# 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings season was the 72nd National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The highlight of the Red Wings' season was winning the Stanley Cup for a second season in a row.

## Regular season
### Sergei Fedorov's holdout

After a lengthy holdout to start the 1997–98 season, Sergei Fedorov, a restricted free-agent, signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes worth up to $38 million (with bonuses). The Red Wings matched the offer on February 26, 1998, ending Fedorov's holdout. The offer broke down as: $14 million for signing, $2 million for 21 regular season games and $12 million for the team reaching conference finals. $28 million for 43 total games in 1997–98 is the largest single season amount paid to an NHL athlete. Fedorov helped the Red Wings win their second consecutive Stanley Cup that year.

### Season standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 4 | 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 5 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 6 | 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Playoffs
### Stanley Cup Finals

The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals were played in the 105th year of the Stanley Cup. The series was played between the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. The Red Wings were led by captain Steve Yzerman, Head Coach Scotty Bowman and goaltender Chris Osgood. The Capitals were led by captain Dale Hunter, head coach Ron Wilson and goaltender Olaf Kolzig. The Red Wings swept the Capitals to capture their second consecutive Stanley Cup. During the presentation of the Stanley Cup, Vladimir Konstantinov was wheeled onto the ice in his wheelchair and captain Steve Yzerman gave him the cup while his teammates surrounded him.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1997–98 regular season :
October: 10–2–2 (home: 4–2–2; road: 6–0–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
1October 1Detroit3–1CalgaryOsgood1–0–02Recap
2October 3Detroit8–2EdmontonOsgood2–0–04Recap
3October 8Dallas1–3DetroitOsgood3–0–06Recap
4October 10Tampa Bay0–3DetroitOsgood4–0–08Recap
5October 12Calgary4–4DetroitOTOsgood4–0–19Recap
6October 14Detroit3–2TorontoOsgood5–0–111Recap
7October 15Toronto4–3DetroitOsgood5–1–111Recap
8October 18Carolina2–4DetroitOsgood6–1–113Recap
9October 20St. Louis3–3DetroitOTOsgood6–1–214Recap
10October 22Detroit4–1AnaheimOsgood7–1–216Recap
11October 23Detroit4–1Los AngelesHodson8–1–218Recap
12October 26Detroit5–1VancouverOsgood9–1–220Recap
13October 29San Jose3–4DetroitOsgood10–1–222Recap
14October 31Los Angeles5–1DetroitHodson10–2–222Recap :
November: 7–4–2 (home: 5–2–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
15November 2Anaheim3–4DetroitOsgood11–2–224Recap
16November 5Detroit1–3CarolinaOsgood11–3–224Recap
17November 7Pittsburgh1–1DetroitOTOsgood11–3–325Recap
18November 9Calgary3–6DetroitOsgood12–3–327Recap
19November 11Colorado2–0DetroitOsgood12–4–327Recap
20November 13Detroit4–2OttawaHodson13–4–329Recap
21November 15Detroit2–5St. LouisOsgood13–5–329Recap
22November 16Detroit3–3ChicagoOTHodson13–5–430Recap
23November 19NY Islanders3–2DetroitOsgood13–6–430Recap
24November 21Dallas2–4DetroitOsgood14–6–432Recap
25November 22Detroit5–2MontrealOsgood15–6–434Recap
26November 26Ottawa1–4DetroitHodson16–6–436Recap
27November 28Montreal0–2DetroitOsgood17–6–438Recap :
December: 8–3–4 (home: 4–1–1; road: 4–2–3)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
28December 1Detroit3–3VancouverOTOsgood17–6–539Recap
29December 3Detroit4–3CalgaryOsgood18–6–541Recap
30December 5Detroit1–3EdmontonOsgood18–7–541Recap
31December 9Vancouver5–7DetroitHodson19–7–543Recap
32December 12Edmonton3–2DetroitOsgood19–8–543Recap
33December 14Detroit3–3PhoenixOTOsgood19–8–644Recap
34December 16Detroit1–5San JoseHodson19–9–644Recap
35December 17Detroit2–2ColoradoOTOsgood19–9–745Recap
36December 19New Jersey4–5DetroitOsgood20–9–747Recap
37December 22Detroit4–2BostonOsgood21–9–749Recap
38December 23Detroit3–1BuffaloOsgood22–9–751Recap
39December 26Toronto1–4DetroitOsgood23–9–753Recap
40December 27Detroit8–1TorontoOsgood24–9–755Recap
41December 29Dallas2–2DetroitOTOsgood24–9–856Recap
42December 31St. Louis2–5DetroitOsgood25–9–858Recap :
January: 4–5–3 (home: 4–2–1; road: 0–3–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
43January 2San Jose4–1DetroitOsgood25–10–858Recap
44January 4Detroit1–3ChicagoOsgood25–11–858Recap
45January 6Phoenix0–2DetroitHodson26–11–860Recap
46January 9Detroit3–3DallasOTOsgood26–11–961Recap
47January 11Washington0–2DetroitOsgood27–11–963Recap
48January 12Detroit1–1NY IslandersOTHodson27–11–1064Recap
49January 14Vancouver0–4DetroitOsgood28–11–1066Recap
50January 20Detroit1–3New JersreyOsgood28–12–1066Recap
51January 21Toronto3–0DetroitOsgood28–13–1066Recap
52January 24Philadelphia0–1DetroitOsgood29–13–1068Recap
53January 28Phoenix4–4DetroitOTOsgood29–13–1169Recap
54January 31Detroit2–4PittsburghOsgood29–14–1169Recap :
February: 3–1–2 (home: 1–0–1; road: 2–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
55February 1Detroit4–2WashingtonHodson30–14–1171Recap
56February 3Detroit1–1FloridaOTOsgood30–14–1272Recap
57February 5Detroit5–4Tampa BayOsgood31–14–1274Recap
58February 7Detroit1–4St. LouisOsgood31–15–1274Recap
59February 25Los Angeles1–1DetroitOTOsgood31–15–1375Recap
60February 27Florida1–3DetroitOsgood32–15–1377Recap :
March: 7–5–2 (home: 3–1–2; road: 4–4–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
61March 2Detroit3–1PhoenixOsgood33–15–1379Recap
62March 4Detroit2–0AnaheimHodson34–15–1381Recap
63March 5Detroit4–5San JoseOsgood34–16–1381Recap
64March 7Detroit1–2Los AngelesOsgood34–17–1381Recap
65March 10Boston6–3DetroitOsgood34–18–1381Recap
66March 12Chicago0–3DetroitOsgood35–18–1383Recap
67March 14Detroit1–6PhiladelphiaOsgood35–19–1383Recap
68March 17Edmonton3–4DetroitMaracle36–19–1385Recap
69March 18Detroit5–2TorontoMaracle37–19–1387Recap
70March 21Detroit4–3NY RangersHodson38–19–1389Recap
71March 23Chicago5–5DetroitOTMaracle38–19–1490Recap
