{"id":18862,"date":"2025-05-08T08:50:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/18862\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T08:50:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:50:43","slug":"detroit-red-wings-history-stanley-cups-notable-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/18862\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Red Wings | History, Stanley Cups, &#038; Notable Players"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">Detroit Red Wings,  American professional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/sports\/ice-hockey\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ice hockey<\/a> team based in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Detroit\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Detroit<\/a>. The team was founded in 1926 and plays in the Eastern <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb\" data-term=\"Conference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/Conference\" data-type=\"EB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Conference<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/National-Hockey-League\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">National Hockey League<\/a> (NHL). The Red Wings, one of the \u201cOriginal Six\u201d teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the league\u2019s expansion in 1967, are not only one of hockey\u2019s oldest franchises but also one of its most successful teams, having won 11 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/sports\/Stanley-Cup\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Stanley Cups<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">The Red Wings experienced early success in the 1930s, led by coach and eventual general manager Jack Adams. The team won its first Stanley Cup against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Toronto-Maple-Leafs\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> in the 1935\u201336 season, followed by a repeat victory the following year. These early Red Wings teams featured future Hall of Fame member Syd Howe, who was also part of the Red Wings\u2019 1942\u201343 Stanley Cup-winning <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb\" data-term=\"squad\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/squad\" data-type=\"EB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">squad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">Right wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Gordie-Howe\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gordie Howe<\/a> and goaltender <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Terry-Sawchuk\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terry Sawchuk<\/a>, two of hockey\u2019s all-time great players, led the team to its greatest success throughout the 1950s, when they won Stanley Cups in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1955. That era was followed by a slump that featured only two playoff berths between the 1966\u201367 and 1982\u201383 NHL seasons, earning the team the nickname \u201cThe Dead Wings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/great-moments-in-sports-quiz\" data-link-module-iframe-link=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Serena-Williams-womens-single-trophy-Australian-Open-Januray-28-2017.jpg\" alt=\"Serena Williams poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles final against Venus Williams of the United States on day 13 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (tennis, sports)\" class=\"rounded-sm mr-15\" width=\"70\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Britannica Quiz<\/p>\n<p>Great Moments in Sports Quiz<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">Detroit drafted centre <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Steve-Yzerman\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Steve Yzerman<\/a> in 1983 and returned to the playoffs the next year. The turnaround was not complete until the 1987\u201388 season, when, along with forwards Bob Probert and Petr Klima, Yzerman led the Red Wings to their first divisional title in 23 years. The 1990s saw the advent of the \u201cRussian Five,\u201d made up of Sergei Fedorov, Slava Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Igor Larionov, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Slava-Fetisov\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Slava Fetisov<\/a>. The Russian Five teamed with Yzerman, left wing Brendan Shanahan, and defenseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nicklas-Lidstrom\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nicklas Lidstrom<\/a> under the leadership of coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Scotty-Bowman\" class=\"md-crosslink autoxref \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Scotty Bowman<\/a> to bring Detroit back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 1996\u201397 and (without Konstantinov) 1997\u201398 NHL seasons. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Dominik-Hasek\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dominik Ha\u0161ek<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Brett-Hull\" class=\"md-crosslink \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brett Hull<\/a>, both veteran free-agent <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb\" data-term=\"acquisitions\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/acquisitions\" data-type=\"EB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">acquisitions<\/a> and frequent All-Stars, were featured on a team that won another Stanley Cup in the 2001\u201302 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">Lidstrom, goalie Chris Osgood, and left wing Henrik Zetterberg were star players on the team that won the 2007\u201308 Stanley Cup against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Pittsburgh-Penguins\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>. The following season Lidstrom, Osgood, and Zetterberg, along with centre Pavel Datsyuk (who finished fourth in the league with 97 points), helped lead the Red Wings to a rematch with the Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals, though the Red Wings lost in seven games. During the 2011\u201312 season Detroit won a record-setting 23 consecutive home games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">As part of an NHL realignment, the Red Wings moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern after the 2012\u201313 season. The Red Wings\u2019 first three seasons in the Eastern Conference all ended in first-round playoff eliminations. In 2016\u201317 the team\u2019s streak of 25 consecutive postseason appearances (which was tied for the third longest playoff stretch in NHL history) ended. Detroit failed to make the playoffs the next two seasons, and in 2019 the team hired Yzerman as its general manager; he had previously served as GM of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Tampa-Bay-Lightning\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> and was credited with turning that franchise around. However, the Red Wings continued to struggle, and the team did not make the playoffs the next two seasons, both of which were shortened due to the COVID-19 <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb\" data-term=\"pandemic\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/pandemic\" data-type=\"EB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Detroit Red Wings, American professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The team was founded in 1926 and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5101],"tags":[301,5213,599,93,5137,5212,5211,5,4,3358,5138],"class_list":{"0":"post-18862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-red-wings","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-britannica","10":"tag-detroit","11":"tag-detroit-red-wings","12":"tag-detroitredwings","13":"tag-encyclopeadia","14":"tag-encyclopedia","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-red-wings","18":"tag-redwings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114471359254093641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}