Fans of the Detroit Red Wings have certainly been spoiled over the years, having gotten to enjoy an incredible streak of 25 consecutive playoff berths, six Stanley Cup Finals appearances, and four championships. All this taking place while getting to watch some of the greatest players in NHL history hit the ice wearing the Winged Wheel.
And it's been a treat for the ears of fans everywhere thanks to the broadcast duo of Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond that have been together since the 1997-98 season, who have consistently been ranked among the NHL's best at their craft.
In a recent polling of hockey fans, the broadcast duo of Daniels and Redmond along with the supporting cast of Larry Murphy, Chris Osgood, Trevor Thompson and Jimmy Howard are ranked No. 2 overall out of the 32 NHL clubs!
Take a look at their full ranking and reasoning from The Athletic:
The broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit carries Red Wings games with Ken Daniels calling play-by-play and Mickey Redmond handling most games as the color analyst.
Local ranking: 2
National: 2
Last season: 1
The results: Red Wings fans have endured a lot of pain and losing in recent years. A bad on-ice product can sour the experience of viewers, so it’s a testament to Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmonds’ first-class presentation that Detroit’s local broadcast continues to be revered.
The Red Wings broadcast earned extremely high marks because of how well they strike the balance between clean, professional playcalling, informative analysis and entertaining storytelling. They have a perfect feel for what the moment requires. Mickey’s catchphrases are legendary among Wings fans, with his colorful personality adding a nice foil to Daniels’ sharp, objective play calling.
“Often I turn on games more to enjoy the broadcasters’ presentations than to follow the action,” wrote one fan. “I live in California now and still try to tune in for every game because I realize this is a true golden age in Red Wings’ broadcasts.”
Chris Osgood, Larry Murphy and Jimmy Howard have all rotated to fill in on color on occasion to high praise as well.
