Division 5th Norris Goals for 266 General Manager Jim Devellano | 1985–86 record 17–57–6 Goals against 415 Coach Harry Neale,
Brad Park | |
The 1985–86 season is the team's 60th season, their 54th season as the Red Wings. This is the first of two seasons in which Red Wings games would air in the Detroit area on then-independent WXON-TV (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD) channel 20 before returning to WKBD channel 50 (then a Fox station, now with The CW) for the 1987–88 season after the two year break. It is also the first of 11 seasons with current NBC sportscaster Dave Strader as the Red Wings' television play-by-play announcer, joining him as color commentator and analyst is former Red Wings right wing man Mickey Redmond. It is unknown at this time if this is Redmond's first season as analyst, but when the games moved to WKBD in 1987, they went along with them. Also, the Red Wings played their first game with Hall of Famer Brad Park as their head coach on December 31, 1985. This was Park's only season as a head coach in the NHL, replacing current Buffalo Sabres radio and television color analyst Harry Neale, who was fired after 35 games. Park had retired as a player during the previous season. The Red Wings finished dead last in the Norris Division, the Clarence Campbell Conference, and in the entire National Hockey League with a record of 17 wins, 57 losses and 6 ties, failing to make the playoffs with only 40 points. It is the worst record in franchise history; the Red Wings finished the season with the least goals scored of all NHL teams, the most goals against, and the most penalty minutes. Since this time, the Red Wings would miss the playoffs only one more time, that was the 1989–90 season.
Contents
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Regular season
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; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;