Red Wings’ All-Time Legends and Top 3 Teams That Ruled the NHL (2021)

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FORWARDS

GORDIE HOWE

1946-71

GP 1,687 G 786 A 1,023

PTS 1,809 PIM 1,643

‘MR. HOCKEY’ DOMINATED THE game like no player before him and very few since. Howe won six Hart Trophies and and six Art Ross Trophies. A four-time Cup champion, he twice broke the NHL single-season scoring mark and retired as the league’s all-time scoring leader. Howe posted his best NHL season, with 103 points, at 40 in 1968-69.

STEVE YZERMAN

1983-2006

GP 1,514 G 692 A 1,063

PTS 1,755 PIM 924

THE RED WINGS CURRENT GM wore the ‘C’ in Detroit for two decades. Yzerman won the Pearson Award as NHL MVP voted by the players in 1988-89, setting franchise scoring records with 65 goals, 90 assists and 155 points. Later sacrificing personal numbers to become the game’s best two-way center, he guided the Wings to three Stanley Cups.

TED LINDSAY

1944-57, 1964-65

GP 862 G 335 A 393

PTS 728 PIM 1,423

THE HEART AND SOUL of Detroit’s 1950s dynasty, ‘Terrible Ted’ captained two Stanley Cup winners. He and Nels Stewart remain the only players to be NHL leaders in both scoring and penalty minutes during their careers. In 1956-57, Lindsay set a then-team record for assists (55) and a then-NHL record for points by a left winger (85).

DEFENSEMEN

NICKLAS LIDSTROM

1991-2012

GP 1,564 G 264 A 878

PTS 1,142 PIM 514

LIDSTROM’S NICKNAME – ‘THE Perfect Human’ – says it all. He won seven Norris Trophies. The Swedish native was the first European player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and to captain a Stanley Cup champion. A 12-time all-star, Lidstrom shares the NHL record of 20 consecutive seasons in the playoffs with Larry Robinson.

RED KELLY

1947-60

GP 846 G 162 A 310

PTS 472 PIM 253

KELLY JUMPED DIRECTLY TO Detroit’s blueline from junior hockey in 1947. He was the first winner of the Norris Trophy in 1953-54 and also won two Lady Byng Trophies with the Red Wings. A four-time Stanley Cup champion with Detroit, Kelly scored 19 goals in 1952-53 and was Hart Trophy runner-up in 1953-54.

GOALIE

TERRY SAWCHUK

1950-55, 1957-64, 1968-69

GP 734 W-L-T 350-245-132

GAA 2.44 SP n/a SO 85

ARRIVING AS DETROIT’S NO. 1 goalie to begin the 1950-51 season, Sawchuk quickly established his superstar credentials, starting with the Calder Trophy. In his first five years with the Wings, Sawchuk posted 195 wins, 56 shutouts and a 1.94 goals-against average. He also won three Vezina Trophies and three Stanley Cups in that span.

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TOP 3 TEAMS OF ALL-TIME

A 100-point season and epicunbeaten streak were topped inthe playoffs with a perfect record

#1 1951-52

IN THE 1952 PLAYOFFS, the Wings were perfect, the first team to go 8-0 in the post-season. While becoming the NHL’s regular-season champs with 100 points, Detroit put together a club-record 15-game unbeaten streak. Gordie Howe led the NHL in goals (47) and points (86) en route to the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, while Terry Sawchuk took the Vezina. Howe, Sawchuk, Ted Lindsay and Red Kelly were all first-team all-stars. In the playoffs, Detroit swept Toronto and Montreal. Sawchuk didn’t allow a goal on home ice, finishing the post-season with four shutouts, a 0.63 goals-against average and .977 save percentage.

#2 2001-02

THE WINGS ASSEMBLED A superstar-laden team, the likes of which will never be seen in the salary-cap era. They suited up nine Hall of Famers: Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, Sergei Fedorov, Chris Chelios, Igor Larionov, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brendan Shanahan. Coach Scotty Bowman also is in the Hall. Detroit had 116 points to win the Presidents’ Trophy. In the playoffs, the Wings rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to defeat Vancouver in Round 1. Down 3-2 to Colorado in the West final, Hasek posted successive shutouts in Games 6 and 7. The Wings beat Carolina in a five-game Cup final.

#3 1935-36

DETROIT’S FIRST CUP-WINNING TEAM was also the NHL’s best regular-season squad. Center Marty Barry placed second in the NHL scoring race, while defenseman Ebbie Goodfellow was named to the second all-star team. The Wings opened the post-season in epic fashion, beating the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the NHL’s longest game. Rookie winger Mud Bruneteau scored the winner in the sixth overtime period after the two teams played 176:30. Detroit goalie Normie Smith allowed just one goal, posting a shutout sequence of 248:32, as the Wings swept the series. Detroit then downed Toronto 3-1 in the final. 

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