When he checked into the old Ponchartrain Hotel in Detroit in late January 1994, Kris Draper's reservation was only for one night. The Red Wings had called him up from their farm team in upstate New York because they needed a fresh body. Draper had joined the organization at the end of June 1993, in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades ever.
Thirty years later, the dynamo of a player who helped the Wings win four Stanley Cups from 1997-2008 is a newly promoted member of the front office, trying to get the team back to contending.