# 1973–74 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1973–74 Detroit Red Wings season was the franchise's 48th season of competition, 42nd season as the Red Wings. The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

## Regular season
### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 52 | 17 | 9 | 349 | 221 | +128 | 113 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 45 | 24 | 9 | 293 | 240 | +53 | 99 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 40 | 24 | 14 | 300 | 251 | +49 | 94 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 35 | 27 | 16 | 274 | 230 | +44 | 86 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 242 | 250 | −8 | 76 |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 29 | 39 | 10 | 255 | 319 | −64 | 68 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 43 | 11 | 224 | 296 | −72 | 59 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 19 | 41 | 18 | 182 | 247 | −65 | 56 |

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

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 10, 1973 | 1–4 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 13, 1973 | 4–9 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | L | October 14, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 0–3–0 |
| 4 | L | October 16, 1973 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 0–4–0 |
| 5 | T | October 18, 1973 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 0–4–1 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1973 | 11–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 1–4–1 |
| 7 | L | October 24, 1973 | 3–7 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 1–5–1 |
| 8 | L | October 26, 1973 | 3–8 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 1–6–1 |
| 9 | W | October 27, 1973 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 2–6–1 |
| 10 | L | October 30, 1973 | 0–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 2–7–1 |
| 11 | L | November 4, 1973 | 0–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 2–8–1 |
| 12 | L | November 7, 1973 | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 2–9–1 |
| 13 | W | November 10, 1973 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 3–9–1 |
| 14 | W | November 11, 1973 | 5–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 4–9–1 |
| 15 | W | November 14, 1973 | 4–3 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 5–9–1 |
| 16 | L | November 17, 1973 | 0–8 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 5–10–1 |
| 17 | W | November 18, 1973 | 6–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 6–10–1 |
| 18 | W | November 20, 1973 | 6–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 7–10–1 |
| 19 | L | November 22, 1973 | 3–5 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 7–11–1 |
| 20 | W | November 24, 1973 | 6–4 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 8–11–1 |
| 21 | W | November 25, 1973 | 3–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 9–11–1 |
| 22 | L | November 29, 1973 | 3–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 9–12–1 |
| 23 | L | December 1, 1973 | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 9–13–1 |
| 24 | L | December 2, 1973 | 1–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 9–14–1 |
| 25 | L | December 5, 1973 | 2–8 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 9–15–1 |
| 26 | T | December 7, 1973 | 1–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 9–15–2 |
| 27 | L | December 8, 1973 | 0–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 9–16–2 |
| 28 | W | December 13, 1973 | 7–3 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 10–16–2 |
| 29 | W | December 15, 1973 | 2–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 11–16–2 |
| 30 | W | December 16, 1973 | 7–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 12–16–2 |
| 31 | T | December 18, 1973 | 4–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 12–16–3 |
| 32 | L | December 20, 1973 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 12–17–3 |
| 33 | W | December 22, 1973 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 13–17–3 |
| 34 | T | December 26, 1973 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 13–17–4 |
| 35 | L | December 27, 1973 | 1–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 13–18–4 |
| 36 | W | December 30, 1973 | 4–2 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 14–18–4 |
| 37 | L | December 31, 1973 | 5–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 14–19–4 |
| 38 | L | January 2, 1974 | 3–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 14–20–4 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1974 | 9–6 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 15–20–4 |
| 40 | T | January 9, 1974 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 15–20–5 |
| 41 | W | January 12, 1974 | 6–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 16–20–5 |
| 42 | L | January 13, 1974 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 16–21–5 |
| 43 | T | January 16, 1974 | 4–4 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 16–21–6 |
| 44 | W | January 19, 1974 | 5–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 17–21–6 |
| 45 | L | January 20, 1974 | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 17–22–6 |
| 46 | W | January 23, 1974 | 6–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 18–22–6 |
| 47 | T | January 25, 1974 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 18–22–7 |
| 48 | W | January 27, 1974 | 6–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 19–22–7 |
| 49 | L | January 30, 1974 | 3–7 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 19–23–7 |
| 50 | L | February 2, 1974 | 2–12 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 19–24–7 |
| 51 | L | February 3, 1974 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 19–25–7 |
| 52 | T | February 6, 1974 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 19–25–8 |
| 53 | L | February 9, 1974 | 4–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 19–26–8 |
| 54 | L | February 13, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 19–27–8 |
| 55 | L | February 15, 1974 | 4–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 19–28–8 |
| 56 | L | February 17, 1974 | 1–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 19–29–8 |
| 57 | L | February 20, 1974 | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 19–30–8 |
| 58 | W | February 23, 1974 | 5–3 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 20–30–8 |
| 59 | W | February 24, 1974 | 5–3 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 21–30–8 |
| 60 | W | February 26, 1974 | 7–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 22–30–8 |
| 61 | L | February 28, 1974 | 1–8 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 22–31–8 |
| 62 | T | March 2, 1974 | 4–4 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 22–31–9 |
| 63 | T | March 3, 1974 | 6–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 22–31–10 |
| 64 | L | March 7, 1974 | 1–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 22–32–10 |
| 65 | W | March 9, 1974 | 3–1 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 23–32–10 |
