# 1952–53 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1952–53 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 27th season.

## Regular season
### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 36 | 16 | 18 | 222 | 133 | +89 | 90 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 28 | 23 | 19 | 155 | 148 | +7 | 75 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 152 | 172 | −20 | 69 |
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 27 | 28 | 15 | 169 | 175 | −6 | 69 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 27 | 30 | 13 | 156 | 167 | −11 | 67 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 70 | 17 | 37 | 16 | 152 | 211 | −59 | 50 |

### Record vs. opponents

1952–53 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 4–5–5 | 2–10–2 | 9–2–3 | 5–7–2 | 8–5–1 |
| Chicago | 5–4–5 | — | 3–9–2 | 3–7–4 | 10–3–1 | 6–6–2 |
| Detroit | 10–2–2 | 9–3–2 | — | 4–4–6 | 7–3–4 | 7–4–3 |
| Montreal | 2–9–3 | 7–3–4 | 4–4–6 | — | 7–2–5 | 7–5–2 |
| New York | 7–5–2 | 3–10–1 | 3–7–4 | 2–7–5 | — | 2–8–4 |
| Toronto | 5–8–1 | 6–6–2 | 4–7–3 | 5–7–2 | 8–2–4 | — |

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 9, 1952 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 11, 1952 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | T | October 12, 1952 | 4–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | T | October 14, 1952 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 1–1–2 |
| 5 | W | October 16, 1952 | 7–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 2–1–2 |
| 6 | W | October 19, 1952 | 6–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 3–1–2 |
| 8 | L | October 25, 1952 | 0–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | L | October 26, 1952 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 3–4–2 |
| 10 | W | October 30, 1952 | 4–1 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 4–4–2 |
| 11 | L | November 2, 1952 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 4–5–2 |
| 12 | L | November 6, 1952 | 0–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 4–6–2 |
| 13 | T | November 8, 1952 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 4–6–3 |
| 14 | W | November 9, 1952 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 5–6–3 |
| 15 | W | November 13, 1952 | 3–0 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 6–6–3 |
| 16 | W | November 16, 1952 | 5–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 7–6–3 |
| 17 | T | November 19, 1952 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 7–6–4 |
| 18 | W | November 22, 1952 | 10–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 8–6–4 |
| 19 | L | November 23, 1952 | 0–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 8–7–4 |
| 20 | T | November 27, 1952 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 8–7–5 |
| 21 | W | November 29, 1952 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 9–7–5 |
| 22 | W | November 30, 1952 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 10–7–5 |
| 23 | W | December 4, 1952 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 11–7–5 |
| 24 | W | December 6, 1952 | 2–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 12–7–5 |
| 25 | T | December 7, 1952 | 1–1 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 12–7–6 |
| 26 | W | December 11, 1952 | 10–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 13–7–6 |
| 27 | W | December 13, 1952 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 14–7–6 |
| 28 | T | December 14, 1952 | 0–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 14–7–7 |
| 29 | T | December 18, 1952 | 1–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 14–7–8 |
| 30 | T | December 20, 1952 | 1–1 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 14–7–9 |
| 31 | W | December 21, 1952 | 5–2 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 15–7–9 |
| 32 | T | December 25, 1952 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 15–7–10 |
| 33 | T | December 27, 1952 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 15–7–11 |
| 34 | W | December 28, 1952 | 7–1 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 16–7–11 |
| 35 | L | December 31, 1952 | 0–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 16–8–11 |
| 36 | W | January 4, 1953 | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 17–8–11 |
| 37 | W | January 8, 1953 | 4–0 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 18–8–11 |
| 38 | W | January 11, 1953 | 5–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 19–8–11 |
| 39 | L | January 14, 1953 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 19–9–11 |
| 40 | W | January 15, 1953 | 4–0 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 20–9–11 |
| 41 | T | January 17, 1953 | 1–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 20–9–12 |
| 42 | L | January 18, 1953 | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 20–10–12 |
| 43 | L | January 22, 1953 | 2–8 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 20–11–12 |
| 44 | L | January 24, 1953 | 0–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 20–12–12 |
| 45 | T | January 25, 1953 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 20–12–13 |
| 46 | W | January 29, 1953 | 5–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 21–12–13 |
| 47 | W | January 31, 1953 | 4–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 22–12–13 |
| 48 | W | February 1, 1953 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 23–12–13 |
| 49 | T | February 5, 1953 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 23–12–14 |
| 50 | W | February 7, 1953 | 3–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 24–12–14 |
| 51 | W | February 8, 1953 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 25–12–14 |
| 52 | T | February 11, 1953 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 25–12–15 |
| 53 | L | February 12, 1953 | 1–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 25–13–15 |
| 54 | W | February 15, 1953 | 4–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 26–13–15 |
| 55 | W | February 16, 1953 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 27–13–15 |
| 56 | L | February 18, 1953 | 0–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 27–14–15 |
| 57 | W | February 19, 1953 | 4–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 28–14–15 |
| 58 | W | February 22, 1953 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 29–14–15 |
| 59 | W | February 28, 1953 | 4–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 30–14–15 |
| 60 | W | March 2, 1953 | 10–2 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 31–14–15 |
| 61 | W | March 5, 1953 | 7–1 | New York Rangers (1952–53) | 32–14–15 |
| 62 | W | March 7, 1953 | 3–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 33–14–15 |
| 63 | W | March 8, 1953 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) | 34–14–15 |
| 64 | W | March 11, 1953 | 2–0 | @ New York Rangers (1952–53) | 35–14–15 |
| 65 | T | March 12, 1953 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 35–14–16 |
| 66 | L | March 14, 1953 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 35–15–16 |
| 67 | T | March 15, 1953 | 0–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 35–15–17 |
| 68 | W | March 19, 1953 | 6–1 | Boston Bruins (1952–53) | 36–15–17 |
| 69 | L | March 21, 1953 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) | 36–16–17 |
| 70 | T | March 22, 1953 | 1–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1952–53) | 36–16–18 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 70 | 49 | 46 | 95 | 57 |
| Ted Lindsay | LW | 70 | 32 | 39 | 71 | 111 |
| Alex Delvecchio | C/LW | 70 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 28 |
| Metro Prystai | C | 70 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 12 |
| Red Kelly | D/C | 70 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 8 |
| Johnny Wilson | LW | 70 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 22 |
| Marty Pavelich | LW | 64 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 49 |
| Tony Leswick | W | 70 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 87 |
| Glen Skov | C/LW | 70 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 54 |
| Marcel Pronovost | D | 68 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 72 |
| Reg Sinclair | RW/C | 69 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 36 |
| Bob Goldham | D | 70 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 32 |
| Marcel Bonin | W | 37 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 |
| Benny Woit | RW/D | 70 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 |
| Jim Hay | D | 42 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Larry Wilson | C | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Lou Jankowski | C/RW | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Red Almas | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Folk | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Glenn Hall | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Sawchuk | G | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vic Stasiuk | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Zeidel | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Terry Sawchuk | 3780 | 63 | 32 | 15 | 16 | 120 | 1.90 | 9 |
| Glenn Hall | 360 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1.67 | 1 |
| Red Almas | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 36 | 16 | 18 | 133 | 1.90 | 10 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Ted Lindsay | LW | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Metro Prystai | C | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Johnny Wilson | LW | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Alex Delvecchio | C/LW | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Benny Woit | RW/D | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Red Kelly | D/C | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Marty Pavelich | LW | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Bob Goldham | D | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Tony Leswick | W | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Reg Sinclair | RW/C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Glen Skov | C/LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Marcel Bonin | W | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Guyle Fielder | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Hay | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Steve Hrymnak | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Jankowski | C/RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcel Pronovost | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Terry Sawchuk | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Terry Sawchuk | 372 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 3.39 | 1 |
| Team: | 372 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 3.39 | 1 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Awards and records

