Oh, and yes, it would be big news if the Red Wings had a black player who was a full-time regular. There are many black players in the NHL these days, and a few black stars, but you'd never know that by the Wings, who've had very few black players over the years and none who ever became full-time regulars. Despite the fact that the Red Wings play smack dab in the middle of one of the largest black population concentrations in North America. Given the historical paucity of black players in the NHL, the history of race in the U.S., and particularly the history of race and racial relations in this area, it couldn't help but to be a big story.