Joe Louis Arena

Joe Louis Arena is the home of the Detroit Red Wings. It was completed in 1979 and replaced the Olympia. The first game there was a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. When it opened, the Red Wings were known as the Dead Wings and were one of the worst franchises in the NHL. That started to turn around when the team was bought by Mike Illich in 1982. Since that time, it has seen the Detroit Red Wings win 4 Stanley Cups.

Joe Louis from the Detroit River Side.

A cartoon depiction of an octopus. The fans of the Detroit Red Wings have a tradition of throwing an octopus on the ice during the playoffs. This started in the 1950's when a team only needed to win 8 games to win the Stanley Cup. Some fan threw an octopus on the ice and the team won the Cup. The tradition has continued.

A closeup of the face of the octopus. Kind of reminds me of Bender from Futurama.

The sign outside the arena. The score is from game 1 of this year's Stanley Cup finals.

A banner showing all the cups Detroit has won.

A better view from the Detroit River.