72March 26Anaheim3–3DetroitOTHodson38–19–1591Recap
73March 28Detroit2–3St. LouisOsgood38–20–1591Recap
74March 29Buffalo2–4DetroitOsgood39–20–1593Recap :
April: 5–3–0 (home: 4–0–0; road: 1–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionRecordPointsRecap
75April 1Colorado0–2DetroitOsgood40–20–1595Recap
76April 4Detroit3–2ChicagoOsgood41–20–1597Recap
77April 7St. Louis3–5DetroitOsgood42–20–1599Recap
78April 9Phoenix1–5DetroitOsgood43–20–15101Recap
79April 11NY Rangers2–5DetroitOsgood44–20–15103Recap
80April 14Detroit1–2PhoenixOsgood44–21–15103Recap
81April 15Detroit1–3DallasOsgood44–22–15103Recap
82April 18Detroit3–4ColoradoHodson44–23–15103Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (6) Phoenix Coyotes: Detroit won 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionSeriesRecap
1April 22Phoenix3–6DetroitOsgood1–0Recap
2April 24Phoenix7–4DetroitOsgood1–1Recap
3April 26Detroit2–3PhoenixOsgood1–2Recap
4April 28Detroit4–2PhoenixOsgood2–2Recap
5April 30Phoenix1–3DetroitOsgood3–2Recap
6May 3Detroit5–2PhoenixOsgood4–2Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (4) St. Louis Blues: Detroit won 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionSeriesRecap
1May 8St. Louis4–2DetroitOsgood0–1Recap
2May 10St. Louis1–6DetroitOsgood1–1Recap
3May 12Detroit3–2St. Louis2OTOsgood2–1Recap
4May 14Detroit5–2St. LouisOsgood3–1Recap
5May 17St. Louis3–1DetroitOsgood3–2Recap
6May 19Detroit6–1St. LouisOsgood4–2Recap :
Western Conference Finals vs. (1) Dallas Stars: Detroit won 4–2
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionSeriesRecap
1May 24Detroit2–0DallasOsgood1–0Recap
2May 26Detroit1–3DallasOsgood1–1Recap
3May 29Dallas3–5DetroitOsgood2–1Recap
4May 31Dallas2–3DetroitOsgood3–1Recap
5June 3Detroit2–3DallasOTOsgood3–2Recap
6June 5Dallas0–2DetroitOsgood4–2Recap :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (E4) Washington Capitals: Detroit won 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionSeriesRecap
1June 9Washington1–2DetroitOsgood1–0Recap
2June 11Washington4–5DetroitOTOsgood2–0Recap
3June 13Detroit2–1WashingtonOsgood3–0Recap
4June 16Detroit4–1WashingtonOsgood4–0Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 19 | Steve Yzerman | C | 75 | 24 | 45 | 69 | 3 | 46 | 22 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 10 | 22 |
| 5 | Nicklas Lidstrom | D | 80 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 8 |
| 14 | Brendan Shanahan | LW | 75 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 6 | 154 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 22 |
| 13 | Vyacheslav Kozlov | LW | 80 | 25 | 27 | 52 | 14 | 46 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| 55 | Larry Murphy | D | 82 | 11 | 41 | 52 | 35 | 37 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | Igor Larionov | C | 69 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 14 | 40 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 12 |
| 17 | Doug Brown | C | 80 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −1 | 0 |
| 25 | Darren McCarty | RW | 71 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 0 | 157 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 34 |
| 20 | Martin Lapointe | RW | 79 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 0 | 106 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 20 |
| 41 | Brent Gilchrist | LW | 61 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 4 | 40 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| 18 | Kirk Maltby | LW | 65 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 11 | 89 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 30 |
| 33 | Kris Draper | C | 64 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 96 | Tomas Holmstrom | LW | 57 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 6 | 44 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 9 | 16 |
| 44 | Anders Eriksson | D | 66 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 21 | 32 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 16 |
| 91 | Sergei Fedorov | RW | 21 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 25 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Mathieu Dandenault | RW | 68 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 43 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 2 | Viacheslav Fetisov | D | 58 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 72 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 22 | Mike Knuble | RW | 53 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Bob Rouse | D | 71 | 1 | 11 | 12 | −9 | 57 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| 26 | Joey Kocur | RW | 63 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 92 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −3 | 30 |
| 27 | Aaron Ward | D | 52 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −1 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Dmitri Mironov† | D | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | Jamie Pushor‡ | D | 54 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Yan Golubovsky | D | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Kevin Hodson | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 21 | Darryl Laplante | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Jamie Macoun† | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 18 |
| 34 | Norm Maracle | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Chris Osgood | G | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 31 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | 12 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 30 | Chris Osgood | 64 | 64 | 33 | 20 | 11 | 1,605 | 140 | 2.21 | .913 | 6 | 3,806:39 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 588 | 48 | 2.12 | .918 | 2 | 1,361:04 |
| 31 | Kevin Hodson | 21 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 444 | 44 | 2.67 | .901 | 2 | 987:49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0 | 0:16 |
| 34 | Norm Maracle | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 6 | 2.02 | .905 | 0 | 178:15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

