2012–13 Detroit Red Wings season

The 2012–13 Detroit Red Wings season was the 87th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. This was the first time since the 1990–91 season that the Red Wings did not have Nicklas Lidstrom on their roster although the Red Wings drafted Lidstrom in the 1989 NHL entry draft but Lidstrom didn't made his Red Wings debut until the 1991–92 season, Lidstrom retired during the 2012 offseason. Henrik Zetterberg was appointed as team captain.

2012–13 Detroit Red Wings
Division	3rd Central
Conference	7th Western
2012–13 record	24–16–8
Home record	13–7–4
Road record	11–9–4
Goals for	124
Goals against	115
Team information
General manager	Ken Holland
Coach	Mike Babcock
Captain	Henrik Zetterberg
Alternate captains	Pavel Datsyuk Niklas Kronwall
Arena	Joe Louis Arena
Average attendance	20,066 (100%) Total: 481,584[1] (24 games)
Team leaders
Goals	Pavel Datsyuk (15)
Assists	Henrik Zetterberg (37)
Points	Pavel Datsyuk (49)
Penalty minutes	Jordin Tootoo (78)
Plus/minus	Pavel Datsyuk (+21)
Wins	Jimmy Howard (21)
Goals against average	Jimmy Howard (2.13)
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

As of 2025, this is the most recent season that the Red Wings won a playoff series.

Off-season

On May 31, 2012, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom announced his retirement from the NHL after 20 seasons.^[2] Lidstrom won four Stanley Cups and seven Norris Trophies during his Hall of Fame career, all with the Red Wings.

Regular season

Central Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	p – Chicago Blackhawks	48	36	7	5	30	155	102	+53	77
2	x – St. Louis Blues	48	29	17	2	24	129	115	+14	60
3	x – Detroit Red Wings	48	24	16	8	22	124	115	+9	56
4	Columbus Blue Jackets	48	24	17	7	19	120	119	+1	55
5	Nashville Predators	48	16	23	9	14	111	139	−28	41

Source: National Hockey League
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot

Western Conference

Pos	Div	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	CE	p – Chicago Blackhawks	48	36	7	5	30	155	102	+53	77
2	PA	y – Anaheim Ducks	48	30	12	6	24	140	118	+22	66
3	NW	y – Vancouver Canucks	48	26	15	7	21	127	121	+6	59
4	CE	x – St. Louis Blues	48	29	17	2	24	129	115	+14	60
5	PA	x – Los Angeles Kings	48	27	16	5	25	133	118	+15	59
6	PA	x – San Jose Sharks	48	25	16	7	17	124	116	+8	57
7	CE	x – Detroit Red Wings	48	24	16	8	22	124	115	+9	56
8	NW	x – Minnesota Wild	48	26	19	3	22	122	127	−5	55
9	CE	Columbus Blue Jackets	48	24	17	7	19	120	119	+1	55
10	PA	Phoenix Coyotes	48	21	18	9	17	125	131	−6	51
11	PA	Dallas Stars	48	22	22	4	20	130	142	−12	48
12	NW	Edmonton Oilers	48	19	22	7	17	125	134	−9	45
13	NW	Calgary Flames	48	19	25	4	19	128	160	−32	42
14	CE	Nashville Predators	48	16	23	9	14	111	139	−28	41
15	NW	Colorado Avalanche	48	16	25	7	14	116	152	−36	39

Source: National Hockey League
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

