The Detroit Red Wings franchise dates back to the 1926–27 NHL season, when the Detroit Cougars debuted as an expansion team 1)
Before becoming the Red Wings, the franchise played as the Detroit Cougars from 1926 to 1930 after relocating players from the defunct Victoria Cougars of the WHL 2)
The team was renamed the Detroit Falcons in 1930 and kept that name until 1932, when a new owner rebranded the club as the Red Wings 3)
New owner James E. Norris chose the “Detroit Red Wings” name in 1932, inspired by a winged-wheel emblem from a Montreal athletic club he had belonged to 4)
The famous winged-wheel logo was designed to link Detroit’s automotive industry (“Motor City”) with speed and motion on the ice 5)
Detroit has won 11 Stanley Cup championships, the most by any NHL team based in the United States 6)
With 11 titles, the Red Wings trail only the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs for the most Stanley Cups in NHL history 7)
The Red Wings captured their first Stanley Cup in 1936, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then repeated as champions in 1937 8)
During their dominant run from 1949–50 to 1954–55, five players—Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, Ted Lindsay, Marcel Pronovost, and John Wilson—played on all four Detroit Stanley Cup–winning teams of that era 9)
The Red Wings are one of the NHL’s “Original Six” franchises, a group of teams that formed the league’s core from 1942 until expansion in 1967 10)
Detroit made the playoffs in 25 consecutive seasons from 1990–91 through 2015–16, the longest such streak in modern NHL history 11)
“Hockeytown” became Detroit’s signature hockey moniker in 1996, when the Red Wings launched a marketing campaign and placed the word at center ice 12)
The phrase “Hockeytown,” when used with the winged-wheel logo, is a registered trademark owned by the Red Wings organization 13)
Before moving downtown, Detroit played at Olympia Stadium for 52 years, from 1927 until their final game there on December 15, 1979 14)
The Red Wings played their first game at Joe Louis Arena on December 27, 1979, shortly after leaving Olympia Stadium 15)
Joe Louis Arena hosted four Red Wings Stanley Cup–clinching seasons: 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008 16)
Since the 2017–18 season, the Red Wings have played their home games at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit 17)
The famous octopus-throwing tradition began in 1952 when fishmonger Pete Cusimano tossed an octopus onto the ice, its eight tentacles symbolizing the eight playoff wins then needed to win the Stanley Cup 18)
That 1952 octopus toss eventually inspired “Al the Octopus,” the modern octopus mascot associated with the Red Wings and their playoff runs 19)
Detroit played in the longest game in NHL history in 1936, when the Red Wings and Montreal Maroons battled into a sixth overtime before Detroit won 1–0 20)
In 2011–12, Detroit set an NHL record by winning 23 consecutive home games, a streak that stood as the longest home winning run in league history 21)
Gordie Howe, the franchise’s most iconic legend, was nicknamed “Mr. Hockey” and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in NHL history 22)
Gritty net-front forward Tomas Holmström earned the nickname “Demolition Man” in Sweden due to his bruising, physical style before bringing that presence to Detroit 23)
Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay was known as “Terrible Ted” for his ferocious, intimidating play during his four-time Stanley Cup–winning career in Detroit 24)
Gordie Howe holds the franchise record for regular-season points with 1,687, topping the Red Wings’ all-time scoring list 25)
Captain Steve Yzerman ranks second in Detroit history with 1,514 regular-season points, all recorded with the Red Wings 26)
Alex Delvecchio sits among Detroit’s all-time scoring leaders with 1,550 points, reflecting a remarkably long and productive career with the club 27)
Defenseman Nicklas Lidström is also near the top of the Red Wings’ career scoring list, highlighting how unusually productive he was from the blue line 28)
Detroit boasts 58 former team members in the Hockey Hall of Fame, reflecting the franchise’s star-studded history 29)
Steve Yzerman served as Detroit’s captain for 19 seasons, making him the longest-serving captain in North American major professional sports at the time of his retirement 30)
Detroit’s 2001–02 roster is often cited as one of the most star-studded NHL teams ever, featuring multiple future Hall of Famers en route to a Stanley Cup 31)
The Red Wings won the 2009 NHL Winter Classic outdoors at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, defeating the Blackhawks in a marquee New Year’s Day event 32)
The mid-to-late 1990s marked a return to glory for Detroit, with back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998 after decades without a championship 33)
Over the NHL’s first century, the Red Wings were frequently described as the most successful American NHL franchise due to their championship total and consistency 34)
The “Russian Five” unit—Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov, Slava Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov—became one of the most famous line combinations in NHL history while playing for Detroit 35)
Tomas Holmström built a reputation as one of the league’s premier net-front screens, absorbing constant punishment while disrupting opposing goalies on Detroit’s potent power plays 36)
The Red Wings hold their main training camp in Traverse City, Michigan, helping popularize the nickname “Hockeytown North” for the area 37)
Joe Louis Arena, home of the Red Wings for nearly four decades, was built in 1979 at a cost of about $34 million 38)
After the Red Wings left Olympia Stadium, the historic building sat mostly inactive until it was demolished in the mid-1980s 39)
During Detroit’s 2008 Stanley Cup run, some local seafood sellers reportedly required photo ID from customers buying octopus because of the throwing tradition at playoff games 40)
A 2022 feature highlighting 25 unforgettable Red Wings facts underscores how arena moves, iconic players, and cultural traditions all shaped the franchise’s identity 41)
Modern retrospectives regularly rank Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidström among the top Red Wings of all time, emphasizing different eras of team greatness 42)
Some historical accounts and fan discussions note that Detroit once came close to trading Steve Yzerman early in his career before he became a franchise icon 43)
The Red Wings’ rich history is prominent enough to feature repeatedly in specialized trivia collections, including Hockey Hall of Fame–themed quiz books 44)