Ryan Remiorz / AP

Brendan Shanahan won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings during his 21-year NHL career. He retired at 11th on the all-time goals list with 656.

Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement on Tuesday and immediately the speculation began over what he'll do next. He's already being hailed as a possible savior for the NHLPA, although it was the league, not the NHLPA, that announced his retirement. Maybe there's a spot waiting for him in the league offices.

But before looking too far ahead, let's take one last look back at the five things we'll remember most about Shanahan's remarkable 21-year career.

1. The shot
He wasn't a Brett Hull-type sniper, but Shanahan's quick release was one reason he was able to score 656 career goals, which puts him at 11th on the all-time list. He also scored 109 game-winning goals — a total surpassed by only four NHL players.

"He had a great shot and he did a lot of things well," Dallas Stars forward Mike Modano told Sporting News. "He was tough, he scored goals, just a solid guy. He had a great career, pretty consistent by the numbers and he accomplished some great things. He's an easy (Hall of Fame) candidate in three or four years."

2. The trades
Shanahan left the New Jersey Devils and signed with the St. Louis Blues in 1991 as a restricted free agent. The deal ultimately cost the Blues defenseman Scott Stevens, who went on to lead the Devils to three Stanley Cups after being awarded to the Devils as compensation for the signing of Shanahan.

In July of 1995, Shanahan was dealt to Hartford for Chris Pronger. The following year, he was traded from Hartford to Detroit for Paul Coffey, Keith Primeau and a first-round pick. Those are major transactions that, when all is said and done, will involve four Hall of Famers.

3. The Stanley Cups
Shanahan won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings. But more significant is that he's widely credited for being the piece the franchise desperately needed to win the first one in 1997.

"He was a huge reason why we were able to win that first Cup and a couple more after that," former Red Wings teammate Kirk Maltby said.

Current Stars and former Avalanche coach Marc Crawford was even more direct, saying Shanahan changed the Red Wings' rivalry with Colorado. "We won the first year I was there. The second year I was there we basically owned them during the season," Crawford told Sporting News.

That changed with Shanahan around. "When they got him, to me, that was the difference for the Red Wings," Crawford said. "They finally got the guy who gave them the toughness to win the long series."

4. The toughness
Shanahan retires as the only NHL player with both 600-plus career goals and 2,000-plus career penalty minutes. He also had 17 Gordie Howe hat tricks, and he played with an edge that gave him the space he needed to operate on the ice.

"Those players are tough to play against. They play on the edge and if you play them tough, you're going to pay for it," Stars forward Brad Richards said. "That's why he got so much respect out there to do what he did."

And he could fight, too. Brad May, who is known for a scrap or two, never fought Shanahan but witnessed something memorable early in Shanahan's career.

"I saw him in a fight with Matthew Barnaby one night," May said. "Matthew's shirt was over his head, so Matthew let go of him and skated away from the fight, trying to pull his jersey over his head. Shanny caught up to him before he could actually get it off. It was pretty funny."

5. The summit
During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Shanahan gathered a group of players, coaches, television execs, general managers and officials to talk about ways to improve the game. They emerged from the meetings with a number of innovations that helped shape the new post-lockout NHL — including ideas like the competition committee and the shootout. Crawford, who then coached the Vancouver Canucks, was a part of what's now known as the Shanahan Summit.

"I was impressed with his organizational skills and his ability to keep things on track," Crawford said. "At the end, when it came time to be the spokesman, I thought he did a terrific job. He recognized as a player there were a lot of entities involved. ... He had a real good broad perspective and I appreciated that."

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