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The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan, USA. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). 1925-49: Early years
1949-66: Rise to the Top The Wings returned to the top in 1950, with Pete Babando scoring the game winner in double overtime of game 7 to beat the Rangers in the Finals. After being upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1951 semifinals, Detroit won its fifth Cup in 1952, sweeping the Habs, with the Production Line of Howe, Abel and Lindsay joined by second-year goalie Terry Sawchuk. Abel left the Wings for Chicago following the season, and his spot on the roster was replaced by Alex Delvecchio. Following another playoff upset in 1953 at the hands of the Bruins, the Red Wings won back to back Stanley Cups in 1954; over Montreal, when Habs defenseman Doug Harvey redirected a Tony Leswick shot into his own net; and 1955 (also over Montreal in the full seven games). Also during 1955 off-season, Margurite Norris was forced to turn the team over to younger brother Bruce. Detroit and Montreal once again met in the 1956 finals, but this time the Canadiens won Lord Stanley's Mug, their first of five in a row. In 1957 "Terrible" Ted Lindsay, who scored 30 goals and led the league in assists with 55, teamed up with Harvey to help start the NHL Players Association and, along with outspoken young netminder Glenn Hall, was promptly traded to cellar-dwelling Chicago after his most productive year. The Wings lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Bruins. In 1959 the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. Within a couple of years, Detroit was rejeuvenated and made the Finals for four of the next six years between 1961 and 1966. However, despite having Delvecchio, Norm Ullman, Howe and Parker MacDonald being consistent goal-scorers, Lindsay's sudden one-year comeback in 1964-65, and Sawchuk and later Roger Crozier between the pipes, the Wings came away empty-handed. Adams was fired as general manager in 1963. 1967-83: The "Dead Wings" Era
1983-93: Return to Respectability In 1983 the Wings drafted a center from Cranbrook, British Columbia named Steve Yzerman. He led the team in scoring in his rookie year, and started the Wings' climb back to the top. That season, with John Ogrodnick scoring 42 times and Ivan Boldirev and Ron Duguay also with 30-goal seasons, Detroit made the playoffs for the first time in six years. Defenseman Brad Park, acquired from the Boston Bruins in the 1983 free-agent market, also helped the Wings reach the postseason and ended up winning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy the same season. Later Park was asked to coach the Wings, but was sacked after 45 games in 1985-86. He admitted, “I took over a last-place team, and I kept them there.” By 1987, with Yzerman joined by Petr Klima, Adam Oates, Gerard Gallant, defenseman Darren Veitch and new head coach Jacques Demers, the Wings made it to the semifinals for the first time in the modern era, losing in five games to the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers. They repeated the performance in 1988 with a similar result. In 1989, Yzerman scored a career-best 65 goals, but Detroit was upset in the first round by the Chicago Blackhawks. The following season Yzerman knotted 62 goals, but the team didn't even make the playoffs. Rumors spread that maybe "Stevie Y. Wonder" should be traded. "That's like asking me if I'd trade my son Jason for the kid next door," Demers joked. "He's not leaving!" But it was Demers who got the pink slip, and the Red Wings haven't missed the playoffs since. Yzerman was joined by Sergei Fedorov (who defected from the USSR) and enforcer Bob Probert, two of the most familiar faces of the Wings in the 1990s. In 1992, the team acquired Ray Sheppard, who had a career-best 52 goals two years later; and in '93, top defenseman Paul Coffey. Also joining the Red Wings around this time were draft picks like Slava Kozlov, Darren McCarty, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Nicklas Lidström. 1993-2004: The Red Wings soar back Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in NHL history, joined the Red Wings in 1993. In his second season, the lockout-shortened 1994-95 NHL season, he guided Detroit to its first Finals appearance in 29 years, only to be promptly swept by the New Jersey Devils. The Wings kept adding more star power, picking up Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, and goaltender Mike Vernon in trades. After a third-round playoff loss to the relocated Colorado Avalanche (formerly Quebec Nordiques) in 1996 (who won the Stanley Cup that season), Detroit, joined by Brendan Shanahan and Larry Murphy during the season, once again reached the Finals in 1997, beating the Philadelphia Flyers in four straight games. It was the Wings' first Stanley Cup since 1955, breaking the longest drought in the league at that time. Tragedy struck the Wings 6 days after their championship. Defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, one of the "Russian Five", suffered a brain injury in a car accident, and his career had to come to an abrupt end. Their 1997-98 season, which also ended in a Cup victory (another sweep, this