Detroit — Coming out of Prince Edward Island and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gerard Gallant arrived in town in 1985, debuting for the Red Wings against the Islanders on January 22.
They were not much of a club.
But Gallant scored in the second period of a 5-4 victory, And the Red Wings snapped a 12-game winless streak.
The Dead Things were like that. They earned their nickname.
A career ending back injury in practice forced his retirement at 32, at the start of the 1995-96 season, the Wings 41nd in a row without a Stanley Cup.