The 1996–97

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

season was the 71st

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The highlight of the Red Wings season was winning the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, their first since

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Off-season

On July 23, 1996, Detroit Red Wings President

Bill Evo Bill Evo (born February 21, 1954) is an American lawyer and a former professional ice hockey player and executive. Hockey career Evo played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes from 1971 to 1974. He was s ...

resigned his position after serving just ten months at the team's helm. The Nickname "Hockeytown" was coined to launch the start of a five-year marketing campaign.

Regular season

The "HOCKEYTOWN" logo, a Red Wings logo overlapped with the term "HOCKEYTOWN," was shown over center ice starting this season and was still there . A season highlight was

Sergei Fedorov Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). During his playing career, for which he is best known fo ...

's five-goal performance on December 26, 1996, in a game against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. The Red Wings won 5–4 in overtime. Fedorov's fifth goal of the game came at 2:39 of the overtime period. On February 8, 1997, coach Scotty Bowman achieved his 1000th victory as an NHL head coach against his previous team, the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. On March 26, 1997, the

Red Wings–Avalanche brawl Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

continued to fuel the rivalry between the teams. Detroit won that game 6–5 in overtime.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

The Red Wings won the

1997 Stanley Cup Finals The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1996–97 season, and the culmination of the 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hocke ...

, their first

since the

1954–55 NHL season The 1954–55 NHL season was the 38th season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to three in the best-of-seven final series. The Canadiens were w ...

. Six days after winning the Stanley Cup, tragedy struck when defenseman

Vladimir Konstantinov Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov (russian: Владимир Николаевич Константинов; born March 19, 1967) is a Russians, Russian-Americans, American former professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hocke ...

, defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov, and massage therapist Sergei Mnatsakanov were involved in a limousine accident. The driver, who later said he fell asleep, had a suspended license for previous drunk driving convictions.

Player statistics

All statistics were compiled while playing for the Red Wings.

Skaters

Goaltending

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only. Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes;
GS = Games started; TOI = Time on ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Signings

Waivers

Retirement

Draft picks

Detroit's picks at the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

.1996 NHL Entry Draft Result
hockeydb.com
/ref> ;Notes # The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on April 4, 1995 that sent

Mike Sillinger Michael John Sillinger (born June 29, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 17 seasons. Sillinger played for twelve different teams and was traded nine times during his NHL c ...

and

Jason York Jason Andrew York (born May 20, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) and current broadcaster. A defenceman, he played for the Detroit Red Wings, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ottawa Senators, N ...

to Anaheim in exchange for

Stu Grimson Stuart Grimson (born May 20, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Grimson played in the National Hockey League from 1989 to 2002. During this time, he played for the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Mighty Ducks of Anahe ...

Mark Ferner Mark E. Ferner (born September 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Ferner was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. Selected 194th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, Ferner also played for the Washin ...

and this pick. * The Red Wings third-round pick went to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent David Shaw to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick (80th overall). ::Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 17, 1995 that sent

Marc Bergevin Marc Bergevin (born August 11, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is currently senior advisor to the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. Bergevin played as a defenceman in the NHL. Playing career As ...

and

Ben Hankinson Benjamin John Hankinson (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger. Playing career Hankinson played 43 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning between 1993 and 199 ...

to Detroit in exchange for

Shawn Burr Shawn Christopher Burr (July 1, 1966 – August 5, 2013) was a professional ice hockey left winger. Burr played in the NHL for parts of 16 seasons from 1985 to 2000. Playing career Burr was drafted in the first round (seventh overall) by the De ...

and this pick.

References

Red Wings on Hockey Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Season Stanley Cup championship seasons D D Detroit Red Wings seasons Western Conference (NHL) championship seasons

1997 Stanley Cup