The Greatest Redwing
Many eras of greatness have flown through the city of Detroit. For the last 3 decades the city has seen great athletes and teams conquer their leagues. Two of the cities four teams have won a championship since the turning of the new millennium, with another losing out in the World Series. Even dating back to the 80’s, Detroit has been home to some of the most intimidating teams the world has seen.
In the late 80’s, the “Bad Boys” won back to back NBA champions whilst bullying the league into submission. In the next decade, a run of physical dominance by the Redwings took the league by storm winning back to back cups in ‘97 and ‘98 while appearing and losing in ’95. Even the Lions snuck in a good season in the ‘90s.
The 2000’s were an amazing time to be a Detroit sports fan. The Tigers made a World Series appearance. The Pistons dominated the decade appearing in 7 consecutive conference finals, making the NBA Finals twice in consecutive years, and winning it all in 2004. The Redwings only missed the playoffs once, and appeared in 3 Stanley Cup Finals, winning two of them, their most recent in 2008, and their 11th championship in the NHL all time. The Redwings have the 2nd most appearances in the finals and have raised the cup more times than any other American franchise, 3rd most all time to the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.
Going back through all of these amazing teams, even pre-dating the 80’s, the Winged Wheel has been home to some of the greatest players in the history of the NHL. When you go to the NHL Top 100 players from the leagues 100th season, 9 players can be spotted in the classic Redwing uniform, while others had short stints in the city. 28 in total spent time in the Motor City.
Think back to the days, maybe when you were young, still playing in youth hockey tournaments in Michigan. When you close your eyes and someone says “Detroit Redwings”, who do you envision? Is it the man currently at the helm, Steve Yzerman? Maybe you were a fan of defense and enjoyed the silky smooth Nicklas Lindstrom. If you are older, maybe it is one of the players that starred on the recurring “Production Line”. Let us know in the comments on Facebook who your favorite Redwing of all time is.