After forty years of playing exciting hockey at the Olympic Stadium, the Detroit Red Wings moved to Joe Louis stadium in 2007. On October 7, 2011 Red Wings fans can continue the hockey tradition as their team faces off against Canada’s Ottawa Senators.
Over the past few years many things have been taken from the city of Detroit. The economic downturn in the country has caused several Detroit auto plants to close. This caused vacancies in factories, and housing . However, one thing that will never leave the city of Detroit is the historic Red Wings hockey club.
The Red Wings have more Stanley Cup Championship victories than any other franchise in the NHL. Eleven championships to be exact. As one of the original six NHL teams, the Detroit Red Wings have a fan base unmatched by any other team in hockey. History is destine to repeat itself as Detroit prepares for another great season on the ice.
Detroit’s most historic players include “The King of Hockey” Gordie Howe, who played for the franchise from 1950 to 1966. Hockey’s Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman who led the team to five first place regular season finishes in his first ten years of playing in the NHL. Fans idolize Yzerman because his entire NHL career (23 years to be exact) was with the Detroit Red Wings.
Under coach Scotty Bowman, Detroit acquired several Russian native all-stars. Instead of attempting to change the way these athletes played the game, coach Bowman adopted the Soviet Red Army’s style of play in which forwards and defense man were teamed up on the same line. This strategy was appropriately labeled “The Russian Five”, and it contributed to a Stanley cup victory in 1997. The Russian players were Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Dmitri Mironov , and Viacheslav “Slava” Alexandrovich Fetisov.
After Scotty Bowman retired in 2003, Detroit promoted Dave Lewis to the position of head coach. Lewis signed long time Toronto Maple Leaf goalie Curtis Joseph to the team that year. Detroit finished its first and only season under Dave Lewis with a second place finish in their division.
The 2004 season didn’t happen due to a lockout between NHL players and owners. In 2005, Detroit signed Anaheim’s Mike Babcock to take the reigns of Head Coach in Hockey Town. Just one year of taking over the position Babcock, led the team to the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, the team lost the series to the Edmonton Oilers, 1-4.
The Red Wings endured somewhat of a roster shake-up following the 2006 season. Steve Yzerman announced his retirement, and the team lost their powerhouse offensive winger Brendan Shanahan. Never count Detroit out though. In the 2010-11 season the team returned to the playoffs, and made history by sweeping the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round 4-0. This was the first time ever in which a team was swept in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round the team was eliminated from the series by the San Jose Sharks.
A team that is engorged with such successful history is bound to prove that history does repeat itself. The 2011-12 season should be successful and exciting for Red Wings fans. The team has 41 scheduled home games this year, and Detroit fans will be there to represent their team for every one of them.
