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Detroit Red Wings (NHL, 1983-84)

1983-84 Regular Season:
Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers
     The Detroit Red Wings were coming off a forgettable 1982-83 season, finishing with the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 21-44-15. The Wings were still in the "Dead Things" era which saw the franchise miss the playoffs 16 times from 1967-1986. GM Jim Devellano had his work cut out for him, as the franchise had a major league roster of overpriced veterans past their primes, a few youngsters, and precious little in terms of prospects in the farm system. A wise decision was made to stop trading draft picks and rebuild the team through the draft. 

     The 57-point season in 1983 gave the Red Wings the fourth overall pick in the draft, which they used to select Peterborough Petes center Steve Yzerman, who immediately made the NHL team in his first year. The rest of the draft was very successful for the Wings, as players such as Bob Probert, Joe Kocur, and Petr Klima would make an impact on the rise of the franchise a few years down the road.

     Nick Polano returned behind the bench for Detroit in 1983-84. The 1983-84 season was a slight improvement over last year, as the Red Wings finished 31-42-7. Finishing the season with 69 points would have kept Detroit out of the playoffs, but they benefited from being in the mediocre Norris Division. Just on Norris team, Minnesota, finished with a record over .500. In an era when the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, the Red Wings finished in third in the weak Norris, just two points back of St. Louis. Attendance climbed to 16.727 per game. 

     The Wings were by no means a Stanley Cup contender, but they did have some weapons on offense. Rookie Steve Yzerman lived up to the promise, scoring 39 goals and 87 in 80 games to lead the team in scoring. Linemate John Ogrodnick was turning into a dangerous scorer, leading the team in goals with 42. Veteran Ivan Boldirev matched a career high in goals with 35. Center Ron Duguay, acquired in a trade with the Rangers, scored 33 in his first season in Detroit. As a team, the Wings scored 293 goals, seventh-fewest in the league, but third most in the division.

     Defense was a weak point on the team, as Detroit allowed 323 goals, eighth most in the league. The team used four goaltenders--two veterans and two youngsters. 22-year old Greg Stefan had a decent season in net, going 19-22-2 with a 3.51 GAA and 2 shutouts in 50 games. 29-year old ex-Ranger Eddie Mio went 7-11-3 with a 4.40 GAA and 1 shutout in 24 games. 22-year old Corrado Micalef was 5-8-1 with a 3.86 GAA in 14 games. Rounding out the Detroit goaltending corps was future Hall-of-Fame GM Ken Holland, who, at 27 years old, played in 3 game (0-1-1, 4.11 GAA). 

     Most of the Wings were in the negative side of the +/- stat, the lowest number being veteran defenseman Brad Park (-29). Park did score 5 goals and 58 points in 80 games and brought valuable leadership to a rebuilding lineup. Longtime Wings defenseman Reed Larson was the top scorer on the blue line, using his powerful slapshot to score 23 goals and 62 points. The highest +/- rating that year was owned by Kelly Kisio, who was +16.

     The Wings qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1978 and faced the St. Louis Blues in a best-of-five series. The teams split the first two games in St. Louis, but the Blues advanced by winning Games 3 and 4 in Detroit, both needing sudden death overtime. Devellano noted that Blues' goaltender Mike Liut, one of the better goaltenders in the NHL, was the difference in the series. 

Stat sheet for that night's game

     This program is from the November 12, 1983, game against the 14-2-1 Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers were coming off a run to the Stanley Cup Finals, and were loaded with Hall-of-Fame talent: Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson and Kevin Lowe. The Oilers would leave the rest of the Campbell Conference in the dust, finishing 57-18-5, then dethroning the four-time champion New York Islanders in five games to win the Stanley Cup. On this night, the Wings were overmatched by the powerful Oilers and fell, 7-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 20,088 at Joe Louis Arena. According to the scoresheet, Gretzky had 3 goals and 5 points that night, taking home the first star of the game.    

     This is a 116-page program, a split between a Red Wings magazine and a GOAL magazine. Bios of Mike Illitch and Jim Devellano are included in the first few pages. There are articles about Brad Park, Bryant Gumbel, Chicago's Steve Larmer, and a preview of the 1983-84 Wings season. Local advertisements include Vernor's Ginger Ale, Stroh's and Stroh's Light, Jack Demmer Ford, Chuck Muir Family Taverns, and the Pontiac Fiero. 

Reference:

National Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1983-84, from hockeydb.com

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