Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks complete a substantial trade today in hockey history

The upcoming Centennial season in Detroit gives fans an opportunity to look back at the Red Wings' rich history.

As one of the NHL's original six teams, there's a lot to cover, but for now, let's take a look at a trade that went down 72 years ago on this day in history.

On August 12th, 1953, the Red Wings general manager Jack Adams made a trade ahead of the 1953-54 season, where the team would go on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, with the Production Line leading the team to greatness.

The Wings traded three players to the Chicago Blackhawks: Lou Jankowski, Larry Wilson, and Larry "The Rock" Zeidel, in return for money:

This showed the commitment and the trust put into the Wings' top players: Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, and Red Kelly.

Jankowski, Wilson, and Zeidel ended up spending most of their careers in the AHL or WHL.

Jankowski had the biggest offensive impact of them all, with a career-high 57-goal tally in 69 games with the Calgary Stampeders during the 1959-60 season.

Larry Wilson, who won the Stanley Cup with the Wings in the 1949-50 season, was limited to 152 NHL games, playing most of his career with the Buffalo Bisons in the AHL. He was also head coach of the Wings for parts of the 1976-77 season.

As for Zeidel, he had a massive impact in the AHL, tallying a total of 2,253 penalty minutes over his career. He won the Stanley Cup in 1951-52 with Detroit but was limited to 158 NHL games for the Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers.

This trade may not be remembered by most fans, but it happened during an era of greatness in Detroit that players should take inspiration from entering the 2025-26 season.