Detroit Red Wings: Top 15 Moments from the Past 15 Years

15. Farewell to Joe Louis Arena

The stairs, the pizza, the banners.  There was no other arena like Joe Louis Arena.  April 9, 2017 would be the final NHL game played there.  After scoring 0 goals in his first 79 games of the season, Riley Sheahan had 2 goals in a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.  His second goal of the game would be the final goal ever scored at Joe Louis Arena.  The Red Wings had an all time regular season record of 827-432-195 (.635 win %) and hoisted the Stanley Cup twice there in 1997 and 2002.

14. 2009 Playoff Run

Any time you end the season with a Stanley Cup Final game 7 in your building, it’s something to remember.  Amazingly, the Red Wings have played in 7 of the 17 all time Stanley Cup Final game 7’s.  Even though the Red Wings came up short in their bid to win their 2nd straight Stanley Cup, this was quite the playoff run.  That being said, I still have nightmares about Nick Lidstrom’s missed last second scoring chance.

13. 2021 Rookie Invasion

Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider took the city of Detroit by storm in the 2021.  No recent Red Wings rookie has had the immediate impact that these two have, especially at such a young age.  These guys looked like seasoned NHL veterans from the moment they took to the ice.  I am very much looking forward to watching them get better and better in the years to come.  Honorable mention to fellow rookies Alex Nedeljkovic and Joe Veleno.

12. Johan Franzen’s 5 goal game

Johan Franzen, better known as ‘The Mule’ had the game of a lifetime on February 2nd , 2011 when he scored 5 goals against the Ottawa Senators.  This was a groundhog day to remember.

11. Kronwalled

When you have a verb named after you, that’s something worth noting.  Nicklas Kronwall was known for his devastating open ice hits.  I enjoyed every single one of them, even the ones that were unfairly punished.  If I have to choose one particular ‘Kronwalled’ moment, it’s this one from the 2009 Western Conference Final.  In reality, there are dozens to choose from.  Kronwall played his entire career as a Red Wing from 2003-2019.

10. Home Winning Streak

In the 2011-2012 season, the Red Wings had an NHL record 23 game home winning streak.  The streak ended on February 23, 2012, almost 4 months after their last home loss.  One of the many reasons why Joe Louis Arena was so great.

9. 2013-2014 Playoff Push

The Red Wings had a franchise record number of man games lost to injuries in the 2013-2014 season.  Despite this, they fought hard to keep their playoff streak alive.  Besides winning the Stanley Cup, this is probably Mike Babcock’s biggest achievement during his time as coach of the Red Wings.  Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk played a combined 67 games and the Red Wings were forced to dress 38 different skaters throughout the season.  On some nights , this team seemed to be more Grand Rapids than Detroit but somehow they squeaked into the playoffs.

8. New Digs

As tough as it was to bid farewell to the Joe, it was well worth it once everyone got to see the Red Wings’ new home.  Little Caesars Arena hosted it’s first regular season NHL game on October 5th, 2017 against the Minnesota Wild.  I absolutely love this arena, especially the organ.

If there is one thing I could change over the last 15 years, it would be for Red Wings owner Mike Illitch to live long enough to see the opening of this arena.  Sadly, he died just 7 months before his dream became a reality.  Little Caesar’s Arena was Mike Illitch’s last (and possibly best) gift to the city of Detroit.

This is a home for the Red Wings to be proud of for many years to come.  Let’s hope we see more banners raised soon!

7. 2013 Playoff Run

The Red Wings had quite the dramatic playoff run in the shortened 2013 season. In the first round, the Wings went a full 7 games against the favored Anaheim Ducks.

This series had 4 games go to overtime, including game 6 with the Wings facing elimination. Detroit blew a 2 goal lead late in the 3rd period before Henrik Zetterberg scored the winner shortly into overtime to force a game 7. The wings went on to win the series, setting up a second round meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks.

I remember hoping that they would win at least 1 game in the series.  Chicago was a heavy favorite to win.  After being soundly beaten in game 1, the Wings rattled off 3 straight wins and showed they could more than hold their own.

The series ended up going all the way to overtime in game 7.  The Wings fell just short of beating the eventual Stanley Cup champions.  Had that overtime gone differently, who knows what could have happened next.  Either way, it was a very memorable and unexpected playoff run.

6. Dylan Larkin Debut.

On October 9, 2015 Dylan Larkin made his NHL debut scoring a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over the the Toronto Maple Leafs.  He was the first teenage rookie to make the Red Wings opening day roster in 15 years.  Seeing him introduced on opening night as a rookie from suburban Detroit was a moment to remember.  This was no ordinary opening night as former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock made his return to Detroit.

