Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise and an entire league. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word on Hockey’s Summer series looks at these defining moments. Today we feature the biggest defining moment of the Detroit Red Wings.
Top Detroit Red Wings Defining Moments in Team History
One could make a few lists of defining moments for the Red Wings franchise. This was a hard list to limit to three items. Detroit has such a rich hockey history and a number of great moments have changed the destiny of this franchise.
Detroit has had some very high times, but also some very dark times. However, this is one of the Original Six franchises with a number of Hall of Fame players and memorable moments.
Signing Mr. Hockey
Back in the day, teams would have to go out and find players because there was no standard draft. Teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs could stay dominant for years thanks to their great scouting departments.
The Red Wings had won three Stanley Cups prior to 1944 when one player would help usher in a golden era for the franchise. In 1944, the Wings signed a young Gordie Howe to a “C” contract and had the young player in their system. A fun fact is the New York Rangers had a 15-year-old Howe as part of a training camp in Winnipeg. However, he declined the Rangers’ offer and returned to Saskatoon.
Maple Leafs executive Frank Selke noticed that Howe wasn’t properly listed as the Red Wings’ property. Selke helped his old friend Jack Adams and fix the clerical error.
Howe would debut in 1946 and would show his skills and grit. However, Adams would challenge Howe to become more of a scorer.
The Moment
Howe was a very strong player and used that to his advantage. The Saskatchewan native was known for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick of a goal, an assist and a fight. However, he would register this feat twice in his illustrious career. The player known as “Mr. Hockey” would form the vaunted Production Line with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay .
Howe survived a career-threatening scare after a collision with Maple Leafs captain Ted Kennedy . Detroit had one of the most dominant post-season runs in 1951-52 en route to another Stanley Cup. He would win four Stanley Cups, six Art Ross trophies, six Hart trophies and was a fixture at the NHL All-Star Game.
The Hall of Famer would end his time with the Red Wings after the 1970-71 season. However, he would play in the WHA with the Houston Aeros and New England/Hartford Whalers . Howe would get his last career NHL goal against the Red Wings on April 6, 1980.
He would play for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL and joke about coming out of retirement to prolong Wayne Gretzky ‘s chase at his goal-scoring record. Howe passed on June 10, 2016 at the age of 88.
Aftermath
When a number of people think of the Red Wings’ franchise, they think of Gordie Howe. His number nine was reference in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as worn by the character Cameron Frye. Howe is still reference on shows like Letterkenny, as well.
His greatness still echoes despite being out of the sport for a number of years. He’s one of the greats and his legacy won’t be forgotten.
Drafting Stevie Y
After Howe’s retirement, the franchise was mostly adrift for a number of season. Detroit was known as the “Dead Wings” for their continued struggles throughout the 1970s. This era saw the team continue to slump that it wouldn’t emerge from until Mike Illitch bought the club from Bruce Norris.
The 1983 NHL Draft was the first one under the reign of the Illitch family and they wanted to get the pick at number four right. Illitch had installed Jim Devellano as general manager in the summer of 1982. The Red Wings wanted to get the pick right and were planning on taking Michigan native Pat LaFontaine . However, the New York Islanders took Lafontaine at third.
Detroit “settled” for a young Steve Yzerman from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontartio Hockey League. The Wings had prepared to send Yzerman back to junior, but he impressed at camp and the rest is history.
It was a slow turnaround, but Yzerman was one of the building blocks for the franchise. Yzerman would lead the team to glory with three Stanley Cups. However, one more piece would come in the
The Defection of Sergei Fedorov
Devellano was the architect of the Wings, but was also not shy about drafting players from the then-Soviet Union. Players like Alexander Mogilny had already defected at great risk. The Red Wings had drafted fellow countryman Sergei Fedorov in the 1989 NHL Draft.
In July 1990, Fedorov had decided to defect to the United States. The young Russian player finally made it to the Red Wings and the rest is history. Fedorov showed that he was more than just a scorer by playing well at both ends of the ice.
He was also the cornerstone of the “Russian Five” that saw countrymen Igor Larionov , Slava Kozlov, Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov . Detroit won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
His time with Detroit came to unceremonious end, but he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016. Fedorov’s addition was one of the key reasons Detroit ended its long championship drought.
Honourable Mention
We could go on for days about the Detroit Red Wings defining moments. Things like Kris Draper being checked from behind by Claude Lemieux , the subsequent fights and bad blood with the Colorado Avalanche that stemmed from that, the accident that ended the career of Konstantinov, that 2001-02 championship team and ending the drought are just a few items that come to mind.
We probably missed some big items, so let us know in the comments. Stick around all summer long as we look at more defining moments from each NHL team.
Main photo by: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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