The 2012–13 Detroit Red Wings season was the 87th season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. This was the first time since the 1990–91 season that the Red Wings did not have

Nicklas Lidstrom Nicklas is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include the following: Given name Sports Football *Nicklas Bärkroth (born 1992), Swedish footballer * Nicklas Bergh (born 1982), Swedish footballer * Nicklas Carlsson (born 1979), S ...

on their roster although the Red Wings drafted Lidstrom in the

1989 NHL entry draft The 1989 NHL entry draft was the 27th NHL entry draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the p ...

but Lidstrom didn't made his Red Wings debut until the 1991–92 season, Lidstrom retired during the 2012 offseason.

Henrik Zetterberg Henrik Zetterberg (; born 9 October 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played his entire National Hockey League career, from 2002 to 2018, with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Bursting onto the ...

was appointed as team captain. As of 2025, this is the most recent season that the Red Wings won a playoff series.

Off-season

On May 31, 2012, defenseman

announced his retirement from the NHL after 20 seasons.Lidstrom retires after 20 seasons
/ref> Lidstrom won four Stanley Cups and seven Norris Trophies during his Hall of Fame career, all with the Red Wings.

Regular season

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

;Skaters ;Goaltenders ;Goaltenders ^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Awards

Records

24 consecutive home wins

Milestones

Transactions

The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2012–13 season.

Trades

Free agents signed

Free agents lost

Lost via waivers

Lost via retirement

Player signings

Draft picks

The Detroit Red Wings' picks at the 2012 NHL entry draft, held in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

on June 22 & 23, 2012. ;Draft notes * The Red Wings' first-round pick went to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

as the result of a February 21, 2012, trade that sent

Kyle Quincey Kyle Quincey (born August 12, 1985) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Defenseman (ice hockey), defenseman. He most recently played for HIFK (ice hockey), HIFK of the Finland, Finnish Liiga. Quincey played in the National Ho ...

to the Red Wings in exchange for Sebastien Piche and this pick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Detroit Red Wings Season Detroit Red Wings seasons Detroit Red Wings season, 2012-13 Detroit Red Detroit Red