Red Wing Hockey

For nine seasons, from 1993 through 2002, it can be argued that no other professional sporting franchise was as successful as Red Wing hockey. Prior to the 1993-94 season, Detroit hired Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman to lead the team. The Red Wings never missed the playoffs with Bowman at the helm, and won three Stanley Cups under the coach. The first came in the 1996-97 season, as the Wings swept the Philadelphia Flyers to win the eighth Stanley Cup in franchise history. Number nine came the very next season, and once again they won the NHL finals in four straight games. This time, the victims were the Washington Capitals. Bowman retired following the 2001-02 season, but not before leading Detroit to their tenth NHL title and his ninth as a coach with a series victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

Red Wing Hockey: One of the Original Six

Detroit Red Wing hockey dates back to the 1926, making the team one of the oldest franchises currently playing in the National Hockey League. In fact, they are one of the Original Six, a term used to describe the six currently active NHL teams who were members of the organization prior to its expansion in 1967. The Red Wings, along with the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers, all joined the NHL between 1917 and 1926. There were at most only 10 teams playing at a time during this era, so only the best players made the cut, making for some of the most exciting on-ice action in professional hockey history. However, by the 1960s, the threat of a rival league emerging forced the NHL to bring new franchises into the fold, thus laying the foundation for the modern structure of the National Hockey League.