John Kreiser - So You Think You’re a Detroit Red Wings Fan?: Stars, Stats, Records, and Memories for True Diehards

Copyright 2019 by Pat Gass

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: Associated Press

ISBN: 978-1-68358-256-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-257-1

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Preface

A lot of my early memories of the Detroit Red Wings were painful ones. Watching the Wings in the late 1970s and much of the 1980s was frustrating, to say the least. The days of Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, and the 1950s dynasty were long gone, and the Steve Yzerman-Nicklas Lidstrom teams of the 1990s and 2000s were still a long way away.

There never was, and never will be, another player like Howe. He had had plenty of help in the early 1950s, when Detroit won the Stanley Cup four times in six seasons while wearing those simple, classic, red-and-white uniforms with the winged wheel, a design thats changed little to the present day.

But when I began watching them, I didnt realize that the Red Wings were headed for their own low ebb. Despite the presence of stars such as Marcel Dionne and Mickey Redmond in the 1970s, and John Ogrodnick and a young Yzerman in the 80s, the Red Wings were lost in the NHL wilderness for most of those two decades.

It took a while after Mike Ilitch bought the team, but, by the 1990s, the Red Wings were relevant again. By the middle of the decade, they were in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 30 years, and, in 1997, the Cup returned to Detroit for the first time in 42 years.

Players like Yzerman, Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg triggered a stretch that saw the Red Wings win the Cup four times from 1997 to 2008 and get to Game Seven of the Final in 2009. With the passage of time, its easier to see that those teams were among some of the best ever to take the ice.

The Red Wings performed one of hockeys great feats by qualifying for the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasonssomething no NHL team has done since the 1990s wave of expansion beganbefore coming up short in 201617. The young talent in the system bodes well for a quick return to the top.

I owe a debt of thanks to Julie Ganz and the folks at Skyhorse Publishing for their hard work in sanding and polishing my raw product into the finished version you hold in your hands.

Now its time to get ready. Strap on your shin guards, sharpen your skates, buckle up your helmet, and lets get started.

Introduction

Twenty-five consecutive years in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Four championships in a span of 12 years. Those are some of the accomplishments fans of the Detroit Red Wings have seen in the past three decades.

The Red Wings have had two eras in which they were as good as any team that ever stepped onto an NHL rink. The Scotty Bowman/Mike Babcockcoached teams that helped turn Detroit into Hockeytown are familiar to most of todays fans, but the Red Wings of the early 1950s that won four Cups in six years were just as dominant (albeit in a league that was just six teams, rather than todays 31).

That team featured one of the NHLs greatest and best-named lines, the Production Line with Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, and Sid Abel. Alex Delvecchio later moved into the middle. Red Kelly was the Nicklas Lidstrom of his day, a smart, smooth-skating defenseman who was among the greats of his era. Terry Sawchuk was arguably the greatest goaltender of the Original Six era.

Of course, the NHL will never see another player like Howe, whose greatness on and off the ice earned him the nickname Mr. Hockey. It was a perfect two-word description of a sports immortal.

The later era of Detroit dominance also had its stars. Steve Yzerman almost had two careers, one as one of the NHLs highest-scoring centers, the second as an elite two-way player and leader. Lidstrom was arguably the best defenseman of the past 40 years. Bowman and Babcock are among the greatest coaches in NHL history.

For nine decades, the Red Wings have been a pillar of the National Hockey League. In good times and not so good times, theyve always been among hockeys most exciting teams.

And now on to this book. Just like a hockey game, the difficulty level of the questions youll see will get tougher as you move along from the first period through the second and third, into overtime, and finally on to the shootout. We hope youll have funand get a chance to prove to your friends what a great Red Wings fan you are!

FIRST PERIOD

The National Anthem has been sung, the officials are headed to their respective spots on the ice, and the full house at Little Caesars Arena is settling in for 60 minutes of action. Were ready for 40 questions in the first period, so drop the puck and lets go!

Few players are as identified with one franchise as Gordie Howe is with the Red Wings. Howes No. 9 is among the numbers hanging from the rafters at Little Caesars Arena. But that wasnt his original number with the Red Wings. What was the first number he wore after joining Detroit in 1946? Answer on .

a. No. 7

b. No. 12

c. No. 17

d. No. 21

Speaking of Mr. Hockey, he played 26 seasons in the NHL but scored more than 100 points exactly once. In which season did he reach triple figures? Give yourself a bonus point if you know how many he had! Answer on .

The Red Wings set a single-season NHL record in 201617 for the most shootout victories without a loss. How many did they win? Answer on .

a. 8

b. 9

c. 10

d. 11

.

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

The Red Wings were in one of their down periods in the early 1980s, but they had the No. 4 pick in the 1983 NHL Draft, giving them the opportunity to acquire Steve Yzerman. Yet Yzerman wasnt really the player they wanted. Which player would have been taken by the Wings if things had worked out the way they had planned? (Hint: He was a pretty good player too!) Answer on .

Pavel Datsyuk was a star for the Red Wings from his arrival in Detroit in 200102 to his departure after the 201516 season. Hes also the most recent Red Wing to wear No. 13. How many other Detroit players have worn than number? Answer on .

a. 0

b. 2

c. 4

d. 6

Mike Modano, a native of Livonia, Michigan, played a final season in Detroit after spending his NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. He had to change his number when he came to Detroit, because the No. 9 hed worn throughout his career was no longer available. Which number did he opt for with the Red Wings? Answer on .

a. 70

b. 80

c. 90

d. 91

Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman capped his coaching career by leading the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2002. Who succeeded him? Answer on .

a. Mike Babcock

b. Jacques Demers

c. Dave Lewis

d. Brian Murray