Team of the Decade
The Red Wings are the obvious choice, and with good reason.
In a funny way, the frequency of disappointment in Detroit is a sure sign of how good this team has been.
The Wings have been on the wrong end of some huge playoff upsets. Their recent opening-round flops include 2001 (to Los Angeles), 2003 (Anaheim), and 2006 (Edmonton).
When you're a championship contender every year, an occasional stunning defeat is inevitable.
Don't feel too badly for Detroit fans. Their decade also included three trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a pair of championships.
Going back to the turn of the century, no other franchise comes close to matching the Wings' 82-game consistency, or the frequency with which they followed it up in May and June.
See also:
Detroit Red Wings Franchise Profile
The Story of the Detroit Octopus
Origin of Detroit's "Winged Wheel" Logo
Photo: Goaltender Dominik Hasek contemplates a Red Wings tradition during the 2002 Stanley Cup Final. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
Comments
As a Red Wings fan for over 40 years, I obviously agree with your assessment of the Detroit franchise.
I have many friends who are Leafs fans, and through the sixties and seventies, we would talk about how horribly bad our respective teams were. Leafs fans maintain that Toronto has won more Cups than Detroit (technically correct) but I’ll remind them that Toronto entered the league 9 years before Detroit and won two Cups, not as Maple Leafs but the Toronto St. Pats.
Although players like Howe, Lindsay, Sawchuk and Yzerman are credited with success in Detroit – and they deserve much of it – I think the biggest reason for their success is ownership. An owner committed to winning as as opposed to one whose only goal is to satisfy the shareholders.
In my opinion, the best acquisition Mike Illitch made after purchasing the Red Wings was Jimmy Devellano, the architect of the New York Islanders dynasty. (He should be in the Hall of Fame)
The Wings were drawing five or six thousand fans per game when Mike Illitch purchased the team, and with success, the fans returned. Teams that have constantly sold out their games year after year didn’t, and don’t have the ownership necessary to ice a competitive team because the bottom line is THE most important aspect in running their franchises.
The Illitch family also purchased the Tigers and turned them into respectable team. Are the Lions for sale?
While I don’t disagree that Detroit is the team of the decade it’s a bit closer than you think. You state:
“Their decade also included three trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a pair of championships. Going back to the turn of the century, no other franchise comes close to matching the Wings’ 82-game consistency, or the frequency with which they followed it up in May and June.”
The New Jersey Devils made the Stanley Cup Finals 3 times in the last decade and won it twice (2000, 2003; lost in 2001). I think there is a bit of a recency effect going on here since Detroit has had more success in the playoffs post-lockout but New Jersey was clearly more successful in the earlier half of the decade.
Fair point about the Devils. In sizing up the decade, I tried to give them credit for their accomplishments. But the memories of 2000-2003 aren’t as fresh.