The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.

History

Desirous of promoting a winning atmosphere, Detroit ensured that the Adirondack Red Wings would have, for a minor league franchise, an unusually stable, veteran-laden roster. Veterans such as Glenn Merkosky, Jody Gage, Greg Joly, Norm Maracle and Dennis Polonich bolstered a team that saw over thirty players have 200 or more games with the franchise, including nine with over 300 and two (Merkosky and Joly) with over 400. In consequence, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only once in their twenty-year history. They played for the Calder Cup four times, winning each time.

The Red Wings' uniforms were identical to the parent club, with the white jersey featuring the distinctive red sleeves that the Detroit franchise has worn since 1956. During their final two seasons, the Adirondack Red Wings also wore a third jersey, based on Detroit's throwback design from 1991–92, replacing the word "DETROIT" on the front of the jersey with the winged wheel logo.

The Red Wings prospered as Detroit's top affiliate. However, by the late 1990s, the parent club wanted to move the affiliation closer to Detroit in order to ease movement of players between the minors and the NHL. Glens Falls was over 650 miles from Detroit. In early 1999, the Detroit Red Wings announced plans to move the team to Rossford, Ohio—a Toledo suburb—for the 2000–01 season. The Red Wings later suspended the franchise's operations following the 1998–99 season. As part of the agreement to relocate the franchise, the city of Rossford was to build a $48 million entertainment complex that included a 12,000-seat arena. However, the arena deal fell apart in late 2000. The franchise remained dormant until 2002, when it was purchased by the ownership of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs and resurrected as the San Antonio Rampage. In the same year, the Red Wings finally got an in-market AHL affiliate in the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The franchise was replaced by: Adirondack IceHawks/Frostbite of the UHL (1999–2006). Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL (2009–2014). Adirondack Flames of the AHL (2014–2015). Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL (2015–present).

Coaches Bill Purcell 1979–1980 Wayne Maxner 1980–1981 Doug McKay 1981–1982 Bill Mahoney 1982–1983 Bill Dineen 1983–1989 Barry Melrose 1989–1992 Newell Brown 1992–1997 Glenn Merkosky 1997–1999

General managers Ned Harkness 1979–1982 Jim Devellano 1982–1985 Neil Smith 1985–1989 Bill Dineen 1989–1990 Barry Melrose 1990–1992 Doug MacLean 1992–1994 Ken Holland 1995–1997 Don Waddell 1997–1999

Season-by-season results

Tidewater Wings 1971–1972 Virginia Wings 1972–1975 Adirondack Red Wings 1979–1999

Regular season Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL Points Goalsfor Goalsagainst Standing1971–72 762245 9— 531972756th, West1972–73 76382216— 922582213rd, West1973–74 76224410— 542163076th, South1974–75 75313113— 752542501st, South1979–80 80323711— 752973094th, North1980–81 803540 5— 753053282nd, South1981–82 803437 9— 772992855th, South1982–83 803639 5— 773293434th, North1983–84 80372914— 883443302nd, North1984–85 803537 8— 782903365th, North1985–86 804131 8— 903392981st, North1986–87 804431— 5 933292962nd, North1987–88 80422311 4 993062753rd, South1988–89 804727 6—1003692941st, South1989–90 80422711— 953303042nd, South1990–91 80333710— 763203465th, South1991–92 804036 4— 843353092nd, North1992–93 803635 9— 813313082nd, North1993–94 804527 8— 983332731st, North1994–95 80323810— 742712944th, North1995–96 803832 8 2 862712472nd, Central1996–97 80382812 2 902582492nd, Empire State1997–98 803137 9 3 742452754th, Empire State1998–99 802148 8 3 531842804th, Empire State

Playoffs Season1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals1971–72 Out of Playoffs1972–73 W, 4-3, Hershey L, 2-4, Cincinnati ——1973–74 Out of Playoffs1974–75 L, 1-4, New Haven ———1979–80 L, 1-4, New Brunswick ———1980–81 W, 4-2, Binghamton W, 4-2, Hershey —W, 4-2, Maine1981–82 L, 2-3, New Brunswick ———1982–83 L, 2-4, Fredericton ———1983–84 L, 3-4, Maine ———1984–85 Out of Playoffs1985–86 W, 4-2, Fredericton W, 4-1, Moncton —W, 4-2, Hershey 1986–87 W, 4-2, Moncton L, 1-4, Sherbrooke ——1987–88 W, 4-3, Rochester L, 0-4, Hershey ——1988–89 W, 4-1, Newmarket W, 4-3, Hershey —W, 4-1, New Haven1989–90 L, 2-4, Baltimore ———1990–91 L, 4-13, Hershey † ———1991–92 W, 4-1, New Haven W, 4-0, Springfield W, 2-1, Rochester W, 4-3, St. John's1992–93 W, 4-0, Capital District L, 3-4, Springfield ——1993–94 W, 4-2, Springfield L, 2-4, Portland ——1994–95 L, 0-4, Albany ———1995–96 L, 0-3, Rochester ———1996–97 L, 1-3, Albany ———1997–98 L, 0-3, Albany ———1998–99 L, 0-3, Rochester ——— † Two game combined total goals series in preliminary round.

Notable alumni Allan Bester Bob Boughner Shawn Burr Tim Cheveldae Steve Chiasson Jim Cummins Mathieu Dandenault Dallas Drake Kris Draper Murray EavesDarren Eliot Brent Fedyk Tim Friday Jody Gage Gerard Gallant Adam Graves Glen Hanlon Dave Hanson Shane Hnidy Ken HollandTomas Holmstrom Doug Houda Greg Johnson Sheldon Kennedy Petr Klima Mike Knuble Joe Kocur Vyacheslav Kozlov Gord Kruppke Pavel KubinaMaxim Kuznetsov Mark Laforest Martin Lapointe Pete Mahovlich Norm Maracle Darren McCarty Randy McKay Barry Melrose Glenn Merkosky Joe MurphyTed Nolan Lee Norwood Adam Oates John Ogrodnick Chris Osgood Dennis Polonich Keith Primeau Bob Probert Jamie Pushor Yves RacineJim Rutherford Brad Smith Mike Sillinger Greg Stefan Sam St. Laurent Tim Taylor Wes Walz Aaron Ward Jason York Marc Potvin American Hockey League Hall of Famers AHL Hall of Fame Honored Members Name Seasons Induction Year Bruce Boudreau 1991-92 (player) 2009 Bill Dineen 1983-89 (head coach) 2014 Murray Eaves 1987-90, 1994-95 (player)1995-98 (asst. coach) 2019 Jody Gage 1979-85 (player) 2006 Glenn Merkosky 1985-91 (player)1991-92 (asst. coach)1996-99 (head coach) 2018

Team records Career goals: Glenn Merkosky: 204 Career assists: Glenn Merkosky: 212 Career points: Glenn Merkosky: 416 Career penalty minutes: Gord Kruppke: 1,028 Career games: Glenn Merkosky: 430

Former affiliates (6 stations) WROW/590: Albany WZZM-FM/93.5: Corinth WENU/101.7: Hudson Falls WVKZ/1240: Schenectady WSTL/1410: South Glens Falls WKBE/100.5: Warrensburg

References

External links The Internet Hockey Database - Adirondack Red Wings