Newly promoted coach Jeff Blashill got the win in his debut with the Red Wings.  Larkin went on to have a strong rookie campaign putting up 45 points.  He spent most of the season riding shotgun with Henrik Zetterberg and/or Pavel Datsyuk.  Now as captain of the Red Wings, Larkin has rookie Lucas Raymond riding shotgun with him.

5. Number 5

Nick Lidstrom had his number retired on March 6, 2014 in a ceremony at Joe Louis Arena.  Affectionately known as the perfect human, Lidstrom spent his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings.  He is a 7 time Norris trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman and hands down the best rearguard in the history of the Red Wings.

I never got to see Bobby Orr play (most older people tell me he was the best) but in all of my years of watching hockey, I’ve never seen any defenseman as good as Nick Lidstrom. He was great in every aspect of the game, hence the nickname.

One of the most amazing statistics of Lidstrom’s hall of fame career is that he averaged 25.7 penalty minutes per season.  For a top pairing defenseman playing against the best offensive players in the league, this is mind boggling.

Hilariously, when Lidstrom joined the Red Wings in 1991, he requested to have No. 9 because that was the number he wore in Sweden. After a good laugh and a look at the rafters of Joe Louis Arena, he was given No. 5 instead.

A few months before his number retirement ceremony, Detroit native Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave Nick Lidstrom one of his best moments ever at Joe Louis Arena. Nick Lidstrom was one of the all time greats if not the greatest. Wisely, Steve Yzerman recently offered him a job.

4. Winter Classic at the Big House

On January 1, 2014 the Detroit Red Wings played an outdoor game at Michigan Stadium in front of a record 105,491 fans.

The leadup to this event featured outdoor games at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.  I was personally thrilled to see Steve Yzerman back in a Wings jersey playing in the alumni game.

My hometown Windsor Spitfires also played in the first ever outdoor OHL game at Comerica Park.  The Winter Classic itself was a windy and snowy affair. My main memory from this day is that they decided to split overtime into two 2:30 segments because of the wind. Henrik Zetterberg was on a breakaway as the clock got to the 2:30 mark. The whistle was blown and that was the end of that.  This was even more annoying when they ended up losing in a shootout.

Nevertheless, this was an amazing day at the big house in Ann Arbor.  It was even voted event of the decade by the NHL.  This was a day to remember for everyone in attendance, even if they couldn’t feel their toes by the end of the game.

3. Pavel Datsyuk vs Everybody

On February 9, 2013 Pavel Datsyuk casually deked out the all 5 skaters on the Nashville Predators and scored this goal.  As impressive as this goal is, I am only choosing it because this is a moments list and a moment is needed.  The real truth is that Pavel Datsyuk had incomprehensible moments in every game and almost every shift he ever played.  Watching the magic man play until he left the team in 2016 was one of the great joys of my life.  No other player has ever made me say “wow” in so many different ways.  There will never be another Pavel Datsyuk.  There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to describe Pavel Datsyuk, trying to do so will leave you feeling dizzy.  Hence the word Datsyukian.

2. Steve Yzerman Returns

On April 9, 2019 it was announced that Steve Yzerman would become the 11th general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.  I think pretty much every fan (myself included) had an ‘I’m not crying, you’re crying’ moment when they heard the news.  Our captain of 20 years was coming home to run the team he helped lead to greatness!  This is a storybook ending if I ever heard one.  Credit to Ken Holland for helping to make this happen.  One of Yzerman’s first moves: drafting Moritz Seider.  At the time, this was considered a shocking pick to many as Seider was expected to go much later in the first round.  Never ever doubt Stevie Y.  Let’s hope he sticks around for a while.

1. 2008 Stanley Cup

Hands down the biggest moment of the last 15 years.  The only thing missing from Nick Lidstrom’s perfect resume was being captain of a Stanley Cup winning team.  He became the first European captain in NHL history to lift the cup. This was also the first and only Stanley Cup for Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg.  This team had an outstanding defensive core but make no mistake, it was Datsyuk and Zetterberg driving the bus.  Both of them had arguably their best seasons as Red Wings.  For Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty, Tomas Holmstrom  and Nick Lidstrom this was their 4th Stanley Cup in 11 years.  A dynasty for the ages.

That’s my list, here’s to hoping the next 15 years are filled with great memories and more Stanley Cups.