Revisiting Iginla Trade & Red Wings' 50-Goal Club
Also, some "Today in Hockey History", the Buffalo Sabres' history with Canada, Selanne's rookie season, and more.
Welcome to the THW Hockey History Substack newsletter, with all the best from our extensive archives.
In today’s edition, we have a couple “Today in Hockey History” posts, the Detroit Red Wings’ 50-goal club, the Buffalo Sabres’ history with Canada, a look back at the trade that sent Calgary Flames captain Jerome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Teemu Selanne’s rookie season, and more.
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Now on to the good stuff…
Today in Hockey History: Jan. 31
This date in the NHL has been good for those brave enough to step in between the pipes and behind the bench. It has also given us some great moments from numerous Hall of Famers and one giant All-Star Game hero. Let’s enter our THW time machine and take a look back at all the Jan. 31 memories.
Winnipeg Jets 1.0 Rookie Rewind: Teemu Selanne
By Matthew Zator (Premium THW Content)
From their first NHL goal to milestones and exciting moments, this will either be a nostalgic flashback or an exciting introduction to Winnipeg Jets 1.0 history. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the next player to be featured in this series, none other than the ‘Finnish Flash’ Teemu Selanne, who had one of the most insane rookie seasons of all time.
Calgary Flames: Revisiting the Jarome Iginla Trade
Over eight years ago, in late March 2013, Calgary Flames fans were heartbroken to see not only their best leader but one of the best leaders in NHL history in Jarome Iginla get traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move didn’t come as much of a shock, as his contract was set to expire at the end of the 2012-13 season, and the team was in the midst of a rebuild. Still, it was very hard to say goodbye to the man who wore the ‘C’ for nine seasons and was still an incredible player.
Coming the other way in the trade were Kenny Agostino, Ben Hanowski, and a first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, which they used to select Morgan Klimchuk years later. While it was clear that winning a trade involving Iginla would be extremely tough, this return, even at the time, seemed somewhat underwhelming. Still, both Agostino and Hanowski appeared to have some potential, and the first-round pick certainly added some value.
Detroit Red Wings’ 50-Goal Club
Though the Detroit Red Wings have been around since the 1926-27 season, they’ve only had a few 50-goal scorers don the winged wheel – only six, in fact.
While the NHL underwent a scoring revolution in the 1970s and ’80s, the Red Wings were deep in the midst of their “Dead Wings” era and did not feature many elite players. In addition, the offensive faces of the Original Six-era teams — Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, and Alex Delvecchio—never lit the lamp 50 times in a season at any point in their careers.
It took until the 1972-73 season for the Red Wings to produce their first 50-goal scorer: a familiar face to almost all Red Wings fans today.
Today in Hockey History: Jan. 30
On this date in National Hockey League history, the best two players of their generation hit major milestones on the same night. Also, a whole slew of Hockey Hall of Famers had big performances, and this date has given fans in Boston plenty to cheer about. Let’s take our daily trip back through time and look at all the big moments from Jan. 30.
Buffalo Sabres’ History with Canada
The first thing you’ll hear before the puck drops at a Buffalo Sabres home game is the Canadian national anthem. The Sabres are the only American professional sports team to play “O Canada” before every home game, regardless of whether their opponent is Canadian or not. What’s more, the Sabres name is spelled using Canadian English and was created by a Toronto filmmaker.
Here’s a look at how Canada has influenced the Buffalo Sabres and why the team continues to have such close ties to their neighbors three miles to the north.
San Jose Sharks: A Brief History
The beginnings of the San Jose Sharks history can be traced back almost fifty years ago to the 1967 NHL expansion. At the time, the NHL wanted to expand the league to new markets and also squash competition from other leagues such as the WHL. The San Francisco Seals, a minor league team from the WHL, was purchased by Barry Van Gerbig in 1967. After purchasing the team, Van Gerbig decided to move the Seals from the Cow Palace in San Francisco to the Oracle Arena in Oakland. He then renamed the team the California Seals.
Eventually, the team was moved from the Bay Area and became the Cleveland Barons. The Barons would perform no better and only lasted two seasons in the NHL before merging with the Minnesota North Stars. They finished dead last in their division during both seasons and are still the most recent team to fold in the NHL.