The Detroit Red Wings are one of the most iconic and recognizable sports teams all around the world. Founded in 1926, the team is one of the Original Six in the National Hockey League.
It’s impossible to break down 100 years of history for America’s premier hockey team, but we’re going to try our best.
Now that the team is turning 100, it’s celebrating its centennial season during 2025-26. Here’s everything you need to know about the team’s history and centennial celebrations.
How the team got started
The Detroit Red Wings date back to the 1920s, when the Victoria Cougars, from British Columbia and part of the Western Hockey League, were sold to Detroit on Sept. 25, 1926. According to the team, the Detroit group was awarded an NHL franchise earlier this year.
Eventually, head coach and general manager Jack Adams changed the team’s name to the Detroit Falcons in 1930, but the team still had financial problems. Shipping magnate James Norris Sr. purchased the team in 1932.
It was Norris and Adams who changed the team’s name to the Red Wings and their logo to the now-famous Winged Wheel, as Norris once played for the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association’s Winged Wheelers.
Legendary Players
The Detroit Red Wings have retired eight jersey numbers in the team’s history, and will retire their ninth in January 2026 when Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91 goes into the rafters.
The team said that throughout its 100-year history, there have been dozens of Hall of Famers who have donned the Winged Wheel, making the team one of the most-decorated in NHL history.
In fact, the 2001-2002 Detroit Red Wings team may have been one of the most dominant in hockey history. It had 10 future Hall-of-Fame players, plus Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, and two executives in the Hall of Fame, Jim Devellano.
In 2017, the NHL released its list of the 100 Greatest Players in NHL History for the league’s centennial season. Of those 100, 28 played for the Red Wings at one point, and the 13 below are best-known for their time with the Wings.
Sid Abel, Chris Chelios, Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Delvecchio, Sergei Fedorov, Dominik Hasek, Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, Nicklas Lidstrom, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman
Stanley Cup Championships
Many see the Stanley Cup as the best trophy in all of sports, and the Detroit Red Wings have been engraved on the cup 11 times – the third most in all of hockey, behind only the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. They won the cup in 1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.
Detroit has also appeared in the finals another 13 times, but lost the Stanley Cup.
The 1950s Stanley Cup teams were among the best in history with Gordie Howe, Red Kelly and Terry Sawchuk.
However, it was a long period of Stanley Cup drought between 1955 and 1997, which included a period of what was known as the “Dead Wings” era from the late 1960s to early 1980s, when future captain and GM Yzerman was drafted in 1983. Along with the addition of the Russian 5 and several other superstars, Detroit went on to win back-to-back cups in 1997 and 1998, 2002 and then again in 2008. Detroit was also in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995 and 2009, losing to the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively.
Stadiums
While the team has been around for 100 years, there have only been four stadiums for the team. It started with the Detroit Cougars, who played their first game on Nov. 18, 1926, at Border Cities Arena in Windsor, Ontario.
The team’s next arena, Olympia Stadium, opened at the corner of Grand River and McGraw Ave. on the city’s west side on Oct. 15, 1927, according to Historic Detroit. The Cougars/Red Wings played in the arena until the team moved to Joe Louis Arena in 1979.
Detroit was in that arena until its final game in April 2017, when it moved to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, where the team still plays today.
Centennial Logo and Uniform
In June, the team officially unveiled its centennial logo, with praise coming from around the hockey world, many calling it the best logo celebrating a team’s centennial in hockey.
According to the Red Wings, the centennial uniform honors the iconic Winged Wheel and includes iconic pieces of the team’s past.
It features the first chain-stitched Winged Wheel that was used from 1932-1948; the striping along the sleeves, hem and socks comes from the Detroit Falcons uniforms in 1930-1932; the “Cougar D” logo from 1927-28 is used as a secondary mark on the front leg, and the number font is inspired by the Cougars’ “Barber Pole” uniforms from 1927-28; there are patches designed to match the leather hue of the gloves, in honor of the traditional leather used in the old days, and the centennial logo patch is on the shoulder. The helmet even includes a vintage Meijer logo, used from 1957 to 1966.
The team will wear the centennial jerseys at more than a dozen home games during the 2025-26 season.
Those games are:
• Oct. 9 & 11
• Nov. 7, 9 & 26
• Dec. 2, 21 & 28
• Jan. 31
• March 6, 19, 21 & 28
• April 11
Centennial Celebrations
The team also has several special ticket packages for games with unique Detroit Red Wings apparel.
• On Friday, Nov. 7, against the New York Rangers, there is a “Dynasty” ticket package that includes a ticket and a special Detroit Red Wings sweater.
• Sunday, Dec. 21, against the Washington Capitals, fans can get a special “Iconic Moments package that includes a ticket and a Red Wings centennial Carhartt beanie.
• Saturday, Jan. 31, against the Colorado Avalanche, celebrates “Dominance” and includes a special quarter-zip.
• Friday, March 6, against the Florida Panthers, is the “Next Flight” celebration and has a sweatshirt with current-day players and the team’s centennial logo.
• Saturday, April 11, against the New Jersey Devils, is the “People of Hockeytown” celebration, where fans can get a hat with the centennial logo and “Hockeytown” across the front.
2025-26 Detroit Red Wings team
The 2025-26 Detroit Red Wings are led by Yzerman, who is the general manager; head coach Todd McLellan and captain Dylan Larkin.
Larkin is a metro Detroit native and was named the 37th captain in franchise history in 2021. The Red Wings are also looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and the team has the second-longest playoff drought in the NHL.
The Red Wings have a mix of veterans and young players on the team. They include Patrick Kane, who is among the best American hockey players in history, and two young stars – Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, who recently got new contracts.
Hockeytown Centennial FanFest
The Red Wings will host a four-day fan festival in November that will bring together some of the biggest names in team history.
That four-day festival is called the Hockeytown Centennial FanFest, and it will take place Thursday, Nov. 6, through Sunday, Nov. 9, at MotorCity Casino Hotel.
During the FanFest, people can get autographs from more than 50 Red Wings alumni, do Q&A and games with team historians and broadcasters, look at 100 years of team history with a pop-up museum, see a replica of the Stanley Cup, and so much more.
Alumni scheduled for autographs include Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov, Justin Abdelkader, Larry Murphy, Joe Kocur, Tomas Holmstrom, and the entire 2025-26 Detroit Red Wings team.
There will also be two watch parties – on Friday and on Sunday – where fans can gather and take in the Red Wings games with fellow fans.
Also on Saturday, Nov. 8, there will be a celebration called “100 Years of Hocketyown: A Night at the Fox Theatre,” taking place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the historic theatre in Downtown Detroit. Tickets start at $50 and will include a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the Detroit Red Wings with several different panels.
The night will be hosted by Red Wings’ broadcasters Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond. There will be five different panels. They are:
• 25 Years of Greatness: Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Chris Osgood, Ken Holland
• The Russian 5: Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Barry Smith, Dave Lewis
• Goalies of Hockeytown: Chris Osgood, Mike Vernon, Jimmy Howard, Eddie Mio, Greg Stefan
• Stories with Stanley: Kirk Maltby, Niklas Kronwall, Tomas Holmstrom, Chris Chelios, Daniel Cleary
• Fight Night at The Joe: Brendan Shanahan, Darren McCarty, Mike Vernon, Nicklas Lidstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov
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