Detroit’s Hockey Fights Cancer Night carried a weight far beyond the matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena. The Red Wings honored Jenny Baumann, who died of cancer Saturday at age 55, while the organization, its players and its fans filled the building with tributes to people affected by the disease.
- Red Wings physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer Russ Baumann lost his wife, Jenny, to cancer on Saturday. A Hockey Fights Cancer jersey bearing the Baumann name was placed above the Winged Wheel at the dressing-room entrance.
- Detroit players, coaches and staff wore Hockey Fights Cancer hoodies marked with “JB” on the right shoulder. Cards around the team’s tribute named the people for whom members of the club were fighting.
- Coach Todd McLellan became emotional discussing the loss, saying the human side of the game matters more than the daily concerns over results, contracts and transactions.
- Forward Emmitt Finnie, 21, continued a personal tradition by drawing a cancer ribbon on the top of his stick knob for his mother, Shannon. She previously beat breast cancer and is now being treated for liver cancer; Finnie said she is doing well.
- Actor and lifelong Red Wings supporter Dave Coulier attended with “Full House” co-star Andrea Barber. Coulier, who grew up in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, is a survivor of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and carcinoma.
- Coulier urged people to keep up with screening appointments, crediting early detection with saving his life twice. He said he considers himself a survivor rather than someone whose cancer is simply behind him.
The league and NHL Players’ Association are in the 28th season of Hockey Fights Cancer. The initiative has brought in more than $53 million overall. Its partnership with the V Foundation, which began in 2023, has produced more than $12.3 million for research and helped fund 42 research grants.
Detroit’s rink presentation kept the focus on survivors, families and caregivers. Fans added names to stickers on large DRW letters in the concourse, then held tribute cards during a first-period moment. American Cancer Society guests attended through Fifth Third, while a survivor rang the bell and handled the ceremonial puck drop alongside her family.
A woman in remission joined the anthem singer on the ice. A 10-year-old player in remission skated out with Detroit’s starters. An artist also created a custom Hockey Fights Cancer Red Wings helmet that will be sold after the season.
Coulier and Barber appeared on the videoboard during the opening period in their specialty jerseys as the “Full House” theme played. Coulier waved to the crowd and cheered for Detroit. Barber had come in from Los Angeles to support her friend, having attended only one hockey game previously, but said she expected to leave the building as a fan.
Finnie said the night was meaningful because cancer reaches so many families, while also recognizing the grief surrounding Baumann and the Red Wings staff. Detroit is auctioning Hockey Fights Cancer items, with proceeds directed to the American Cancer Society.
