1972–73 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1972–73 Detroit Red Wings season was the franchise's 47th season of operation in the National Hockey League, 41st season as the Red Wings. The team placed fifth and missed the playoffs.

1972–73 Detroit Red Wings
Division	5th East
1972–73 record	37–29–12
Team information
General manager	Ned Harkness
Coach	Johnny Wilson
Captain	Alex Delvecchio
Team leaders
Goals	Mickey Redmond (52)
Assists	Marcel Dionne (53)
Points	Mickey Redmond (93)
Penalty minutes	Larry Johnston (169)
Wins	Roy Edwards (27)
Goals against average	Roy Edwards (2.63)
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

East Division^[1]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	329	184	+145	120
2	Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	330	235	+95	107
3	New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	297	208	+89	102
4	Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	257	219	+38	88
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	265	243	+22	86
6	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	247	279	−32	64
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	233	339	−106	53
8	New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	170	347	−177	30

Record vs. opponents

Vs. East Division 1972–73 NHL records^[2] Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYI NYR TOR VAN Total Boston — 4–1–1 3–2 1–3–1 5–1 3–3 4–1 4–1 24–12–2 Buffalo 1–4–1 — 1–4 1–2–2 5–0–1 5–1 4–1 3–2 20–14–4 Detroit 2–3 4–1 — 2–3–1 4–1 1–3–1 4–2 3–0–3 20–13–5 Montreal 3–1–1 2–1–2 3–2–1 — 5–0 3–0–2 5–0–1 6–0 27–4–7 N.Y. Islanders 1–5 0–5–1 1–4 0–5 — 0–6 1–4 1–3–1 4–32–2 N.Y. Rangers 3–3 1–5 3–1–1 0–3–2 6–0 — 4–1 3–2 20–15–3 Toronto 1–4 1–4 2–4 0–5–1 4–1 1–4 — 2–3–1 11–25–2 Vancouver 1–4 2–3 0–3–3 0–6 3–1–1 2–3 3–2–1 — 11–22–5

Vs. West Division 1972–73 NHL records Team ATL CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total Boston 5–0 4–0–1 2–3 3–2 3–1–1 4–0–1 4–1 2–3 27–10–3 Buffalo 2–1–2 1–2–2 2–3 2–1–2 3–2 2–3 3–0–2 2–1–2 17–13–10 Detroit 3–2 2–2–1 2–3 2–2–1 1–3–1 3–1–1 2–0–3 2–3 17–16–7 Montreal 3–0–2 3–0–2 2–3 4–0–1 3–1–1 2–2–1 5–0 3–0–2 25–6–9 N.Y. Islanders 0–4–1 4–1 0–4–1 1–4 1–4 1–4 0–4–1 1–3–1 8–28–4 N.Y. Rangers 4–1 3–1–1 2–2–1 3–0–2 3–2 4–0–1 3–2 5–0 27–8–5 Toronto 1–2–2 3–1–1 1–2–2 3–2 2–2–1 1–3–1 2–2–1 3–2 16–16–8 Vancouver 1–4 4–1 1–3–1 2–3 0–3–2 0–4–1 2–3 1–4 11–25–4