Nicklas Lidstrom was a runner-up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.
| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Conn Smythe Trophy | Steve Yzerman |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Nicklas Lidstrom (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Viacheslav Fetisov |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Igor Larionov |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nicklas Lidstrom |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brendan Shanahan |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Yan Golubovsky | December 12, 1997 |
| First game | Darryl Laplante | January 6, 1998 |
| First game | Norm Maracle | March 14, 1998 |

## Transactions

The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 1997-98 season.

## Draft picks

Below are the Detroit Red Wings' selections at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 21, 1997 at Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 2 | 49 | Yuri Butsayev | LW | Russia | Lada Togliatti (Russia) |
| 3 | 76 | Petr Sykora | C | Czech Republic | HC Pardubice (Czech Republic) |
| 4 | 102 | Quintin Laing | LW | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| 5 | 129 | John Wikstrom | D | Sweden | Lulea HF (Sweden) |
| 6 | 157 | B. J. Young | RW | United States | Red Deer Rebels (WHL) |
| 7 | 186 | Mike Laceby | C | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 8 | 213 | Steve Wilejto | C | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 9 | 239 | Greg Willers | D | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |

### Notes

* The Red Wings first-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers) as the result of a trade on October 9, 1996 that sent Brendan Shanahan and Brian Glynn to Detroit in exchange for Paul Coffey, Keith Primeau and this pick (22nd overall).