April 17th

Birthdays!

1906 Herbie Lewis (1928-39) was born on this day in Calgary, Alberta. Knicknamed the "The Duke of Duluth" this former Red Wing left winger played 483 games for Detroit and scored 148 goals, 161 assists for 309 points. Lewis was a member of the 1936 and 1937 Stanley Cup teams. He was later inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.

1943 Dennis Hextall (1975-79) was born on this day in Poplar Point, Manitoba. The former Red Wing center played 193 games for Detroit and scored 39 goals, 82 assists for 121 points and had 457 penalty minutes.

1951 Borje Salming (1989-90) was born on this day in Kiruna, Sweden. One of the greatest Sweedish players ever, the defenceman spent most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In an effort to bring some star players to the Red Wings, then General Managaer Jimmy Devallano sinded Salming to play one more season. Salming skated in 49 games, scored two goals and 17 assists for 19 points. He was inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.