Editing Brian Rafalski (section)

==Playing career==

===Amateur===
As a youth, Rafalski played in the 1987 [[Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament]] with a [[minor ice hockey]] team from [[Detroit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|title=Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA|year=2018|website=Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=March 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rafalski played for the [[Madison Capitols]] of the [[United States Hockey League]] (USHL). In 47 games during the 1990–91 season he scored 23 points with 12 goals and 11 assists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brian Rafalski - Stats|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8467856&docid=TeamPlayerBio:34728#&navid=nhl-search|website=National Hockey League|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref>

===College and European play===
Rafalski played for four years at the [[Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey|University of Wisconsin–Madison]] and was a proficient player, scoring 45 points in 43 games in his senior year with the Badgers. He won several awards that season — he was named to the [[Western Collegiate Hockey Association|WCHA]] First [[All-Star]] Team, the NCAA West All-Star Team and the WCHA Defenseman of the Year. With no immediate NHL prospects, however, Rafalski travelled overseas, spending the 1995–96 season with [[Brynäs IF]] of the Swedish [[Swedish Hockey League|Elitserien]].

After scoring only nine points in 22 games in Sweden, he then moved to Finland to play a season for [[HPK]] of the [[Liiga|SM-liiga]], scoring 35 points. He then moved to [[HIFK (ice hockey)|HIFK]] in 1997, where he spent two successful years. In his final year in Finland, he scored 19 goals and 53 points in 53 games, and won the [[Kultainen kypärä]], awarded to the top SM-liiga player of the season, as voted by fellow players. Notably, he also became the first non-Finnish player to win the award.

===NHL career===

====New Jersey Devils====

Rafalski was named by ''[[Sporting News]]'' in 1999 as the best hockey player in the world not playing in the NHL. On May 7, 1999, Rafalski was signed by the New Jersey Devils as a free agent at the age of 25 to start the [[1999–2000 NHL season|1999–2000 season]].

Immediately after arriving in New Jersey, Rafalski was partnered on defense with Devils captain [[Scott Stevens]]. The two remained as mainstay defensive partners for five years, until Stevens' retirement in 2004. Rafalski finished his rookie season with 32 points and led all rookie defensemen in [[Plus-minus (ice hockey)|plus-minus]] with a +21 rating, second among Devils defensemen and tied for first amongst all rookie players. Rafalski helped the Devils advance to the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals against the defending champion [[Dallas Stars]], helping defeat them in six games. Along with [[Calder Memorial Trophy]]-winning teammate [[Scott Gomez]], he was named to the [[NHL All-Rookie Team]].

Rafalski improved his production in his sophomore season, scoring 52 points. His 18 points during the [[2001 Stanley Cup playoffs|2001 playoffs]] set a team record for defensemen, and the Devils made the [[2001 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]] for the second year in a row, although the Devils lost to the [[Colorado Avalanche]] in [[Game 7|Game Seven]], after leading the series and having two chances to defend their title after their Game Five win in [[Denver]].

In the [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02 season]], Rafalski continued his scoring pace, registering 47 points. He was selected to participate in the [[National Hockey League All-Star Game]], but was forced to sit out due to injury. The next season, he once again led all Devils defensemen in scoring, with 40 points. He was a vital part of a Devils defense that helped the team win the Stanley Cup in Game Seven of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals against the [[Anaheim Ducks|Mighty Ducks of Anaheim]] in June 2003.

====Detroit Red Wings====
[[File:Rafalski.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Rafalski with the [[Detroit Red Wings]] in February 2008]]
On July 1, 2007, the [[Detroit Red Wings]] signed Rafalski to a $30 million, five-year contract as an unrestricted free agent. Rafalski had grown up in nearby [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]], [[Michigan]], and had been a Red Wings fan growing up. He was teamed with another legendary defenseman, [[Nicklas Lidström]].

Rafalski set a career high in goals (11) after scoring against the [[St. Louis Blues]] on March 5, 2008. He went on to score 13 goals for the season, amassing that amount in 73 games. On June 4, 2008, Rafalski helped lead the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup in six games over the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. He helped the cause by scoring the first Red Wings goal on the power play in the first period of Game Six to help Detroit win the series.

On January 1, 2009, Rafalski scored the game-winning goal for the Red Wings in the 2009 [[Winter Classic]], the first NHL game played outdoors in Red Wings history. The Red Wings defeated the [[Chicago Blackhawks]], 6–4.

On May 5, 2009, Red Wings Head Coach [[Mike Babcock]] announced that Rafalski would miss Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. It was the first time Rafalski missed the first three games of a series.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.freep.com/article/20090504/BLOG09/90504075?imw=Y | date = May 5, 2009 | access-date = May 5, 2009 | newspaper = [[Detroit Free Press]] | title = Rafalski out for Red Wings}}</ref> The Red Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row, and met the Penguins again in a [[2009 Stanley Cup Finals|rematch]] of the previous years Stanley Cup Final, this time with the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup in Game Seven, after leading the series and having two chances to defend their title after their Game 5 win in [[Detroit]].

On May 25, 2011, Rafalski announced his retirement from the NHL, walking away from the final year of his contract, citing knee and back injuries.<ref name="tsn_retire">{{cite web |url=http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=366668 |title=Red Wings defencemen Rafalski set to retire |publisher=The Sports Network |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526081530/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=366668 |archive-date=2011-05-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Because Rafalski retired on an under-35 contract without being bought out, the move removed his cap hit for the {{NHL Year|2011}} season.

In the 11 NHL seasons that Rafalski played, his team qualified for the [[Stanley Cup playoffs]] every year. Consequently, Rafalski led all NHL players in playoff games played during the 2000s decade, with 142.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-players-with-most-playoff-games-played-in-the-2000s|title = NHL Players with Most Playoff Games Played in the 2000s}}</ref>

On January 3, 2014, the [[Florida Everblades]] of the [[ECHL]] signed Rafalski to a contract, his first return to professional hockey since his initial retirement. He expressed a desire to return to the NHL, but was released 18 days after he signed, once again citing back issues.<ref>[http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24403874/brian-rafalski-returning-to-pro-hockey-with-echl-florida-everblades Brian Rafalski returning to pro hockey with ECHL Florida Everblades]</ref>