The Grind Line is dead; long live the Grind Line!
Detroit's don't-call-it-the-fourth line was integral to the 1997 and '98 Stanley Cup champion seasons, and a key element in the Red Wings' many successes since. Featuring Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby with Joey Kocur or Darren McCarty, the hardworking line was a longstanding favorite with fans and frustration for foes.
Joey Kocur's been off the ice since 1999, and Darren McCarty's now in Calgary. These days, the erstwhile Grind Line comprises Draper, Maltby and the captain Steve Yzerman. The name, Kris Draper says, no longer fits. So what do we call this lovable trio of forwards now? Thanks to an awkward little outburst of publicity-stunt democracy, maybe the decision will be yours.
Clever fans should
submit their suggestions for new names here by Monday, November 14. An unnamed panel of judges will select ten finalists upon which the public can vote.
It's hard not to feel some apprehension about this vote. I still remember my days at Garfield Elementary school, named for the undistinguished chief executive. We Garfielders had long been called "the Gorillas" — until 1983, when Jon Davis's cantankerous cartoon cat was at the height of his popularity, and we held a school-wide vote to determine a new mascot. Predictably, but to my dismay, my peers rechristened us "the Garfield Cool Cats." Our new emblem would be a copyright-infringing image of America's favorite fat tabby in sunglasses. It was embarrassing.
Who's on the mysterious panel of judges that will narrow the new Grind Line names down to ten? I don't know, but I hope they have the wisdom to weed out suggestions like "the Patriotic Line," or "One Line Under God" — because they're so idiotic, they just might win. Just ask a former "Cool Cat."