So, to most fans of the Detroit Red Wings it’s another standard, ho hum year. Henrik Zetterburg, Pavel Datsyuk and now Gustav Nyquist are leading the Wings to the playoffs yet again, pass the beer and lets watch them on FSD and cheer them on…
I guess to me, the Wings being in the playoffs will never be an old hat because I remember the dreadful days of the 70’s and early 80’s. Playing at the red barn called Olympia and having Nick Libbett being the best player to cheer for as The Norris family unceremoniously dumped on the greatest player in team history. Those days of Darkness with Harkness or Alex Delvecchio proving that great players make lousy coaches or Johnny and Larry Wilson making awful decisions behind the bench. Bobby Kromm actually taking the Wings to the playoffs one year in the 70’s as GM Ted Lindsay promised “Aggressive Hockey is Back in Town” and those Kromm lead Wings actually won a playoff series against the Atlanta Flames (Yes I got that right, Atlanta Flames). Then the next year fizzling out and eventually being a poor to middle of the road team.
It wouldn’t have bothered me the Wings missing out on the playoffs if it wasn’t for the fact in the 70s, like today, 16 teams made the playoffs…however, in the 70s only 21 teams were in the NHL. Yes I remember Bruce Martyn, Foster Hewett, Danny Gallivan, an NHL before Gretzky. The thing that sticks out is that the Detroit Red Wings were beyond awful. Much like the Ford Family owning the Lions in perpetuity, a lot of Red Wing fans feared that the Norris family would own the Wings for the same amount of time.
Then much to a Red Wing fans relief, Mike Ilitch, owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza bought the Wings from the Norris’ then had to bribe fans to come in but improvement was slow. BUT they drafted this kid Yzerman and things were going to improve…in 1985, they moved Nick Polano upstairs and hired “proven” winner Harry Neale…the bottom fell out, Yzerman was having the worst year he would have as a pro, Neale was fired after 40 games, legendary defenseman Brad Park was named interim coach until Jacques Demers took over and sent the Wings’ losing culture out the door.
Demers, then Bryan Murray, Scotty Bowman, Dave Lewis and Mike Babcock. This list of coaches have made the playoffs as Detroit coaches every year since with the exception of 1989-90. Along the way winning 4 Stanley Cups, producing countless Hall of Famers and turning around the fortunes of Red Wing Hockey in not just Detroit but in the NHL annals.
I have seen many things as a sports fan in the state of Michigan. Michigan and Michigan State winning multiple titles, The Tigers winning 2 world series, The Pistons being a three time NBA champion…heck, I’ve even seen the one Lions playoff win since 1963. There is nothing as a Michigan sports fan that makes me prouder than the Wings 24 consecutive season playoff streak. It will end one day but until that day comes…God save the Wing!