Detroit Red Wings
| Detroit Red Wings | |
|---|---|
 2023–24 Detroit Red Wings season | |
| City | Detroit, Michigan |
| League | NHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Atlantic |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Operated | Detroit Cougars 1926–1930 Detroit Falcons 1930–1932 Detroit Red Wings 1932–present |
| Home arena | Little Caesars Arena |
| Colours | Red, white |
| Owner(s) | Ilitch Holdings |
| Media | Bally Sports Detroit 97.1 The Ticket |
| Affiliates | Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) Toledo Walleye (ECHL) |
| Website | nhl |
| Championships | |
| Division Championships | 19 (1933–34, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11) |
| Conference Championships | 6 (1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2008–09) |
| Stanley Cups | 11 (1935–36, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08) |
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. Founded in 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars until 1930. For the next two seasons, the team was named the Detroit Falcons, before changing their name to the Red Wings in 1932. The Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States (11), and are third overall amongst active teams in total Stanley Cup championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). The Wings played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 until 2017, after playing for 52 years at Olympia Stadium. They moved into Little Caesars Arena beginning with the 2017–18 season. The Red Wings are one of the most popular and successful franchises in the NHL; fans and sports commentators refer to the Detroit area as "Hockeytown", which has been a registered trademark owned by the franchise since 1996. Between the 1931–32 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times. They struggled between the 1966–67 and 1982–83 seasons, only making the playoffs twice in that stretch. However, thereafter, from 1983–84 to 2015–16, they made the playoffs 30 times in 32 seasons, including 25-straight from 1990–91 to 2015–16 (not including the cancelled 2004–05 season); in 2006, this became the longest active streak of postseason appearances in all of North American professional sports and finished tied for the third-longest streak in NHL history. Since 1983–84, the Red Wings have tallied six regular season first-place finishes and have won the Stanley Cup four times (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008).
History[edit]
Following the 1926 Stanley Cup playoffs, during which the Western Hockey League (WHL) was widely reported to be on the verge of folding, the NHL held a meeting on April 17 to consider applications for expansion franchises, at which it was reported that five different groups sought a team for Detroit. During a subsequent meeting on May 15, the league approved a franchise to the Townsend-Seyburn group of Detroit and named Charles A. Hughes as governor. WHL owners Frank and Lester Patrick made a deal to sell the league's players to the NHL and cease league operations. The new Detroit franchise purchased the players of the WHL's Victoria Cougars, who had won the Stanley Cup in 1925 and had made the Finals the previous winter, to play for the team. The new Detroit franchise also adopted the Cougars' nickname in honor of the folded franchise.
