Whoa, baby, now that’s a teaser!
We know there hasn’t been much to celebrate in Detroit’s four major professional sports lately, a town searching for its first playoff victory since April 2016.
But throughout the years there have been plenty of glory days. The Bad Boys and Going To Work Pistons. The Tigers runs in 1968 and 1984 — even in 2006 and 2011-14.
The Lions;Â alright there’s not much to work with there.
But in all of the moments and rivalries this town has had, few if any compare to the mid-90s-early 2000s with the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche.
[ How to order new Free Press book commemorating Red Wings’ 1997 Stanley Cup title ]
The Red Wings are in the 25th anniversary from their 1997 Stanley Cup title run and on Friday, a trailer for an ESPN E:60 documentary coming this June on the late-90’s rivalry between the Western Conference foes was released on the network’s “The Point” show.
This set social media into a tizzy.
“I’m excited as much as everyone else is to be able to tie everyone’s perspectives in. Hats of to ESPN,” former Red Wing Darren McCarty wrote the Free Press on Friday. “This has been the 30/30 I’ve been waiting for………..but hey I’m biased. Plus if you didn’t get chills seeing Vladdy at the end of the promo.”
The video lasts 2:20, begins with an old clip of Colorado’s Claude Lemieux discussing his definition of a rivalry. He explains how if it stays on the ice, it’s not that great of a rivalry.
Cut scene, Lemieux cross checks Kris Draper into the boards in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference finals, busting open his lip and bashing his face in, which required reconstructive surgery.
Players on that Detroit team still say they didn’t know how badly Draper had been hurt until they saw him on the plane after the game, and wish they hadn’t shaken hands postgame after losing the series.
ROAD TO STANLEYTOWN: Red Wings roll past Avs in Game 6 to reach 1997 Stanley Cup Finals
MITCH ALBOM FLASHBACK: Red Wings pound Patrick Roy, Avs to make 1997 Stanley Cup Finals
It’s widely viewed as the hit that sparked the rivalry as Colorado would go on to close out the series that night 4-2 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
The following season, Lemieux missed the first two meetings of the year. Somehow, nothing boiled over in the third matchup when the two met in Colorado.
That all changed March 26, 1997 at Joe Louis Arena, with the greatest brawl in hockey history.
FIGHT NIGHT: Ref from Wings-Avs brawl reveals why Darren McCarty stayed in game: ‘Paybacks are a bitch’
McCarty talks about his “cold cock” of Lemeiux, leaving his face dripping blood. Replays of the goalie brawl between Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon who come flying in from off the screen. Then, there’s Brendan Shanahan, who said, “I just thought, I’m (expletive) grabbing somebody here. Somebody’s getting it.”
[ The collapse of Detroit Red Wings’ NHL dominance: How it happened ]
There are shots of Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Shanahan, Peter Forsberg, Roy, Scotty Bowman, Marc Crawford, McCarty, Adam Foote, Draper, Mike Ricci and Vernon all settling into their chair to discuss the rivalry with the documentary’s directors.
And then, Vladimir Konstantinov, who suffered life-altering injuries in a car accident six days after the Red Wings won the 1997 Stanley Cup, comes into the frame and is asked “what is your favorite memory of that rivalry with the Avalanche?”
“Beat them.”
The two-hour documentary is scheduled to air during the Stanley Cup Final, which will begin in mid-June.
MORE: Au Rev-Roy! Remembering the night Wings destroyed hated Avalanche in 2002
Relive the glory
The Free Press has crafted a 208-page, full-color, hardcover collector’s book with fresh insights and dynamic storytelling about the 1996-97 Wings. It’s called “Stanleytown 25 Years Later: The Inside Story on How the Stanley Cup Returned to the Motor City after 41 Frustrating Seasons.â€Â It’s only $29.95 and it’s available at RedWings.PictorialBook.com. (It’ll make a great Father’s Day gift for the Wings fanatic in your life!) Personalized copies available via myersgene@comcast.net.
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on twitter at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ESPN’s ‘Unrivaled Red Wings vs. Avalanche’ trailer released
