An Original Six team that began when the NHL was formalized, the Detroit Red Wings have had twenty-nine captains in their history that began when they were originally called the Cougars. In 1930, the team was renamed the Falcons and gained the Red Wings name in 1932. The logo as it stands also originated in that time. In the Cougar years, the captains were Art Duncan (1926-27) and Reg Noble (1927-30). George Hay and Carson Cooper were captains in the Falcon years for a season each. The Red Wings era began with three captains in three seasons, with Larry Aurie, Herbie Lewis, and Ebbie Goodfellow serving a year each. Three years of Doug Young followed before Goodfellow took over again from 1938 through 1942. Sid Abel and Mud Bruenteau followed for a season each before William Hollett took the captain's C for two years. Abel took the captain's role again, this time from 1946 through 1952. From 1952 through 1956, the abrasive Ted Lindsay was captain, ceding the role after 1956 to Red Kelly for two seasons. Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe took his turn at captain for four seasons, holding it from 1958 through 1962. Alex Delvecchio followed with the second longest reign as captain, holding the role from 1962 through 1973. After him was a rotating captain system in the 1973-74 season. Before he became a goal scoring machine in Los Angeles, Marcel Dionne held the captain's C in the 1974-75 season. From 1975 through 1977, the team saw three different captains: Danny Grant (1975-77), Terry Harper (1975-76), and Dennis Polonich (1976-77). 1977 through 1982 had the team go through seven different captains, with Dan Maloney getting the C for a season, which was followed by Dennis Hextall for a season. When Hextall was traded before the end of the 1978-79 season, the team went with co-captains to finish the season in Nick Libett and Paul Woods. Dale McCourt held the C for a season before the team went back to co-captains the following season in Errol Thompson and Reed Larson. Larson would gain sole possession of the C in the 1981-82 season. Four years of Danny Gare followed before Stevie Y (Steve Yzerman) would hold the captain's role for the longest time in franchise history from 1986 through his retirement in 2006. It wasn't too difficult to see why Yzerman held the C for so long because he was all about team, sacrificing stats later in his career for the team. 2006 saw a new captain in another Red Wing lifer in Nicklas Lidstrom, who like Yzerman, is a perfect fit as Red Wing captain.
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