| 66 | L | March 10, 1974 | 0–4 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 23–33–10 |
| 67 | W | March 12, 1974 | 2–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 24–33–10 |
| 68 | W | March 13, 1974 | 5–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 25–33–10 |
| 69 | L | March 16, 1974 | 0–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 25–34–10 |
| 70 | W | March 20, 1974 | 7–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 26–34–10 |
| 71 | W | March 23, 1974 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 27–34–10 |
| 72 | L | March 24, 1974 | 0–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 27–35–10 |
| 73 | W | March 27, 1974 | 3–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 28–35–10 |
| 74 | L | March 30, 1974 | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 28–36–10 |
| 75 | L | March 31, 1974 | 1–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 28–37–10 |
| 76 | L | April 3, 1974 | 3–5 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 28–38–10 |
| 77 | W | April 6, 1974 | 8–3 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 29–38–10 |
| 78 | L | April 7, 1974 | 4–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 29–39–10 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Marcel Dionne | C | 74 | 24 | 54 | 78 | 10 | −31 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Mickey Redmond | RW | 76 | 51 | 26 | 77 | 14 | −21 | 21 | 0 | 9 |
| Red Berenson | C | 76 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 28 | −22 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Guy Charron | C | 76 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 10 | −31 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 67 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 37 | −26 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Bill Hogaboam | C | 47 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 12 | −3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Jarry | LW | 52 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 17 | −11 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Roberts | RW | 57 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 33 | −9 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Henry Boucha | C | 70 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 32 | −22 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Bill Collins | RW | 54 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 37 | −20 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 45 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 33 | −12 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Brent Hughes | D | 69 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 92 | −28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Stackhouse | D | 33 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Johnston | D | 65 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 139 | −26 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Lynch | D | 35 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 27 | −14 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ted Harris | D | 41 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 66 | −4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Ftorek | C/LW | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Mellor | D | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | −9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Bergman | D | 11 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nelson Debenedet | LW | 15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Delvecchio | C/LW | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | −13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Ecclestone | LW | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McLeod | D | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 24 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Gruen | LW | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blair Stewart | C | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 21 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 99 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 43 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 21 | −15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 22 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 40 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tord Lundstrom | LW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Evans | D | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Len Fontaine | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Richardson | G | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Wing | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Edwards | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Foley | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Grant | G | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Korney | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Lavender | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | −4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill McKenzie | G | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Newell | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nelson Pyatt | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Grant | 2018 | 37 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 140 | 4.16 | 1 |
| Jim Rutherford | 1420 | 25 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 86 | 3.63 | 0 |
| Bill McKenzie | 720 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 3.58 | 1 |
| Terry Richardson | 315 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 5.33 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12.00 | 0 |
| Roy Edwards | 187 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 5.78 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 29 | 39 | 10 | 319 | 4.09 | 2 |
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

* Alex Delvecchio, Lester Patrick Trophy

## Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 11 | Terry Richardson | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 3 | 39 | Nelson Pyatt | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 3 | 43 | Robbie Neale | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) |
| 4 | 59 | Mike Korney | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) |
| 5 | 75 | Blair Stewart | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) |
| 6 | 91 | Glen Cickello | Canada | Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) |
| 7 | 107 | Brian Middleton | Canada | University of Alberta (CIAU) |
| 8 | 118 | Dennis Polonich | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 8 | 123 | George Lyle | Canada | Michigan Tech University (NCAA) |
| 9 | 135 | Dennis O'Brien | Canada | Laurentian University (CIAU) |
| 9 | 138 | Tom Newman | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 9 | 139 | Ray Bibeau | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 151 | Kevin Neville | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 10 | 154 | Ken Gibb | Canada | University of North Dakota (NCAA) |
| 10 | 155 | Mitch Brandt | United States | University of Denver (NCAA) |