* Prince of Wales Trophy (Best regular-season record)
* Art Ross Trophy (Top scorer): Gordie Howe
* Hart Trophy (Most valuable player): Gordie Howe
* Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Excellence and sportsmanship): Red Kelly
* Vezina Trophy (Goaltender of team with best goals-against record): Terry Sawchuk

### All-Star teams

| First team | Position |
| Terry Sawchuk | G |
| Red Kelly | D |
| Gordie Howe | RW |
| Ted Lindsay | LW |
| Second team | Position |
| Alex Delvecchio | C |

## Transactions

The following is a list of all transactions that have occurred for the Detroit Red Wings during the 1952–53 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to and for which player(s) or other consideration(s), if applicable.
| July 22, 1952 | To Detroit Red Wingscash | To Chicago Black HawksSid Abel |
| August 14, 1952 | To Detroit Red Wingscash | To Chicago Black HawksFred Glover Enio Sclisizzi |
| August 18, 1952 | To Detroit Red WingsJim Morrison Reg Sinclair cash | To New York RangersLeo Reise Jr. |
| September 23, 1952 | To Detroit Red WingsRed Almas Guyle Fielder Steve Hrymnak | To Chicago Black Hawkscash |
| October 15, 1952 | To Detroit Red Wingsloan of Ray Hannigan for 1952–53 season | To Chicago Black Hawksloan of Guyle Fielder for 1952–53 season |