Kris Draper

Kris Draper (born May 24 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Draper is a four-time winner of the Stanley Cup, a Frank J. Selke Trophy winner and has scored over 100 goals in a Red Wings uniform. Draper was a member of the famous Grind Line in Detroit, consisting of himself, Kirk Maltby and either Joe Kocur or Darren McCarty. The line was reunited with the return of McCarty to the Wings in the 2007-2008 season. =Playing career=

Drafted 62nd overall in the 1989 Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, Draper did not see much action in his early years. He is a rarity in that he played in the AHL and NHL before playing junior in the Ontario Hockey League. After playing just 20 games in the 4 seasons since he was drafted, he was traded to Detroit in 1993 for a dollar. Draper would quickly become a valuable fixture in Detroit's rotation, and he began his reputation as the "One Dollar Man."

On May 29, 1996, during game six of the Western Conference Finals of the 1996 playoffs, Draper was checked from behind into the boards at the end of the players bench by Colorado Avalanche player Claude Lemieux. The hit forced Draper face first into the dasher (the top edge of the boards), causing him to suffer a broken jaw, broken nose, broken cheekbone, and a concussion. When the Wings and Avalanche met again on March 26, 1997, play was very physical between the two teams, and the anger over the injuries to Draper set off a massive brawl (Brawl in Hockeytown) between the two teams. Draper did not have a breakout season offensively until 2003-04, when he scored 24 goals and 40 points, helping Detroit win the Presidents' Trophy. Draper won the Selke Trophy at the season's end as best defensive forward. He was named an alternate captain during the 2006-07 season. Draper was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics. On October 25, 2007 Draper signed a three-year, $4.75-million contract extension with the team. He will earn $1.85 million in 2008-09, $1.65 million in 2009-10, and $1.25 million in the 2010-11 campaign -- for a salary cap hit value up $1.58-million. On March 17, 2009, Draper became only the 5th person to play 1,000 games in a Red Wing uniform - a feat accomplished only by Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, & Nicklas Lidstrom. Howe and Delvecchio are Hall of Famers, Yzerman is a near-lock to be a voted as a 1st ballot later this year and Lidstrom certainly will be after his career ends. It was Draper's 1,020th NHL game (passing the 1,000 NHL game milestone February 2, 2009).