time over the Washington Capitals), was dedicated to Konstantinov, who came out in his wheelchair that night to touch the Cup. The following season, the Wings looked poised to "three-peat" for the first time in NHL history, acquiring three-time top blueliner Chris Chelios from his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in March 1999, but it wasn't to be as they would end up losing the Western Conference Semifinals to Colorado in five games. The Wings had built up a fierce rivalry with the Avalanche by this time. With the Red Wings beating the Avs in the third round in 1997, and Colorado beating Detroit in the second round in both 1999 and 2000, the battles between these two teams has become one of the fiercest in sports. During a game on March 26, 1997, a brawl ensued between Colorado goalie Patrick Roy and his Detroit counterpart Mike Vernon and Darren McCarty paid back Av Claude Lemieux for his hit on Kris Draper the year before. That hit had forced Draper to get reconstructive surgery on his face. In 2001, Detroit, the league's second-best team in the regular season, suffered a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Kings. During the summer that followed, they got legendary goalie Dominik Hašek from a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, and landed left-wing Luc Robitaille and right-wing Brett Hull, both now retired, through free agency, and rookie center Pavel Datsyuk came out of the Russian Super League. The Wings became the odds-on favorite to win the Cup in 2002. They did not disappoint, having the league's best record in the regular season and capturing another Cup in five games over the Cinderella-story Carolina Hurricanes. Bowman and Hasek both retired after the season. In 2003, with new coach Dave Lewis and goalie pickup Curtis Joseph from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Wings were upset by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in four straight games in the first round after one of the most successful regular seasons in team history. Longtime Wing Sergei Fedorov signed with the Mighty Ducks as a free agent during the offseason. Hasek came out of retirement, and joined the Wings for the 2003-04 season. This meant that Detroit had three goalies, with Joseph and Manny Legace as backups. The Wings also added defenseman Derian Hatcher from the Dallas Stars via free agency, as well as forward Ray Whitney from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joseph, despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, had to spend part of the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit's American Hockey League affiliate. Ultimately, Hasek had to call it quits because of a groin injury, and Joseph led the team to the top of the Central Division and the National Hockey League. Hatcher was also injured just a few games into the regular season with a torn MCL. Hatcher would not return until the end of the regular season. The Wings acquired veteran center Robert Lang from the Capitals at the trade deadline. In the first round of the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Detroit eliminated the Nashville Predators, who had made their first-ever playoff appearance, in 6 games. In round 2, after losing captain Yzerman for the season with a n eye injury in Game 5, the Red Wings were eliminated by the Cinderella-story Calgary Flames in 6 games. During the 2004 offseason, the Wings focused on keeping players they already had instead of being active on the free agent market. They re-signed Frank J. Selke Trophy-winning forward Kris Draper, who had just had a career season, to a four-year deal, and captain Steve Yzerman to a one-year deal. They also re-signed Brendan Shanahan, Jiri Fischer, Jason Williams, and Mathieu Dandenault as well head coach Dave Lewis (now coaching the Boston Bruins). Deals were not reached with veteran defensemen Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider or star forward Pavel Datsyuk before the NHL owners triggered their lockout on September 15. There also was a parting of ways with veteran forward Brett Hull, who signed with the Phoenix Coyotes as did forward Boyd Devereaux. 2005 and Beyond: The New NHL In June 2005, the Red Wings decided to let go of head coach Dave Lewis. On July 15, 2005, Mike Babcock, former bench boss in Anaheim, became the new head coach for the Wings. In July 2005, due to the new NHL salary cap, the Wings chose to buy out the contracts to and waive Darren McCarty, Derian Hatcher, and Ray Whitney. On August 8, the Wings brought back goaltender Chris Osgood, who had spent time with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues since his last stint in Detroit, by signing him to a one-year contract. Approximiately seven minutes into a game on November 21, 2005, against the Nashville Predators, defenseman Jiri Fischer suffered a seizure and collapsed on the bench. His heart had stopped, and he was resuscitated by CPR and an AED. The game was cancelled due to his injury, and was made up on January 23, 2006. This was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed due to injury. The game was played for the full 60 minutes, however the Predators were allowed to maintain their 1-0 lead from the original game and won, 