# 1927–28 Detroit Cougars season

The 1927–28 Detroit Cougars season was the second season of the Detroit, Michigan National Hockey League (NHL) franchise later known as the Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Cougars scored 44 points, finishing fourth in the American Division and failing to make the playoffs in their sophomore year.
The Cougars finally moved into what would be their home for the next fifty years, Detroit's Olympia Stadium. Their also received a new coach and general manager in Jack Adams. Adams made an immediate impact, picking up Reg Noble and quickly naming him Captain. Detroit performed much better to start off the season and only finished two points out of a playoff spot.

## Regular season
### Season standings

American Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 77 | 70 | 558 | 51 |
| New York Rangers | 44 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 94 | 79 | 462 | 47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 44 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 67 | 76 | 395 | 46 |
| Detroit Cougars | 44 | 19 | 19 | 6 | 88 | 79 | 395 | 44 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 7 | 34 | 3 | 68 | 134 | 375 | 17 |
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results
### November

Record: 2–2–1; Home: 1–1–0; Road: 1–1–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Record | Pts |
| 1 | November 15 | Detroit | 6–0 | Pittsburgh | | 1–0–0 | 2 |
| 2 | November 19 | Detroit | 2–5 | Boston | | 1–1–0 | 2 |
| 3 | November 22 | Ottawa | 2–1 | Detroit | | 1–2–0 | 2 |
| 4 | November 26 | Detroit | 0–0 | Chicago | OT | 1–2–1 | 3 |
| 5 | November 27 | Mtl. Canadiens | 0–2 | Detroit | | 2–2–1 | 5 |

### December

Record: 6–4–2; Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–2–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Record | Pts |
| 6 | December 1 | Chicago | 1–3 | Detroit | | 3–2–1 | 7 |
| 7 | December 4 | NY Rangers | 3–1 | Detroit | | 3–3–1 | 7 |
| 8 | December 8 | NY Americans | 1–2 | Detroit | | 4–3–1 | 9 |
| 9 | December 10 | Detroit | 4–1 | Mtl. Maroons | | 5–3–1 | 11 |
| 10 | December 11 | Boston | 2–1 | Detroit | OT | 5–4–1 | 11 |
| 11 | December 13 | Detroit | 1–6 | Mtl. Canadiens | | 5–5–1 | 11 |
| 12 | December 15 | Detroit | 2–1 | NY Rangers | | 6–5–1 | 13 |
| 13 | December 17 | Detroit | 1–0 | Toronto | OT | 7–5–1 | 15 |
| 14 | December 18 | Pittsburgh | 3–3 | Detroit | OT | 7–5–2 | 16 |
| 15 | December 27 | Detroit | 4–4 | NY Americans | OT | 7–5–3 | 17 |
| 16 | December 29 | Mtl. Maroons | 0–3 | Detroit | | 8–5–3 | 19 |
| 17 | December 31 | Detroit | 2–6 | Ottawa | | 8–6–3 | 19 |

### January

Record: 4–5–0; Home: 2–3–0; Road: 2–2–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Record | Pts |
| 18 | January 3 | Detroit | 4–2 | NY Rangers | | 9–6–3 | 21 |
| 19 | January 5 | Mtl. Canadiens | 2–1 | Detroit | | 9–7–3 | 21 |
| 20 | January 7 | Detroit | 2–0 | Pittsburgh | | 10–7–3 | 23 |
| 21 | January 12 | Toronto | 2–1 | Detroit | | 10–8–3 | 23 |
| 22 | January 15 | NY Rangers | 2–1 | Detroit | | 10–9–3 | 23 |
| 23 | January 18 | Detroit | 0–2 | Chicago | | 10–10–3 | 23 |
| 24 | January 22 | Boston | 2–3 | Detroit | OT | 11–10–3 | 25 |
| 25 | January 26 | Detroit | 0–3 | NY Rangers | | 11–11–3 | 25 |
| 26 | January 29 | Chicago | 2–4 | Detroit | | 12–11–3 | 27 |

