Lindsay was positive influence on generations of Red Wings

They fill the void with their biggest names, as if those old players were still there skating, training and dressing among the boys.Their first choice, out of all the icons in their 93-season history, is always Ted Lindsay."He's the constant that's in there all the time," Red Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer said. [RELATED: Lindsay, Red Wings icon, dies at 93 | Lindsay was legend on, off ice] This was the legendary Terrible Ted, the ferocious 5-foot-8, 163-pound left wing who played on the Production Line, won the Stanley Cup four times in the 1950s and helped found what is now the NHL Players' Association.And to the later generations, he wasn't just a black-and-white photo on the wall or a No. 7 in the rafters or a glass plaque at the Hockey Hall of Fame or a trophy for the most outstanding player as voted by the NHLPA.He was an example, an inspiration. And he was still there.Video: Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay dies at 93"He'd come in and work out," said Devellano, now Red Wings senior vice president. Howe was the son of Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey, Lindsay's old linemate, and he was a defenseman on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame himself."I was 38, 39, 40 years old," said Howe, who played for the Red Wings from 1992-95 and now scouts for them. He replicated that.The difference with Lindsay was that he actually was still using the locker."He was really happy to be around the dressing room, because he never left it," said Scotty Bowman, who coached the Red Wings from 1993-2002 and is now a senior adviser with the Blackhawks. You always felt better about yourself and about the team after sitting with him for a few minutes."The Red Wings will keep putting up Lindsay's nameplate in the locker room."It's just his presence, on and off the ice," Boyer said, mixing the present tense with the past.