TRAVERSE CITY - The Red Wings flew Henrik Zetterberg to Detroit during the 2002 Western Conference finals against Colorado.
He saw the town he would call home for the next 16 years and the arena where he would excel on many nights. He met future teammates who would teach him how to lead on and off the ice.
He was clean-shaven with a mullet, a budding hockey star in Sweden who looked like an American rock idol. Four months later he got a haircut (he eventually grew his beard out) and started a tremendous NHL career that officially ended Friday, when the team captain since 2012 announced he is done playing due to a degenerative back issue.