Looking At The Detroit Red Wings
Bring up the Detroit Red Wings in a conversation with a hockey fan, and you are sure to get a reaction. The Wings have become a bit like the New York Yankees of baseball. People either love them or they hate them. This is really no surprise. Just like the Yanks are considered baseball’s best team, the Wings have become hockey’s best. They are the model of hockey success. First of all, they have won more championships than any other team based in the States. Furthermore, they rank third in number of Cups won. With this in mind, we are going to talk today about their interesting history.
They joined the NHL in 1926. The first year saw the team play their home games in Windsor, Ontario, under the team name of the Cougars. The following year they did play in Detroit at the Detroit Olympia. Both years were not exactly kind to the club. They finished last in 1926 and fourth in 1927 with a 19-19-6 record.
But fans really did not have a long wait to see their team succeed. The Cougars reached the playoffs on 1929, though they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1932, they changed their name to the Red Wings. This change in name seemed to bring about a change in their luck. Between 1933 and 1966, they made it to the playoffs all but four times.
This Detroit team made it to the Cup finals for the first time in 1934. Their opponent: the Chicago Blackhawks. The fans were ecstatic, but the Wings lost in four games. Two years later they would be back again and the result would be much different. In this Cup final series, they were facing the Maple Leafs. This time, they won the Stanly Cup in four games. To add to the impressiveness, they won again the following year with a defeat of the New York Rangers.
In 1946, the sport of hockey was gifted with the arrival of one of its best players ever. Gordie Howe, from Saskatchewan, is a legend of the game and a member of the Hall of Fame. He is called “Mr. Hockey” and for good reason. One reason is that he is the only player to play in five different decades. He skated his way to fame in the 40s through the 80s.
Adding to the justification of the nickname is his multitudes of accomplishments on the ice. He played with four Stanly Cup winning teams, led the league in scoring six times and took home six MVP awards. When Howe was 80 years old, he was presented with the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Howe’s teams did not enjoy ongoing success. The Red Wing team ran into a terrible stretch between the years 1967 and 1983. Much to their fans’ frustration, the team qualified for the playoffs exactly twice, and winning but one series.
Nowadays you will receive no argument about how good the Red Wings are. Unlike their dreadful stretch during the Sixties and Eighties, the years from 1990 to the present have been remarkable. They have made the playoffs every year. This playoff streak is the longest in not just hockey, but of all major North American sports.
Mayhar Manninghansburger is a fitness trainer She likes SportsFanTreasures.com and recommends you check out their info on Columbus Blue Jackets Blanket and Vancover Canuks Merchandise
Processing your request, Please wait....
