Uwe Krupp was an Avid Dog Sledder
Though teams didn’t have social media accounts back in the 1990s because, you know, they didn’t exist yet, they still did human interest stories. One story that was always told about Uwe Krupp was the fact that he was an avid dog sledder.
During his time with the Colorado Avalanche, his dog sledding hobby was never seen as an issue. But as you remember from above, he eventually made his way to the Detroit Red Wings. After just 22 games in 1998, Krupp started experiencing excruciating back spasms.
Turned out Krupp had a recurrence of a herniated disk, for which he had undergone back surgery in 1997. While convalescing, he participated in a few social dog sledding events in a state park in Michigan.
This enraged the team, who proceeded to suspend him. He missed two full seasons because he was on injured reserve when Detroit suspended him — which was a bit of dirty pool on their part. He was finally allowed back on the team for the 2001-02 team.
He helped the Wings win a Stanley Cup that year. He didn’t help them as much as he helped the Avalanche, but Detroit won that season. Let’s not focus on that, though.