The Red Wing Tradition

Lore & Background

The franchise was founded on September 25, 1926, as the Detroit Cougars, one of three teams to join the NHL that year. After the Western Canada Hockey League folded, a Detroit group led by Charles A. Hughes purchased the rights to the players of the Victoria Cougars and kept the name. The team struggled financially, changed its name to the Detroit Falcons in 1930, and after being bought out of receivership by James E. Norris, was renamed the Detroit Red Wings in 1932. The team played its first season's home games in Windsor, Ontario, at the Border Cities Arena, then moved to the Detroit Olympia in 1927, Joe Louis Arena in 1979–80, and Little Caesars Arena in 2017–18. Under head coach and general manager Jack Adams, the Wings found success in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, making 14 finals appearances and winning the Stanley Cup seven times. The Production Line of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Sid Abel (later replaced by Alex Delvecchio), along with goaltenders Harry Lumley and Terry Sawchuk, led the team to six finals from 1948 through 1955, winning in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955. After Adams was fired in 1963, the team reached the finals two more times before the 1967 NHL expansion (in 1964 and 1966), but qualified for the playoffs only twice in the next 16 years until purchased by Mike Ilitch in 1982. Ilitch revitalized the club, hiring Jim Devellano, who drafted Steve Yzerman in 1983. Yzerman spent his entire 22-year NHL career with the team, 19 as captain, winning the Stanley Cup three times as a player and once as an executive. Under Ilitch, the Wings won the Cup in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Joe Louis Arena was thick with anticipation, smelling faintly of popcorn and old ice. A veteran fan, wearing a faded jersey from the 1997 playoffs, sat in his usual seat near the blue line. As the lights dimmed and the organ music swelled, he felt the familiar shiver run down his spine. It wasn't just about the game; it was the feeling of belonging to something larger than himself, a living history that connected him to his father and grandfather before him.

Reader's Guide

Fifty-eight Red Wings players and 14 builders have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented to 24 former or current Wings, and the club has retired the numbers of seven players.

Did You Know?

• The Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup eleven times, more than any other American team in NHL history.
• The team's nickname 'Red Wings' was chosen by owner James E. Norris in 1932. According to the source, Norris designed a new logo with a wing protruding from a wheel, and he wanted to pay homage to a hockey team for whom
• The Red Wings won their first two Stanley Cup titles in 1936 and 1937.