2012–13 Game Log
January: 3–2–1 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Pts Recap 1 January 19 Detroit L 0–6 St. Louis Howard 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 January 21 Detroit W 4–3 Columbus SO Howard 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 January 22 Dallas L 1–2 Detroit Howard 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 January 25 Minnesota W 5–3 Detroit Howard 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 January 27 Detroit L 1–2 Chicago OT Howard 2–2–1 5 Recap 6 January 29 Dallas W 1–4 Detroit Howard 3–2–1 7 Recap
February: 7–6–2 (Home: 5–3–1; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Pts Recap 7 February 1 St. Louis W 3–5 Detroit Howard 4–2–1 9 Recap 8 February 2 Detroit L 2–4 Columbus Howard 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 February 5 Calgary L 4–1 Detroit Howard 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 February 7 Detroit W 5–1 St. Louis Mrazek 5–4–1 11 Recap 11 February 9 Edmonton W 1–2 Detroit Howard 6–4–1 13 Recap 12 February 10 Los Angeles W2–3 Detroit Howard 7–4–1 15 Recap 13 February 13 St. Louis L 4–3 Detroit OT Howard 7–4–2 16 Recap 14 February 15 Anaheim L 5–2 Detroit Howard 7–5–2 16 Recap 15 February 17 Detroit L 2–3 Minnesota Mrazek 7–6–2 16 Recap 16 February 19 Detroit L 3–4 Nashville OT Howard 7–6–3 17 Recap 17 February 21 Columbus L 3–2 Detroit Howard 7–7–3 19 Recap 18 February 23 Nashville W 0–4 Detroit Howard 8–7–3 19 Recap 19 February 24 Vancouver W 3–8 Detroit Howard 9–7–3 21 Recap 20 February 27 Detroit L 1–2 Los Angeles Howard 9–8–3 21 Recap 21 February 28 Detroit W 2–1 San Jose OT Gustavsson 10–8–3 23 Recap
March: 7–5–2 (Home: 2–2–2; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Pts Recap 22 March 3 Chicago L 2–1 Detroit SO Howard 10–8–4 24 Recap 23 March 5 Colorado W 1–2 Detroit Howard 11–8–4 26 Recap 24 March 7 Edmonton W 0–3 Detroit Howard 12–8–4 28 Recap 25 March 9 Detroit L 0–3 Columbus Gustavsson 12–9–4 28 Recap 26 March 10 Columbus L 3–2 Detroit SO Howard 12–9–5 29 Recap 27 March 13 Detroit L 2–5 Calgary Gustavsson 12–10–5 29 Recap 28 March 15 Detroit W 3–2 Edmonton OT Howard 13–10–5 31 Recap 29 March 16 Detroit W 5–2 Vancouver Howard 14–10–5 33 Recap 30 March 20 Minnesota L 4–2 Detroit Howard 14–11–5 33 Recap 31 March 22 Detroit W 5–1 Anaheim Howard 15–11–5 35 Recap 32 March 24 Detroit W 2–1 Anaheim Howard 16–11–5 37 Recap 33 March 25 Detroit W 3–2 Phoenix Gustavsson 17–11–5 39 Recap 34 March 28 Detroit L 0–2 San Jose Howard 17–12–5 39 Recap 35 March 31 Chicago L 7–1 Detroit Howard 17–13–5 39 Recap
April: 7–3–3 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record Pts Recap 36 April 1 Colorado W 2–3 Detroit Howard 18–13–5 41 Recap 37 April 4 Detroit L 2–4 Phoenix Howard 18–14–5 41 Recap 38 April 5 Detroit W 3–2 Colorado OT Howard 19–14–5 43 Recap 39 April 7 St. Louis L 1–0 Detroit Howard 19–15–5 43 Recap 40 April 11 San Jose L 3–2 Detroit SO Howard 19–15–6 44 Recap 41 April 12 Detroit L 2–3 Chicago SO Howard 19–15–7 45 Recap 42 April 14 Detroit W 3–0 Nashville Howard 20–15–7 47 Recap 43 April 17 Detroit L 2–3 Calgary Howard 20–16–7 47 Recap 44 April 20 Detroit L 1–2 Vancouver SO Howard 20–16–8 48 Recap 45 April 22 Phoenix W 0–4 Detroit Howard 21–16–8 50 Recap 46 April 24 Los Angeles W 1–3 Detroit Howard 22–16–8 52 Recap 47 April 25 Nashville W 2–5 Detroit Howard 23–16–8 54 Recap 48 April 27 Detroit W 3–0 Dallas Howard 24–16–8 56 Recap Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks – Detroit won series 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 April 30 Detroit 1–3 Anaheim Howard 0–1 Recap 2 May 2 Detroit 5–4 Anaheim OT Howard 1–1 Recap 3 May 4 Anaheim 4–0 Detroit Howard 1–2 Recap 4 May 6 Anaheim 2–3 Detroit OT Howard 2–2 Recap 5 May 8 Detroit 2–3 Anaheim OT Howard 2–3 Recap 6 May 10 Anaheim 3–4 Detroit OT Howard 3–3 Recap 7 May 12 Detroit 3–2 Anaheim Howard 4–3 Recap
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Chicago Blackhawks – Chicago won series 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 May 15 Detroit 1–4 Chicago Howard 0–1 Recap 2 May 18 Detroit 4–1 Chicago Howard 1–1 Recap 3 May 20 Chicago 1–3 Detroit Howard 2–1 Recap 4 May 23 Chicago 0–2 Detroit Howard 3–1 Recap 5 May 25 Detroit 1–4 Chicago Howard 3–2 Recap 6 May 27 Chicago 4–3 Detroit Howard 3–3 Recap 7 May 29 Detroit 1–2 Chicago OT Howard 3–4 Recap

