At some point in the ‘90s, a marketing team sitting around a table in the conference room of a Detroit high-rise, bloated with Little Caesar’s pizza and wired on Dr. Pepper, decided to brand the city as “Hockeytown.” Those of us who had been suffering through some terrible teams and seasons and were just starting to see things get exciting rolled our eyes. It wasn’t long before a giant purple octopus was lowered from the rafters at Joe Louis Arena to the delight of the same demographic that packs amphitheaters around the country every summer to hear Journey, with one original member, play “Don’t Stop Believin’”. We just wanted some good, old-time hockey. The tradition of hockey in Detroit (including the ceremonial tossing of dead octopus onto the ice) didn’t need to be embellished, sexied-up, or turned into a Vegas sideshow. But there we were.
Captain Steve Yzerman was the first glimmer of hope, quickly becoming one of the most beloved sports icons Detroit has known, but it wasn’t until the early-mid ‘90s that the Wings started to show promise with some playoff appearances (and premature exits). Meanwhile, in 1995, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado and changed their name to the Avalanche. The rest, as they say, is history.
ESPN’s E60 documentary series takes an in-depth look at the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry through some unique and poignant angles in its latest episode Unrivaled: The Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche Story. It’s two hours of nostalgia, leaving no stone unturned. If you’re not familiar, and I understand why many Pencil Storm readers might not be, here’s a very abridged timeline of 4 key events:
1996 – Game 3 Western Conference Finals: Red Wing Vyacheslav Kozlov slams Avalanche Adam Foote’s face into a stanchion between the glass panels in the corner, opening his head up and essentially starting the rivalry. Foote takes 20 stiches (10 or less is considered a “shaving cut” by then NHL discipline guy Brian Burke), Kozlov is somehow not penalized, and Av’s tough-guy Claude Lemieux later sucker-punches him. The Wings win the game.
1996 – Game 5 Western Conference Finals: Lemieux - at the time the second most hated player in the NHL - hits Red Wing Kris Draper from behind, slamming his face into the corner of the boards, causing a broken jaw, shattered cheek and orbital bones, multiple broken teeth, and more. It’s considered retaliation for the Kozlov hit on Foote. Lemieux is ejected, but still partakes in the ceremonial handshake between teams after the Avalanche win and advance to the finals. Learning of the extent of Draper’s injuries afterwards, the Wings are ashamed to have shaken his hand. The Avalanche go on to beat the Panthers for the Stanley Cup. The two teams absolutely hate each other. Lemieux is the worst of the worst, and the hit on Draper was Pearl Harbor.
1997 – March 26 – The fourth and final meeting of the Avs & Wings for that season at the Joe Louis Arena. The Avalanche have so far swept the series that year, but it’s been mostly quiet. Lemieux’ ice time was limited by injuries up to this night. There are bomb & death threats, police escorts, and security unlike anything the NHL has ever seen. Detroit wanted blood for the Draper hit. The air was thick with the taste of revenge. Things get chippy right away but culminate right near the end of the first period with tough guy (and Kris Draper’s best friend) Darren McCarty wailing away at a turtling Claude Lemieux while battles erupt everywhere else on the ice, including between the goalies. Blood is everywhere. Multiple 5-minute majors but no ejections are handed out. The violence continues and the Wings eventually win the game in overtime, with hero McCarty appropriately and ironically scoring the winning goal. This night lives on as one of the greatest ever in the history of Detroit sports. The city was ecstatic.
1997 Western Conference Finals – Colorado coach Marc Crawford screams at legendary, beloved Detroit coach Scotty Bowman from across the glass. Bowman, with the experience to know which team was holding the cards, responded with the classic “I knew your father before you did, and I don't think he'd be very proud of how you're acting." The Wings win the series, and for the first time in 42 years, the Stanley Cup. Lemieux never apologizes.
That’s a mere snapshot. The documentary goes in-depth about each of these events and more – and there’s a lot more. From locker room and arena hallway arguments to deep, interpersonal relationships between opposing players before, during and after this era; to the absolutely devastating limousine accident a short six days after the Wings win that cup that ended the career of Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and rendered him unable to care for himself to this day, along with the team trainer and also co-defenseman and USSR hockey legend Slava Fetisov (who also played in the “Do you believe in miracles?” Olympic game in 1980). The accident was the end of the celebration, the end of the Russian Five, the end of the dream. The rivalry continued strong for a couple more seasons as players from each side were gradually traded or retired.
Most of the key players from both sides participate with interviews. Many remember it like it was yesterday. The film centers around a public Q&A with both McCarty and Lemieux in very recent years, the two rivalry centerpieces and arch-enemies now sitting on a couch together, watching film of the events, talking about the impact of them, and basically – like veterans from the blue and grey ceremoniously shaking hands over a battle line years after the Civil War – even having a laugh.
It was an incredible time to be a hockey fan in Detroit. Horrible lows and incredible highs. The Avalanche were at the center of it. The film captures all the emotion, and it was impossible to not get choked up when revisiting the limo crash and Draper’s injury, just as it was impossible to not get pumped up when the Wings got their bloody revenge and went on to win the cup.
The rivalry has faded over time, but it’s still intact. The Avs just won the cup again, and I have friends who could not find it within themselves to root for them over the Lightning, a (gasp) Florida team. Do they even have ice in Florida? C’mon. Anyway….this is as good as sports gets, folks. It’s extreme drama, and the documentary does the story justice.
In 2001 my wife and I celebrated our fifth anniversary with a road trip to Saint Louis to take in a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit (her pick) and a Steve Earle concert (mine). We splurged - with the needed help of a strong credit card promotion - on a room at the Ritz Carleton, where ironically, the Colorado Avalanche were also staying, in town to face the Blues. We rode in the elevator with those guys as they talked about the rising star of Pavel Bure, who’d just had a great game for his Vancouver Canucks. The next morning we hit the hotel gym to work off the celebratory anniversary dinner and partying at the concert the night before, and found ourselves next to them. TrooperGirl22 rode the stationary bike while winger Milan Hejduk did crunches on the floor next to her. I took a steam in the spa, as I like to do, and walked my pasty, towel-wrapped, scrawny frame up to the mirror to shave (no better shave than right after a steam, dudes!). Next to me, also shaving, was Avalanche center and captain Joe Sakic. Now, he wasn’t at the top of the most-hated villains on that team, but he was still Goddamn one of them. My heart started to palpitate a bit, knowing I was in the presence of the enemy. I chickened out of telling him I was from Detroit and instead just asked him to pass me a hand towel.
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
