One of the most successful clubs in NHL history is the Detroit Red Wings. What achievements and awards can this team boast and which illustrious hockey players have played in its composition at different times?
The beginning of the story
"Detroit" - a hockey club performing in the NHL, one of the veterans and grandees of the League. The home arena and team base are located in Detroit, Michigan. An 11-time Stanley Cup winner, one of the members of the so-called Original Six.
The year of foundation of the club is considered to be 1926, after it was included in the NHL championship. Initially, it was called “Detroit Cougars”, as the team consisted almost entirely of hockey players “Victoria Cougars” from the ZHL. To put it mildly, the Michigan failed their debut season - they became the last in the final table and lost $ 80,000.
The owners of the team decided to make changes and invited a new coach - Jack Adams, but this did not help either. For the first seven years of existence, the team has not achieved significant results. In 1930, the club was renamed the Detroit Falcons. In 1932, the team changed ownership, and it was again renamed - now in Detroit Red Wings. Two years later, the club for the first time achieved serious results - it became a Stanley Cup finalist, where in the final match it lost to Chicago.
Way to the top
In the 1936/37 season, after several successful acquisitions in the offensive line, the club became the first in the championship and won the Stanley Cup for the first time. The following year, Wings repeated the achievement and became the first American club to win the Cup in two consecutive seasons. During the war years, the team showed a strong and stable game, but only once - in 1943 - won the most honorable award of the NHL.
From 1948 to 1955, Detroit was a hockey club that won the main trophy four times (1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955). One of the “smiths” of the team’s success was the legendary goalkeeper Terry Savchuk. He became the hallmark of the Detroit hockey club. Games with his participation came to watch thousands of fans.
Failures and defeats
The next decade was one of the worst in the history of the club - “Wings” constantly occupied low places at the end of the championship and rarely reached the playoffs. Frequent changes of coaches did not bring results, and until 1986 Detroit was a hockey club, which only four times entered the final stage of the Stanley Cup.
But such an offensive state of affairs did not suit either the club management, nor the fans, nor the players themselves.
The long-awaited Stanley Cup
Only in the early 90s the team began to show competitive hockey. After several successful acquisitions, in 1995 Wings reached the Stanley Cup finals but lost to New Jersey. Two years later, it was still possible to return the Cup to Detroit, after Philadelphia was beaten in the final. In 1998, the Stanley Cup was conquered for the 9th time. After 3 years, in the 2000/2001 season, Wings became 10-time trophy owners.
It was then that the Russian striker Pavel Datsyuk “lit up”. The next few years, the team constantly fought for high positions. The phenomenal game was shown by Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Lidström and Pavel Datsyuk.
21st Century - Detroit Hockey Club
Detroit Red Wings is today one of the highest places in the NHL ranking. The eleventh, and last so far, Stanley Cup has submitted to Wings in 2008, after winning the dramatic final series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following year, Wings and Penguins also became finalists, but this time the Pittsburghs won.
"Detroit" is a hockey club in which real NHL stars played in different years. Goalkeeper Terry Savchuk (1st number); defender Niklas Lidström (5th issue); Forward Ted Lindsay (7th); striker Gordy Howe (9th number); striker Alex Delveccio (10th number); forward Sid Abel (12th number); defender Vladimir Konstantinov (16th number); Forward Steve Aizerman (19th issue).