 | Detroit Red Wings: Encyclopedia II - Detroit Red Wings - Franchise history
Detroit Red Wings - Franchise history
Detroit Red Wings - 1925 to 1949
When the Western Hockey League folded after the 1925-26 WHL season, a deal was made so that two of the most successful of the teams in that league, the 1925 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars, and the Portland Rosebuds (to become the Chicago Blackhawks) would jump to the NHL. The Victoria Cougars were originally called the Victoria Aristocrats and belonged to the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, which folded and then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1924-25 WCHL season. Since no arena in the Motor City was ready at the time, the newly-renamed Detroit Cougars played their first season in Windsor, Ontario. For the 1927-28 season, the Cougars moved into the new Detroit Olympia, which would be their home rink until December 15, 1979.
The Cougars made the playoffs for the first time in 1929 with Carson Cooper leading the team in scoring. The Cougars were outscored 7-2 in the two-game series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 1930 the Cougars were renamed the Falcons, but their woes continued, usually finishing near the bottom of the standings. When James Norris Sr. bought the team in 1932 the team was renamed the Detroit Red Wings. James Norris Sr. was a member of a cycling group out of Montreal known as the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. Because of the team’s location in Detroit, the Motor City, Norris took the MAAA’s logo of a winged cycle wheel and transformed it into the first version of the Red Wings logo as we know it today. Their first year with the current name they won their first playoff series in the NHL, over the now-defunct Montreal Maroons. They lost in the semi-finals against the New York Rangers.
In 1934 the Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, with John Sorrell scoring 21 goals over 47 games and Larry Aurie leading the team in scoring. However, the Chicago Blackhawks had an easy time with Detroit in the finals, winning the best of 5 series in four games.
The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup in 1936, defeating Toronto in four games. Marty Barry led the team in scoring, Ebbie Goodfellow was one of the top defensemen in the league, and Jack Adams (whose name lives on in the NHL's coach of the year award) was behind the bench. Detroit repeated its championship season in 1937, winning over the Rangers in the full five games.
The Wings struggled and finished last the following season. They regrouped and made the playoffs again the following year, and made the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive years during the early 1940s. In 1941 they were swept by the Boston Bruins, in 1942 they blew a three-game lead against Toronto to lose the finals, but in 1943, with Syd Howe and Mud Bruneteau scoring 20 goals apiece, Detroit won their third Cup by sweeping the Bruins. They remained a solid team through the rest of the decade, making the playoffs every year, and reaching the finals three more times.
In 1946, one of the greatest players in hockey history came into the NHL with the Red Wings. Gordie Howe, a right-winger from Floral, Saskatchewan, only scored seven goals and 22 points in his first season; and wouldn't reach his prime for a few more years.
By his second season, Howe was paired with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay to form what would become one of the great lines in NHL history--the "Production Line." Linday's 33 goals propelled the Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Maple Leafs. Detroit reached the Finals again the following season, only to be swept again by Toronto.
Detroit Red Wings - 1950 to 1979
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, 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.
The 1952 playoffs featured the start of a Red Wings tradition - the octopus throw. The owner of a local fish market threw one from the stands and onto the ice. The eight legs were symbolic of the eight playoff wins it took to win the Stanley Cup at the time. They swept both of their opponents that year. 1952 also saw the passing of James Norris Sr., with his daughter Margurite becoming President and Govenor of the Red Wings.
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 seven games). Also during 1955 off-season, Margurite was made by her mother 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 the cup, their first of five in a row.
In 1957 Ted Lindsay, who scored 30 goals and led the league in assists that year, helped start the NHLPA and was promptly traded. 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 Howe, Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and Parker MacDonald being consistent goal scorers, and Sawchuk and later Roger Crozier between the pipes, the Wings came away empty-handed.
By the late 1960s, the Wings started to flounder and entered a funk that they wouldn't get out of for almost 20 years. Between 1967 and 1983, Detroit only made the playoffs twice, winning one series.
The legendary Gordie Howe retired in 1971. Howe returned to pro hockey shorty after to play with his two sons Mark and Marty Howe. (Mark would later join the Red Wings at the end of his career)Detroit lost Howe to the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972. Through the decade, with Mickey Redmond having two 50-goal seasons and Marcel Dionne starting to reach his prime (which he didn't attain until he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings), a lack of defensive and goaltending ability continually hampered the Wings.
Detroit Red Wings - 1980 to 1989
During the 1979-80 NHL season, the Wings left the Olympia for Joe Louis Arena. In 1982, after 50 years of family ownership, Bruce Norris sold the Red Wings to Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars Pizza.
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.