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pavel Datsyuk 47 15 34 49 21 14 Henrik Zetterberg 46 11 37 48 2 18 Johan Franzen 41 14 17 31 13 41 Niklas Kronwall 48 5 24 29 −5 44 Damien Brunner 44 12 14 26 −6 12 Valtteri Filppula 41 9 8 17 −4 6 Daniel Cleary 48 9 6 15 −6 40 Jonathan Ericsson 45 3 10 13 6 29 Jakub Kindl 41 4 9 13 15 28 Justin Abdelkader 48 10 3 13 6 34 Jordin Tootoo 42 3 5 8 0 78 Patrick Eaves 34 2 6 8 −1 4 Drew Miller 44 4 4 8 −8 2 Cory Emmerton 48 5 3 8 −1 4 Brendan Smith 34 0 8 8 1 36 Joakim Andersson 38 3 5 8 2 8 Tomas Tatar 18 4 3 7 2 4 Gustav Nyquist 22 3 3 6 0 6 Brian Lashoff 31 1 4 5 −10 15 Ian White 25 2 2 4 5 4 Todd Bertuzzi 7 2 1 3 3 2 Kyle Quincey 36 1 2 3 7 18 Mikael Samuelsson 4 0 1 1 −3 0 Carlo Colaiacovo 6 0 1 1 −4 2 Danny DeKeyser 11 0 1 1 4 2 Darren Helm 1 0 0 0 0 2 Jan Mursak 2 0 0 0 0 4 Riley Sheahan 1 0 0 0 0 0 Kent Huskins‡ 11 0 0 0 −3 4

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Henrik Zetterberg 14 4 8 12 3 8 Daniel Cleary 14 4 6 10 −1 2 Pavel Datsyuk 14 3 6 9 2 4 Damien Brunner 14 5 4 9 2 4 Valtteri Filppula 14 2 4 6 −4 4 Johan Franzen 14 4 2 6 −7 8 Jakub Kindl 14 1 4 5 4 10 Brendan Smith 14 2 3 5 −3 10 Joakim Andersson 14 1 4 5 2 10 Gustav Nyquist 14 2 3 5 3 2 Jonathan Ericsson 14 0 3 3 2 2 Patrick Eaves 13 1 2 3 −1 4 Justin Abdelkader 12 2 1 3 4 33 Mikael Samuelsson 5 1 1 2 −1 2 Niklas Kronwall 14 0 2 2 −1 4 Kyle Quincey 14 0 2 2 −3 12 Drew Miller 6 1 1 2 1 2 Carlo Colaiacovo 9 0 1 1 3 2 Cory Emmerton 13 0 1 1 −2 4 Todd Bertuzzi 6 0 0 0 −2 2 Jordin Tootoo 1 0 0 0 0 2 Brian Lashoff 3 0 0 0 0 0 Danny DeKeyser 2 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Jimmy Howard	42	42	2445:44	21	13	7	87	2.13	1,129	.923	5	0	1	0
Jonas Gustavsson	7	4	349:15	2	2	1	17	2.92	140	.879	0	0	1	2
Petr Mrazek	2	2	119:09	1	1	0	4	2.02	51	.922	0	0	0	0

Goaltenders

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Jimmy Howard	14	14	859:28	7	7	35	2.44	461	.924	1	0	0	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Awards

Regular season
Player	Award	Awarded
Jimmy Howard[3]	NHL First Star of the Week	April 29, 2013
Henrik Zetterberg[3]	NHL Second Star of the Week	April 29, 2013

Records

24 consecutive home wins

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Brian Lashoff	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Goal	January 21, 2013
Damien Brunner	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	January 22, 2013
Kent Huskins	300th Career NHL Game	January 22, 2013
Damien Brunner	1st Career NHL Assist	January 27, 2013
Daniel Cleary	500th Career NHL Game	February 2, 2013
Jimmy Howard	200th Career NHL Game	February 2, 2013
Todd Bertuzzi	1,100th Career NHL Game	February 7, 2013
Petr Mrazek	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Win	February 7, 2013
Tomas Tatar	1st Career NHL Assist	February 7, 2013
Niklas Kronwall	50th Career NHL Goal	February 9, 2013
Jordin Tootoo	500th Career NHL Game	February 15, 2013
Joakim Andersson	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	February 15, 2013
Brian Lashoff	1st Career NHL Assist	February 17, 2013
Drew Miller	300th Career NHL Game	February 27, 2013
Cory Emmerton	100th Career NHL Game	March 13, 2013
Patrick Eaves	400th career NHL Game	March 16, 2013
Pavel Datsyuk	250th Career NHL Goal 500th Career NHL Assist	March 22, 2013
Henrik Zetterberg	700th Career NHL Game	March 24, 2013
Niklas Kronwall	500th Career NHL Game	March 25, 2013
Ian White	500th Career NHL Game	March 31, 2013
Johan Franzen	500th Career NHL Game	March 31, 2013
Henrik Zetterberg	400th Career NHL Assist	April 11, 2013
Danny DeKeyser	1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	April 14, 2013
Johan Franzen	300th Career NHL Point	April 14, 2013
Valtteri Filppula	100th Career NHL Goal	April 25, 2013