### February

Record: 1–4–3; Home: 0–2–2; Road: 1–2–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Record | Pts |
| 27 | February 4 | Detroit | 0–2 | Toronto | | 12–12–3 | 27 |
| 28 | February 7 | Detroit | 2–4 | Boston | | 12–13–3 | 27 |
| 29 | February 9 | Detroit | 2–2 | NY Americans | OT | 12–13–4 | 28 |
| 30 | February 12 | Pittsburgh | 1–0 | Detroit | | 12–14–4 | 28 |
| 31 | February 16 | Detroit | 1–0 | Mtl. Maroons | | 13–14–4 | 30 |
| 32 | February 19 | Chicago | 2–1 | Detroit | | 13–15–4 | 30 |
| 33 | February 23 | Ottawa | 0–0 | Detroit | OT | 13–15–5 | 31 |
| 34 | February 26 | NY Rangers | 0–0 | Detroit | OT | 13–15–6 | 32 |

### March

Record: 6–4–0; Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–2–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Record | Pts |
| 35 | March 1 | NY Americans | 1–4 | Detroit | | 14–15–6 | 34 |
| 36 | March 3 | Detroit | 3–2 | Pittsburgh | | 15–15–6 | 36 |
| 37 | March 6 | Toronto | 1–3 | Detroit | | 16–15–6 | 38 |
| 38 | March 8 | Mtl. Maroons | 2–3 | Detroit | OT | 16–16–6 | 38 |
| 39 | March 10 | Detroit | 1–3 | Ottawa | | 16–17–6 | 38 |
| 40 | March 13 | Detroit | 0–3 | Boston | | 16–18–6 | 38 |
| 41 | March 15 | Detroit | 1–0 | Mtl. Canadiens | | 17–18–6 | 40 |
| 42 | March 17 | Detroit | 7–0 | Chicago | | 18–18–6 | 42 |
| 43 | March 18 | Pittsburgh | 0–1 | Detroit | | 18–19–6 | 42 |
| 44 | March 24 | Boston | 2–7 | Detroit | | 19–19–6 | 44 |
* Green background indicates win.
* Red background indicates regulation loss.
* Yellow background indicates tie.

## Player stats
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| George Hay | LW | 42 | 22 | 13 | 35 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – |
| John Sheppard | F | 43 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 40 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Carson Cooper | RW | 44 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 32 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Larry Aurie | RW | 44 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 43 | – | -- | – | – | – |
| Reg Noble | F | 44 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 63 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Frank Foyston | C | 24 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jack Walker | F | 39 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gord Fraser* | D | 30 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 50 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Percy Traub | D | 44 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 78 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pete Palangio | LW | 13 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Clem Loughlin | D | 42 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Stan Brown | D | 24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Frank Sheppard | F | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gordon "Duke" Keats* | C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – |
*Stats reflect games played with Detroit only.

### Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Hap Holmes | 44 | 2740 | 19 | 19 | 6 | 79 | 11 | 1.73 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |

## Transactions

The Cougars were involved in the following transactions during the 1926–27 season.

### Trades

| April 11, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars George Hay Percy Traub | To Chicago Black Hawks US$15,000 |
| May 22, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars Carson Cooper | To Boston Bruins Cash |
| May 22, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars Harry Meeking | To Boston Bruins Fred Gordon |
| October 4, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars Reg Noble | To Montreal Maroons 7,500 USD |
| October 10, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars Stan Brown | To New York Rangers Archie Briden Harry Meeking |
| December 16, 1927 | To Detroit Cougars Gord Fraser | To Chicago Black Hawks Gordon "Duke" Keats 5,000 USD |
| February 13, 1928 | To Detroit Cougars Pete Palangio Cash | To Montreal Canadiens Stan Brown |

### Free agents

| Player signed | Former team |
| F Frank Sheppard | Detroit Greyhounds (AHA) |
| RW Larry Aurie | London Panthers (Can-pro) |