Special night puts bow on exceptional '07-'08 season
By: Michael Niziolek
By: Michael Niziolek
Cover photo by Jack Rosenberg
for In Play! Magazine
"It was exciting for us, of all the celebrations we've had since we won it's kind of the climax of it all," Red Wings' Goalie Chris Osgood says. "For us it was just awesome seeing the banner go up and you know you should never take things like that for granted. It's very very hard to win in this league."
That was the sentiment throughout the Red Wings' locker room on opening night and even their 3-2 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs following their championship celebration couldn't dampen Detroit's sprits.
Opening night festivities included a new NHL promotion called NHL Rocks which included a Def Leppard concert at the Fox Theatre, raising the championship banner to rafters at the Joe and celebrating the franchise's 11th championship with a sell-out crowd of Red Wings' fans and alumni including Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsey, Alex Delvecchio and Dennis Hextall.
Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels narrated the ceremony, with music accompaniment from the Wayne State Symphony Orchestra, taking players and fans through highlights of last season's Stanley Cup run, along with video packages of Detroit's award winners from last season.
All seven trophies Red Wings' players received last year were on the ice, with the Stanley Cup taking center stage, creating an impressive display of hardware.
The real highlights of the night were the banner raising and presentation. The Red Wings' alumni on hand and a group of fans dubbed the "Citizens of Hockeytown" brought the banner out and presented it to the current Wings for them to raise into history.
"When the banner was coming out and going up I got goose bumps," left winger Tomas Holmstrom says.
Link to cover story
for In Play! Magazine
"It was exciting for us, of all the celebrations we've had since we won it's kind of the climax of it all," Red Wings' Goalie Chris Osgood says. "For us it was just awesome seeing the banner go up and you know you should never take things like that for granted. It's very very hard to win in this league."
That was the sentiment throughout the Red Wings' locker room on opening night and even their 3-2 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs following their championship celebration couldn't dampen Detroit's sprits.
Opening night festivities included a new NHL promotion called NHL Rocks which included a Def Leppard concert at the Fox Theatre, raising the championship banner to rafters at the Joe and celebrating the franchise's 11th championship with a sell-out crowd of Red Wings' fans and alumni including Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsey, Alex Delvecchio and Dennis Hextall.
Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels narrated the ceremony, with music accompaniment from the Wayne State Symphony Orchestra, taking players and fans through highlights of last season's Stanley Cup run, along with video packages of Detroit's award winners from last season.
All seven trophies Red Wings' players received last year were on the ice, with the Stanley Cup taking center stage, creating an impressive display of hardware.
The real highlights of the night were the banner raising and presentation. The Red Wings' alumni on hand and a group of fans dubbed the "Citizens of Hockeytown" brought the banner out and presented it to the current Wings for them to raise into history.
"When the banner was coming out and going up I got goose bumps," left winger Tomas Holmstrom says.
Link to cover story
