Episodes

  • Sergei Fedorov's Defection, Jul. 22, 1990 - This Day in Red Wings History

    Sergei Fedorov's Defection, Jul. 22, 1990 - This Day in Red Wings History
    Jul 22 2026
    On the night of July 22, 1990, in Portland, Oregon, the Detroit Red Wings pulled off the boldest move in franchise history -- not a trade or a signing, but an escape. A year earlier they'd spent a fourth-round pick, 74th overall, on Sergei Fedorov, a jewel of the Soviet Red Army team they had no legal way to sign. Executives Jim Lites and Nick Polano, with Free Press newsman Keith Gave, spent nearly a year planning to get him out. When the Soviet team came to Portland for the Goodwill Games, the window opened -- and owner Mike Ilitch's private jet carried Fedorov to Detroit. He became the 1994 NHL MVP, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, and the first thread of a Russian wave that reshaped the team.
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    4 mins
  • Scotty Bowman & Ken Holland, Jul. 18, 1997 - This Day in Red Wings History

    Scotty Bowman & Ken Holland, Jul. 18, 1997 - This Day in Red Wings History
    Jul 18 2026
    On July 18, 1997 -- barely six weeks after the Detroit Red Wings swept the Philadelphia Flyers to win their first Stanley Cup since 1955, ending a 42-year drought -- Detroit made two moves on the same day that turned one championship into a dynasty. They signed head coach Scotty Bowman to a two-year extension and promoted Ken Holland from assistant GM to general manager. Bowman won two more Cups behind the Detroit bench; Holland's front office won three, added four Presidents' Trophies, and ran a 25-season playoff streak.
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    3 mins
  • Jul. 15: The Winningest Coach

    Jul. 15: The Winningest Coach
    Jul 15 2026
    The day the Red Wings hired Mike Babcock — and set off the winningest coaching run in franchise history.
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    3 mins
  • Jul. 11: The Forgotten Record

    Jul. 11: The Forgotten Record
    Jul 11 2026
    Eddie Bush played 26 NHL games — and set a defenseman scoring record in a Stanley Cup Final that still stands.
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    4 mins
  • Jul. 10: The Old Red Barn

    Jul. 10: The Old Red Barn
    Jul 11 2026
    The morning they tore down the Detroit Olympia — the house that Gordie Howe built.
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    4 mins
  • This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 6: The Backup Who Never Left

    This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 6: The Backup Who Never Left
    Jul 6 2026
    Ken Holland signed with Detroit as a backup goalie on July 6th, nineteen eighty-three. He played three NHL games total. Then he stayed — and built four Stanley Cup dynasties.
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    3 mins
  • This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 5: The Bruiser's Last Birthday

    This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 5: The Bruiser's Last Birthday
    Jul 5 2026
    Bob Probert was born on July 5th, nineteen sixty-five. He died on July 5th, two thousand ten — his 45th birthday, on a boat on Lake Saint Clair. The man who protected Steve Yzerman for a decade never got to see sixty.
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    3 mins
  • This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 4: The Summer They Held Their Breath

    This Day in Red Wings History — Jul. 4: The Summer They Held Their Breath
    Jul 4 2026
    July 4th, nineteen ninety-seven. Detroit had won the Cup 27 days earlier. Vladimir Konstantinov was in a hospital, 21 days after the limousine accident. The city was holding two feelings at once — and had no idea how to let either one go.
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    3 mins