Brendan Shanahan doesn't have to worry about whether or when he'll make the Hall of Fame-- June of 2012, which is the first time he becomes eligible. He's a sure thing, like Steve Yzerman was.

He's one of the best scorer/ physical players of all-time.

Shanahan is in the top 12 in career goals with his 656 and in the top 25 in penalty minutes with 2,489--the only NHL player ever to score 600 and get at least 2,000 PIMS. He had 88 fights in his career, including two stand-back-and-throw-em dandies with real heavyweights. The first was with Willi Plett, when Shanahan was a 19-year-old rookie in New Jersey, and the second was with Donald Brashear when Shanahan was with the Rangers and close to 40. He had no qualms about fighting a slugger, and held his own.

People forget that in his early NHL days, Shanahan was a holy terror with his fists. "He was beating people up to the tune of 200 minutes and scoring 50 goals ... not a hell of a lot of players could do what he did. He was a very tough customer," said former NHL centre Ray Ferraro.

"He was just into the league, but I can remember when trouble broke out, he'd go right in. It was like he was saying to me'I'll take care of it,' '' said Tommy McVie, one of his first coaches in New Jersey.

"He got a lot of respect. He could shoot and he had a temper. Tough guys weren't going to try him because they'd have to fight him," said Scotty Bowman, who had the winger for half a dozen years in Detroit, before he retired.

"What I remember most about Brendan, though, was I never had any trouble with him. Guys would be at my door, wanting to change lines, complaining ... not him. In fact, there were times I had to go into the dressing room just to see how he was doing," said McVie.

"I remember when Kirk Muller was young, he wanted to play centre but he was on the wing with Johnny MacLean. I remember going to Brendan and saying, 'I know you're a righthanded shot, but you have to play left-wing, OK?' He said, 'Sure, whatever.' Absolutely no maintenance," said McVie. "As it turned out, he scored most of his goals coming off the left, but a righthanded shot. I'd be seeing the goals go in, boom, boom, maybe not like Jari Kurri, but that kind of shot.''

"He could score from that left side. He was much better there. On the right wing, he couldn't get to the outside, but from the left, he could come inside and let his right-handed shot go. He was a big-game player. In the playoffs, he could get to the stage," said Bowman.

"Shanny could never burn you with his speed, but he was a really clever player, always in the right spots. Able to score the one-timer, the tough goal," said Ferraro. "The net's been in the same place for 200 years, but it's pretty elusive for some guys to hit it. Never was for him."

Bowman felt the Red Wings were lucky to get Shanahan from the Whalers for Keith Primeau and Paul Coffey in 1996. "We wouldn't have traded for him except we had three centres in Detroit: Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Kris Draper, and Primeau wanted more ice, coming out of his rookie contract," said Bowman. "He wanted big money and they wouldn't give it to him. So he said, 'to hell with it, I'm not going to play.'Mr. (owner Mike) Ilitch was really upset at him. He saw him as his next cornerstone."

"We made the deal and it was a catalyst for our team. He (Shanahan) was a perfect fit because we were always a team that wasn't tough."

Now Shanahan has a tough decision: What to do with the rest of his life. He was a smart player, and he's just as clever off the ice. "I'll think he'll do something with the players (association)," said Bowman, who feels they need a lot of direction.