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1972	5–3	New York Rangers (1972–73)	1–0–0
2	W	October 11, 1972	4–3	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	2–0–0
3	W	October 14, 1972	5–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	3–0–0
4	W	October 15, 1972	8–2	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	4–0–0
5	W	October 21, 1972	3–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	5–0–0
6	W	October 22, 1972	6–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	6–0–0
7	L	October 26, 1972	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	6–1–0
8	L	October 28, 1972	3–8	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	6–2–0
9	L	October 29, 1972	1–2	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	6–3–0
10	L	November 1, 1972	2–4	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	6–4–0
11	W	November 4, 1972	4–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	7–4–0
12	T	November 5, 1972	1–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	7–4–1
13	L	November 9, 1972	3–8	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	7–5–1
14	L	November 12, 1972	1–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	7–6–1
15	T	November 14, 1972	3–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	7–6–2
16	W	November 15, 1972	4–0	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	8–6–2
17	L	November 18, 1972	3–8	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	8–7–2
18	W	November 22, 1972	6–2	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	9–7–2
19	W	November 25, 1972	6–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	10–7–2
20	L	November 26, 1972	4–6	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	10–8–2
21	L	November 29, 1972	3–8	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	10–9–2
22	W	December 2, 1972	4–1	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	11–9–2
23	L	December 3, 1972	0–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	11–10–2
24	L	December 5, 1972	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	11–11–2
25	L	December 7, 1972	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	11–12–2
26	L	December 9, 1972	0–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	11–13–2
27	T	December 10, 1972	3–3	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	11–13–3
28	L	December 13, 1972	0–2	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	11–14–3
29	W	December 16, 1972	4–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	12–14–3
30	W	December 17, 1972	6–4	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	13–14–3
31	W	December 20, 1972	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	14–14–3
32	L	December 21, 1972	1–8	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	14–15–3
33	W	December 23, 1972	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	15–15–3
34	L	December 24, 1972	0–5	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	15–16–3
35	T	December 26, 1972	1–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	15–16–4
36	T	December 30, 1972	2–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	15–16–5
37	T	December 31, 1972	4–4	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	15–16–6
38	W	January 4, 1973	4–2	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	16–16–6
39	W	January 6, 1973	4–0	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	17–16–6
40	W	January 7, 1973	4–0	New York Islanders (1972–73)	18–16–6
41	W	January 10, 1973	2–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	19–16–6
42	W	January 12, 1973	7–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	20–16–6
43	W	January 14, 1973	3–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	21–16–6
44	L	January 17, 1973	4–6	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	21–17–6
45	W	January 20, 1973	4–2	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	22–17–6
46	L	January 21, 1973	3–5	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	22–18–6
47	T	January 23, 1973	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	22–18–7
48	W	January 25, 1973	4–2	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	23–18–7
49	L	January 27, 1973	3–6	New York Rangers (1972–73)	23–19–7
50	W	January 28, 1973	4–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	24–19–7
51	W	February 1, 1973	6–4	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	25–19–7
52	W	February 3, 1973	1–0	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	26–19–7
53	W	February 4, 1973	8–2	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	27–19–7
54	W	February 7, 1973	5–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	28–19–7
55	L	February 10, 1973	1–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	28–20–7
56	W	February 11, 1973	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	29–20–7
57	T	February 14, 1973	2–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	29–20–8
58	T	February 16, 1973	2–2	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	29–20–9
59	T	February 17, 1973	2–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	29–20–10
60	T	February 22, 1973	3–3	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	29–20–11
61	L	February 24, 1973	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	29–21–11
62	W	February 25, 1973	5–0	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	30–21–11
63	W	February 28, 1973	6–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	31–21–11
64	L	March 3, 1973	3–6	New York Rangers (1972–73)	31–22–11
65	W	March 4, 1973	5–1	New York Islanders (1972–73)	32–22–11
66	W	March 7, 1973	5–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	33–22–11
67	L	March 10, 1973	0–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	33–23–11
68	W	March 11, 1973	3–1	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	34–23–11
69	L	March 14, 1973	3–5	Montreal Canadiens (1972–73)	34–24–11
70	L	March 16, 1973	4–5	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	34–25–11
71	W	March 18, 1973	2–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	35–25–11
72	L	March 21, 1973	3–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	35–26–11
73	L	March 24, 1973	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	35–27–11
74	L	March 25, 1973	5–8	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	35–28–11
75	W	March 27, 1973	8–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	36–28–11
76	L	March 29, 1973	4–6	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	36–29–11
77	W	March 31, 1973	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	37–29–11
78	T	April 1, 1973	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	37–29–12

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mickey Redmond	RW	76	52	41	93	24	6	15	0	7
Marcel Dionne	C	77	40	50	90	21	−4	10	0	6
Alex Delvecchio	C/LW	77	18	53	71	13	6	8	0	3
Nick Libett	LW	78	19	34	53	56	1	4	1	3
Tim Ecclestone	LW	78	18	30	48	28	6	3	1	2
Red Berenson	C	78	13	30	43	8	−14	5	0	1
Bill Collins	RW	78	21	21	42	44	−1	1	1	6
Al Karlander	C	77	15	22	37	25	2	4	0	4
Guy Charron	C	75	18	18	36	23	9	0	0	2
Ron Stackhouse	D	78	5	29	34	82	22	0	0	0
Gary Bergman	D	68	3	28	31	71	10	0	0	0
Henry Boucha	C	73	14	14	28	82	−2	0	1	0
Thommie Bergman	D	75	9	12	21	70	6	1	0	2
Len Fontaine	RW	39	8	10	18	6	−2	1	0	0
Garnet Bailey	LW	13	2	11	13	16	2	0	0	0
Larry Johnston	D	73	1	12	13	169	6	0	0	1
Leon Rochefort	RW	20	2	4	6	2	0	0	0	0
Gary Doak	D	44	0	5	5	51	5	0	0	0
Bob Cook	RW	13	3	1	4	4	−11	1	0	0
Brian Lavender	LW	26	2	2	4	14	2	0	0	0
Ken Murray	D	31	1	1	2	36	−1	0	0	0
Bill Hogaboam	C	4	1	0	1	2	−1	0	0	0
Serge Lajeunesse	D/RW	28	0	1	1	26	−15	0	0	0
Andy Brown	G	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Denis DeJordy	G	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Roy Edwards	G	52	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Robbie Ftorek	C/LW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Danny Gruen	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rick Newell	D	3	0	0	0	0	−1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Roy Edwards	3012	52	27	17	7	132	2.63	6
Denis DeJordy	1331	24	8	11	3	83	3.74	1
Andy Brown	337	7	2	1	2	20	3.56	0
Team:	4680	78	37	29	12	235	3.01	7

^[3]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	26	Pierre Guite	Canada	University of Pennsylvania (ECAC)
3	42	Bob Krieger	United States	University of Denver (WCHA)
4	58	Danny Gruen	Canada	Thunder Bay Vulcans (TBJHL)
5	74	Dennis Johnson	United States	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
6	90	Bill Miller	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
7	106	Glen Seperich	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
8	122	Mike Ford	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
9	138	George Kuzmicz	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
10	150	Dave Arundel	United States	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

Farm teams

See also

• 1972–73 NHL season

References

1. "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "1972-73 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.