page_title: Detroit Red Wings
section_title: Superstar acquisitions and more success (1999–2006)
hierarchical_section_title: Detroit Red Wings / Franchise history / Steve Yzerman era (1983–2006) / Superstar acquisitions and more success (1999–2006)
caption_attribution_description: Receiving a jersey from team captain Steve Yzerman, President George W. Bush welcomes the Detroit Red Wings, winners of the NHL 2002 Stanley Cup Championship, to the East Room of the White House Friday, Nov. 8.
context_page_description: The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. Founded in 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars until 1930. For the 1930–31 and 1931–32 seasons the team was called the Detroit Falcons, and in 1932 changed their name to the Red Wings.
  As of 2020, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States and are third overall in total Stanley Cup championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Wings played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 until 2017, after playing for 52 years in Olympia Stadium. They moved into the new Little Caesars Arena beginning with the 2017–18 season. The Red Wings are one of the most popular and successful franchises in the NHL; fans and sports commentators refer to the Detroit area as "Hockeytown", which has been a registered trademark owned by the franchise since 1996.
  Between the 1931–32 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times.
context_section_description: The following season, the Red Wings appeared to be poised to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup when they acquired three-time top blueliner Chris Chelios from his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in March 1999. Also acquired at the trade deadline were defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, winger Wendel Clark, and goaltender Bill Ranford. Despite high aspirations, however, Detroit would end up losing in the Western Conference semi-finals to Colorado in six games. In 2000, the Red Wings would finish second in the Central Division. Just like the previous season, however, they would lose to the Avalanche in the Western Conference semi-finals.
  In 2001, Detroit, the NHL's second-best team in the regular season, were upset in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Kings. During the ensuing offseason, the team acquired goaltender Dominik Hasek (the defending Vezina Trophy winner) and forwards Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull. Russian prospect Pavel Datsyuk also joined the team. Strengthened by the additions, the Red Wings posted the league's best record in the 2001–02 regular season and defeated Colorado in seven games in the Western Conference finals after beating the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues in rounds one and two. The Red Wings then went on to capture another Stanley Cup, in five games, over the Carolina Hurricanes, with Nicklas Lidstrom winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP. Bowman and Hasek both retired after the season.
  The off-season saw the Red Wings promote associate coach Dave Lewis to the head coach position after Bowman's retirement. In the market for a new starting goaltender after Hasek's retirement, they signed Curtis Joseph from the Toronto Maple Leafs to a three-year, $24 million deal. Also new to the lineup was highly-touted Swedish prospect Henrik Zetterberg. The Red Wings finished the season second in the Western Conference, which pitted them in the 2003 playoffs against the seventh-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks shocked the hockey world when they swept the Red Wings in four games en route to a Finals appearance.
  In the offseason, long time Red Wing Fedorov signed with the Mighty Ducks as a free agent. Additionally, Hasek opted to come out of retirement and join the Red Wings for the 2003–04 season. Joseph, despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, spent part of the season in the minor leagues. Hasek himself would be sidelined with a groin injury. Notwithstanding, the Red Wings would finish atop of the Central Division and the NHL standings. The Red Wings eliminated the Nashville Predators in six games in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, which led to a second round match-up with the Calgary Flames. The teams split the first four games, and headed to Detroit for a pivotal Game 5, which the Red Wings lost 1–0. They were then eliminated two nights later in Calgary by the same score in overtime. The Red Wings did not play in the 2004–05 season due to the lockout, which cancelled the entire NHL season.
  On July 15, 2005, Mike Babcock, former head coach in Anaheim, became the new head coach for the Red Wings. On November 21, 2005, defenseman Jiri Fischer went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the bench during a game against the Nashville Predators. The game was cancelled because of his injury and was made up on January 23, 2006. This was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed due to an injury. While the game was played for the full 60 minutes, the Predators were allowed to maintain their 1–0 lead from the original game and won 3–2. The Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy with a 58–16–8 record, earning them 124 points and secured home ice advantage for the entire playoffs. They opened the 2006 playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers with a 3–2 overtime victory at Joe Louis Arena, but the Oilers won four of the next five games to take the series.
  Continuing the shakeup of the Red Wings roster, the offseason saw the departure of Brendan Shanahan, the return of Dominik Hasek and the retirement of Steve Yzerman. Yzerman retired with the additional distinction of h
caption: The Red Wings were invited to the White House in November 2002, after winning the Stanley Cup.
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