1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season
The 1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in fourth place in the National Hockey League with a record of 31 wins, 27 losses, and 12 ties for 74 points. They defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in six games in the semi-finals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final, also in six games. The Red Wings would not appear in the Final again until the 1995 Final.Offseason
Regular season
Final standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
Regular season
;Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| RW | 70 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 83 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| C | 70 | 31 | 41 | 72 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| C/LW | 70 | 31 | 38 | 69 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| RW | 66 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| RW | 70 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| RW | 69 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| C | 70 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| LW | 43 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 43 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 61 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 96 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 61 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LW | 32 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| D | 58 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 37 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LW | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| LW | 59 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 70 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 133 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 24 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 26 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| 3734 | 64 | 27 | 24 | 12 | 173 | 2.78 | 7 |
| 406 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2.51 | 0 |
| 60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 191 | 2.73 | 7 |
Playoffs
;Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 12 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 | | | |
| C/LW | 12 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 4 | | | |
| LW | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | | | |
| RW | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | | | |
| RW | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | | | |
| RW | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | | | |
| RW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | | | |
| C | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | | | |
| LW | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | | | |
| D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | | | |
| D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | | | |
| D | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | | | |
| D | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 30 | | | |
| LW | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | | | |
| D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | | | |
| G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |
| C | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| 668 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 2.34 | 1 |
| 54 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.22 | 0 |
| Team: | 722 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 2.33 | 1 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;Playoffs
Roster
Draft picks
Detroit's draft picks at the 1965 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 3 | George Forgie | | Flin Flon Bombers |
| 2 | 8 | Bob Birdsell | | Stettler Midgets |
Awards and honors