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 Blackhawks. The following season Yzerman knotted 62 goals but the team didn't even make the playoffs. Demers was fired, 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 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.
Detroit Red Wings - 1990 to 2004
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. They were 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 new Colorado Avalanche in 1996, 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 days after their championship. Vladimir Konstantinov 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 (a sweep over the Washington Capitals), was dedicated to Konstantinov, who came out in his wheelchair that night to touch the Cup.
The Wings built up a fierce rivalry with the Avalanche by this time. With the Red Wings beating the Avalanche 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 one game, a brawl ensued between Colorado goalie Patrick Roy and his Detroit counterpart Mike Vernon.
In 2001 Detroit, the league's second-best team in the regular season, suffered a first-round playoff loss to the Kings. They got goalie Dominik Hasek from a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, and landed left-wing Luc Robitaille and right-wing Brett Hull in the offseason. 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 Carolina Hurricanes. Bowman and Hasek both retired after the season.
In 2003, with new coach Dave Lewis and goalie pickup Curtis Joseph, the Wings were upset by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in four straight games in the first round, after one of the most successful regular seasons in team history.
Long time Red 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 Dallas via free agency, as well as forward Ray Whitney from Columbus as a free agent. 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 Western Conference. Hatcher was also injured just a few games into the regular season with a torn MCL. He would not return until the end of the regular season. The Wings acquired veteran center Robert Lang from the Capitals at the trade deadline and he made a big impression over the next few weeks.
In the first round of the 2004 playoffs, Detroit eliminated the Nashville Predators in 6 games. After losing captain Steve Yzerman for the season with a horrific eye injury in Game 5, the Red Wings were eliminated by the Calgary Flames in 6 games in the second round.
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 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, despite his poor playoff record. 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.
Other related archives"Black" Jack Stewart, 1924-25 WCHL season, 1925, 1925-26 WHL season, 1926, 1927-28, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1979, 1979-80 NHL season, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994-95 NHL season, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1997-98, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2003-04 season, 2004, 2005, 2006, Adam Oates, Alex Delvecchio, American Hockey League, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, August 8, Bill Gadsby, Bill Quackenbush, Bob Probert, Boston Bruins, Boyd Devereaux, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Cecil Thompson, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Chelios, Chris Osgood, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus, Cranbrook, British Columbia, Curtis Joseph, Dale McCourt, Dallas, Dan Maloney, Danny Gare, Danny Grant, Darren McCarty, Dave Lewis, December 15, Derian Hatcher, Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan, Dominik Hasek, Doug Harvey, Ebbie Goodfellow, Edmonton Oilers, Frank Mahovlich, George Hay, Gerard Gallant, Glenn Hall, Gordie Howe, Grand Rapids Griffins, Harry Lumley, Head Coaches of the Detroit Red Wings, Herbie Lewis, Hockey Hall of Famers, Igor Larionov, Jack Adams, Jacques Demers, James Norris Sr., January 24, January 4, Jason Williams, Jiri Fischer, Joe Louis Arena, Johan Franzen, July 15, July 2005, June 2005, Kings, Kris Draper, Larry Aurie, Larry Murphy, List of Detroit Red Wings players, List of NHL players, List of Stanley Cup champions, Little Caesars Pizza, Los Angeles Kings, Luc Robitaille, Manny Legace, Marcel Dionne, Marcel Pronovost, Marty Barry, Mathieu Dandenault, Mathieu Schneider, Mickey Redmond, Mike Babcock, Mike Ilitch, Mike Vernon, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, Mud Bruneteau, NHLPA, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Nick Libett, Nicklas Lidström, Norm Ullman, Original Six franchises, Pacific Coast Hockey Association, Patrick Roy, Paul Coffey, Pavel Datsyuk, Petr Klima, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Portland Rosebuds, Presidents' Trophies, Ray Sheppard, Ray Whitney, Red Berenson, Red Kelly, Reed Larson, Robert Lang, Roger Crozier, Ron Duguay, Russian Five, Saskatchewan, Scotty Bowman, Selke Trophy, September 15, Sergei Fedorov, Sid Abel, Slava Fetisov, Slava Kozlov, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cups, Steve Yzerman, Syd Howe, Ted Harris, Ted Lindsay, Terry Harper, Terry Sawchuk, Tommy Ivan, Toronto Maple Leafs, USA, USSR, Viacheslav Fetisov, Victoria Aristocrats, Victoria Cougars, Vladimir Konstantinov, Washington Capitals, Wayne Gretzky, Western Canada Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Windsor Arena, Windsor, Ontario, World Hockey Association, a brawl, captain, defenseman, enforcer, lockout, octopus, offseason, playoffs
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Franchise history", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