Playoffs
Player	Milestone	Reached
Danny DeKeyser	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	April 30, 2013
Jakub Kindl	1st Career NHL Playoff Assist	April 30, 2013
Gustav Nyquist	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal	May 2, 2013
Damien Brunner	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal	May 2, 2013
Brian Lashoff	1st Career NHL Playoff Game	May 4, 2013
Mikael Samuelsson	100th Career NHL Playoff Game	May 4, 2013
Joakim Andersson	1st Career NHL Playoff Assist	May 6, 2013
Brendan Smith	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist	May 6, 2013
Gustav Nyquist	1st Career NHL Playoff Assist	May 6, 2013
Pavel Datsyuk	100th Career NHL Playoff Point	May 10, 2013
Valtteri Filppula	100th Career NHL Playoff Game	May 18, 2013
Cory Emmerton	1st Career NHL Playoff Assist	May 20, 2013
Jakub Kindl	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal	May 23, 2013
Johan Franzen	100th Career NHL Playoff Game	May 25, 2013
Joakim Andersson	1st Career NHL Playoff Goal	May 27, 2013

Transactions

The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2012–13 season.

Trades

Date	Details
June 10, 2012[4]	To San Jose Sharks Brad Stuart[a]	To Detroit Red Wings Andrew Murray[b] Conditional 7th-round pick in 2014[c]
March 30, 2013[5]	To Philadelphia Flyers Kent Huskins	To Detroit Red Wings Conditional 7th-round pick in 2014[d]

Trade of negotiating rights to. Trade of negotiating rights to. Condition satisfied. Condition not satisfied. Free agents signed Player Former team Contract terms Ref Jonas Gustavsson Winnipeg Jets 2 years, $3 million [6] Damien Brunner EV Zug 1 year, $925,000 [7] Mikael Samuelsson Florida Panthers 2 years, $6 million [8] Jordin Tootoo Nashville Predators 3 years, $5.7 million [9] Carlo Colaiacovo St. Louis Blues 2 years, $5 million [10] Kent Huskins St. Louis Blues 1 year, $750,000 [11] Danny DeKeyser Western Michigan University 2 years, $1.85 million entry-level contract [12] Jared Coreau Northern Michigan University 3 years, $2.3775 million entry-level contract [13]

Free agents lost Player New team Contract terms Ref Jiri Hudler Calgary Flames 4 years, $16 million [14] Chris Conner Phoenix Coyotes 1 year, $650,000 [15] Andrew Murray St. Louis Blues 1 year, $600,000 [16]

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers Ref Joey MacDonald Calgary Flames February 11, 2013 [17]

Lost via retirement Player Ref Nicklas Lidstrom [2] Tomas Holmstrom

Player signings Player Date Contract terms Darren Helm[18] June 19, 2012 4 years, $8.5 million Max Nicastro[19] July 3, 2012 2 years, $1.225 million entry-level contract Marek Tvrdon[19] July 3, 2012 3 years, entry-level contract Kyle Quincey[20] July 18, 2012 2 years, $7.55 million Martin Frk[21] July 31, 2012 3 years, $2.1025 million entry-level contract Tomas Jurco[22] August 7, 2012 3 years, $2.1275 million entry-level contract Justin Abdelkader[23] September 14, 2012 4 years, $7.2 million Nick Jensen[24] May 2, 2013 2 years, $1.53 million entry-level contract Mattias Backman[25] May 21, 2013 3 years, $2.1525 million entry-level contract Alexey Marchenko[26] May 30, 2013 3 years, $2 million entry-level contract Pavel Datsyuk[27] June 18, 2013 3 years, $22.5 million contract extension Jakub Kindl[28] June 29, 2013 4 years, $9.6 million contract extension Drew Miller[28] June 29, 2013 3 years, $4.05 million contract extension

Draft picks

Main article: 2012 NHL Entry Draft

The Detroit Red Wings' picks at the 2012 NHL entry draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 22 & 23, 2012.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	49	Martin Frk	RW	Czech Republic	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
3	80	Jake Paterson	G	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
4	110	Andreas Athanasiou	C/LW	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
5	140	Michael McKee	D	Canada	Lincoln Stars (USHL)
6	170	James De Haas	D	Canada	Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL)
7	200	Rasmus Bodin	LW	Sweden	Ostersunds IK (Division 1)

Draft notes

• The Red Wings' first-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a February 21, 2012, trade that sent Kyle Quincey to the Red Wings in exchange for Sebastien Piche and this pick.

See also

• 2012–13 NHL season