3-2. Manny Legace started his own legacy in October: With Osgood out, Legace became the starter and set an NHL record with most wins, 10, in the month of October. The Red Wings tied a league record with the most points after 14 games, 25 points. They also tied their franchise's record with most consecutive wins, 9. On January 30, 2006, the Red Wings repeated something not seen since the days of the Russian Five when they started the game against the Minnesota Wild with five Swedish skaters on the ice (Andreas Lilja, Lidström, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson and Johan Franzen). For the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, the NHL again agreed to allow players to participate for their home countries. The Red Wings sent 10 players to the competition. Gold medal winners from Team Sweden included Lidström, Zetterberg, Samuelsson, Tomas Holmström, and Niklas Kronwall. Robert Lang represented the Bronze medal winning Team Czech Republic. The Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy with a 58-16-8 record, earning them 124 points (NHL Standings), and secured home ice advantage for the entire playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings opened the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers with a 3-2 overtime victory at Joe Louis Arena. The Cinderella-story Oilers went on to win Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Wings rebounded in Game 4 with a 4-2 win at Rexall Place, but fell in Game 5 by a score of 3-2, putting the Wings in a must-win situation. They lost Game 6 by the score of 4-3, despite leading 2-0 after two periods, and the Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs (joining the New Jersey Devils as the second team to ever lose twice in the first round as the This season also saw Nicklas Lidström win the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the fourth time and Pavel Datsyuk win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the first time. After the playoffs, Detroit management informed goaltender Manny Legace that he would not be a part of the team next season, while Chris Osgood and Nicklas Lidström signed 2-year extensions. On July 3, captain Steve Yzerman announced his retirement, ending a 22-season career, all with Detroit, and 19 seasons as team captain. Continuing the shakeup of the Red Wings roster, July 9 brought the signing of alternate captain Brendan Shanahan to a free agent deal with the New York Rangers after spending the previous 9 seasons with the club. Shanahan turned down equal offers from the Wings and Montreal Canadiens to sign with the Rangers. July 31 brought the re-signing of Dominik Hasek to a one-year deal from the Ottawa Senators, marking the beginning of his third stint with the Wings. On August 30, the Wings announced the number 19 worn by former Captain Steve Yzerman would be retired on January 2, 2007 before a game against the Anaheim Ducks. Then, as an additional showing of just how much Yzerman meant to the organization, he was named vice-president of the Detroit Red Wings on September 25, 2006. • The Red Wings opened the 2006-07 season with a 3-1 loss at home against the Vancouver Canucks on October 5, 2006. At the beginning of the game, Steve Yzerman "passed the torch" to Nicklas Lidström when Lidström was named Captain for the 2006-07 season. The Red Wings hold the longest current playoff streak of all professional North American sports teams, at 15 consecutive seasons. The Octopus During the playoffs, Joe Louis Arena is generally adorned with a giant octopus with red eyes, nicknamed "Al" after Joe Louis Arena employee Al Sobotka. The 1952 playoffs featured the start of the tradition — the octopus throw. The owner of a local fish market, Peter Cusimano, threw one from the stands and onto the ice. The eight legs were purportedly symbolic of the eight playoff wins it took to win the Stanley Cup at the time. The Red Wings went on to sweep both of their opponents that year en route to a Stanley Cup championship. The NHL has, at various times, tried to eliminate this tradition, but it continues to this day. Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes Records as of November 2, 2006. TG = Total Goals 1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout. 2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. 3 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses). Current roster As of October 26, 2006. Team captains Hockey Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers Players Builders Retired numbers First-round draft picks Franchise scoring leaders These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; NHL awards and trophies Stanley Cup Presidents' Trophy Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Prince of Wales Trophy Art Ross Trophy Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Calder Memorial Trophy Conn Smythe Trophy Frank J. Selke Trophy Hart Memorial Trophy James Norris Memorial Trophy Jack Adams Award Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Lester B. Pearson Award Lester Patrick Trophy NHL Plus/Minus Award Vezina Trophy William M. Jennings Trophy NHL All-Rookie Team Franchise individual records See also | |||||||||||
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