and 'kneeing' to discourage hitting between players using the elbows and knees. Lindsay was also the first player to lift the Stanley Cup and skate it around the rink, starting the tradition.

What he did on the ice was well documented, but its also what he did off the ice that left a legacy that is still felt today. While still a force on the ice in 1957, Lindsay was also a key figure in establishing the original NHL Players Association, teaming up with other players like Bill Gadsby, Doug Harvey, Fern Flaman, Gus Mortson and Jim Thomson. What it did was set up the player union for the league, which hadn't happened prior to that season. It gave the players the voice they needed to establish fair working wages in the league and make things safer in the game for the players. Back during Lindsey's heyday, owners were taking all the money from games, and the players weren't making a whole lot. They sometimes had to go take summer jobs just to make ends meet. Superstars in the 1950's earned less than $25,000 a year (which now is more like 223,000). They had no pension fund either, so whenever a players career ended, they didn't have anything to fall back on, and had to accept whatever work they could to survive. Thanks to Lindsay's hard work, the players association was established and setup what we have in the game now. It gave the players greater work rights and set up a basic, working union for the players to get better pay and benefits.

After he retired in 1965, Lindsay went on to start the Ted Lindsay Foundation, which raises money to Autism-related causes. So far, the TLF has raised more than $3 million. And you know you made an impact on the game when you have an award named after you. The Ted Lindsay award was named in 2010 and its given to the best player in the league as voted on by the players union.

Ted Lindsay has left the world, but he left a lasting legacy on the game of hockey that's still being felt today.