Detroit — Scotty Bowman is a serious guy, and while that may be the understatement of the year, it makes a point.
Amid the wonderful events Sunday when the Red Wings gave Joe Louis Arena an appropriately grand send-off, Bowman said Wings fans are key to the success of the franchise.
It was not just a throwaway line, in the spirit of the moment. As is almost continuously the case, Bowman was talking hockey.
He knows about coaching with 20,066 Wings fans having his back and lifting his team.
“I want to say to you fans,” Bowman, said, tapping his right forefinger into the glass podium and delivering his next words with staccato rhythm for emphasis, “you made this franchise what it is today.