E.J. Hradek posted a note the other day that with the Red Wings passing the 100-point barrier, they became the only team in the NHL to break that barrier each of the last nine seasons.
I'm willing to go one better. Translate 100 points in hockey to the three major North American sports leagues, and you get a 50-win season in basketball, a 10-win season in football, and a 99-win season in baseball. Because a 99-win season is so rare in baseball, I'll expand it to a 90-win season (which is a mark of a pretty good season).
| League | Equivalent | Average Teams/Year |
| NHL | 100 points | 7.3 |
| NFL | 10 wins | 10.6 |
| NBA | 50 wins | 8.1 |
| MLB | 99 wins | 1.4 |
| MLB | 90 wins | 6.7 |
There are 118 teams in those four leagues that have been in existence for the past nine seasons. Take a guess how many have broken the barrier for all nine seasons?
| League | 6/9 | 7/9 | 8/9 | 9/9 |
| NHL | NJ* | DET | ||
| NFL | NE, PIT, PHI | IND | ||
| NBA | LAL* | DET | DAL | SA* |
| MLB | BOS,OAK | NYY | ||
| Total | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
* means that they are on pace to break the barrier this season.
The San Antonio Spurs are the only other one to have done it (and they're streak is at 12 seasons and running).
This statistic boggles my mind. It doesn't just show how consistently good the Wings are: it shows what an incredible front office and coaching staff this team has had, through a league that's undergone tremendous change.
Raw data here.