, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships ( 11 ) of any NHL franchise based in the United States, and are third overall in total NHL championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens ( 24 ) and Toronto Maple Leafs ( 13 ).

Following the 1926 Stanley Cup playoffs, during which the Western Hockey League was widely reported to be on the verge of folding, the NHL held a meeting on April 17 to consider applications for expansion franchises, at which it was reported that five different groups sought a team for Detroit.

The Cougars made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 1929 with Carson Cooper leading the team in scoring.

In 1934 the Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, with John Sorrell scoring 21 goals over 47 games and Larry Aurie leading the team in scoring.

The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup in 1936, defeating Toronto in four games.

Detroit repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 1937, winning over the Rangers in the full five games.

The Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive years during the early 1940s.

Lindsay's 33 goals propelled the Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Maple Leafs.

The Wings won the Stanley Cup again in 1950, with Pete Babando scoring the game winner in double overtime of Game 7 to beat the Rangers in the Finals.

They made it all the way to the conference finals against the powerful and eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, but lost in five games.

After defeating the St. Louis Blues, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Colorado Avalanche in the first three rounds, the Wings went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in four straight games in the Stanley Cup Finals.

It was the Wings ' first Stanley Cup since 1955, breaking the longest drought ( 42 years long ) in the league at that time.

The Red Wings dedicated the 1997 – 98 season, which also ended in a Stanley Cup victory, to Konstantinov, who came out onto the ice in his wheelchair on victory night to touch the Cup.

The Red Wings went on to capture another Stanley Cup in five games over the Carolina Hurricanes, with Nicklas Lidstrom winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs ' MVP.

The Wings opened the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers with a 3 – 2 overtime victory at Joe Louis Arena.

They advanced to the third round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs after defeating the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks both in six games, coming back three straight after the Sharks ' 2 – 1 series lead.

The Red Wings lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winning team-the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals four games to two.

Osgood never left the net for the remainder of the playoffs, as the Red Wings came back in that series on their way to winning their 11th Stanley Cup.

This was the Wings ' fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years.

It was the first time a team captained by a non-North American player ( Nicklas Lidström ) won the Stanley Cup.

The Wings entered the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second overall seed in the Western Conference.

They earned the # 3 seed in the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup playoffs ( extending their professional sports record of post-season appearances to 20 seasons ), finishing behind the Vancouver Canucks ( 117 ) and San Jose Sharks ( 105 ).

The Wings again faced the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the playoffs, this time sweeping them 4 – 0 — making them the only team in the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs to sweep the first round — and again moved on to play the Sharks in Round 2.

After losing the first three games of the series against the Sharks, the Red Wings won three consecutive games to force a Game 7, becoming just the eighth team in NHL history to accomplish the feat ( the Chicago Blackhawks became the seventh team to do so earlier in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, against the Vancouver Canucks ).

The Red Wings went on to sweep both of their opponents that year en route to a Stanley Cup championship.

As a professional, he joined the Boston Bruins in 1968 and was a member of their Stanley Cup championship teams in 1970 and 1972.

The Oilers had a better regular season, but the Islanders swept them in the Stanley Cup finals to win their fourth straight championship.

The 1993 – 94 season was a successful one for Rangers fans, as Mike Keenan led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years.

Despite finishing just one point shy of a third straight Atlantic Division title, the Flyers blitzed their way through the first three rounds of the playoffs, dominating Pittsburgh, Buffalo and the Rangers all in five games apiece to win the Eastern Conference championship, and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1986 – 87.

The Penguins ' three Stanley Cup championship banners during the Civic Arena ( Pittsburgh ) | Mellon Arena's final season.

Stanley never saw a Stanley Cup championship game, nor did he ever present the Cup.

In Game 7, before the second-largest home crowd in franchise history ( 18, 978 ), the Hurricanes won 3-1, sealing the Hurricanes ' first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

The Hurricanes ' Stanley Cup championship marked the first professional major league sports title for a team from North Carolina.

The Penguins, though, put a decisive end to the Canes ' string, sweeping the series 4 games to 0 on the way to their own Stanley Cup championship.

On May 9, 2012 the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes game 7 championship victory was recognized as one of the NC Hall of Fame's " Great Moments " series.

In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4 – 3 to win their second and most recent championship.

The 1995-96 Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team and the Avalanche are the only team ( expansion or brand new ) in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup their first season after a relocation, and only the second team to win a championship their first season after a relocation in any of the four major North American sports leagues, following the Washington Redskins of the NFL.

They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003 – 04.

They then bested the Wings to win their third Stanley Cup championship.

President Barack Obama talks with members of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks following a ceremony to honor the team's 2009-10 championship season on the South Lawn ( White House ) | South Lawn of the White House, March 11, 2011.

The Stars have won seven division titles in Dallas, two President's Trophies as the top regular season team in the NHL, the Western Conference championship twice, and in 1998 – 99, the Stanley Cup.

The team added veterans Kirk Muller, Dave Manson, and Sylvain Cote to try to defend their Stanley Cup championship in.

* Stanley Cup championship ( 1961 )

In 1997, Yzerman put to rest all doubts of his ability to lead a team to a championship as Detroit won its first Stanley Cup in 42 years by sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers.

Detroit defeated Colorado in a seven game series and moved on to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes to win their 10th Stanley Cup championship in their history.