It seems that no matter who leaves, the Wings will either fill in that spot with younger options from within the organization, or they grab a low-budget free agent who seems to over-perform.
When Steve Yzerman left, the expectations to lead Detroit into the future fell to Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Both Henrik and Pavel have aptly grown into their leadership roles for this team, ensuring that their will always be a stable presence at the head of the ship alongside Head Coach Mike Babcock.
The one strategy that the Red Wings have preached since the Scotty Bowman coaching regime, is defensive responsibility from their forwards. Not only are Henrik and Pavel two of the premier defensive forwards in the league, but their teammates also pattern their own style of play after the scruffy Swede and the clean-shave Russian—executing the team concept of defense perfectly.
That’s not to say that the Red Wings don’t have offensive firepower—it’s quite the contrary, but the Red Wings may be one of the most perfectly balanced teams in recent memory.
Aside from the 97 and 92-point seasons of Datsyuk and Zetterberg respectively, the Red Wings also feature the emerging Johan Franzen and Valterri Filppula, while the signing of Marian Hossa (one year removed from a 100-point season) will only strengthen this team’s offensive prowess.
Wingin’ It While Wheelin’ Around the Blue Line…
The bread and butter of the Detroit Red Wings though, is their blue line, anchored by one of the All-Time greats.
The defense remains under the leadership of Nik Lidstrom—a man with four Stanley Cup Rings, six Norris trophies, and a Conn Smythe to boot—and he certainly doesn’t seem like he’s about to slow down any time soon if last season and the Stanley Cup playoffs were any indication.
Following up Nik on the blue line will be second-year Red Wing, Brian Rafalski, who has won himself a very quiet three Stanley Cups, and has also put up some solid numbers on defense and offense (back to back 50 point seasons, two seasons with a +/- over +20) and Brad Stuart—a guy who went from the bottom (Los Angeles) to being a league champion with Detroit—who can be a very good, consistent defenseman in the right environment.
Meanwhile Nik Kronwall will look to build upon a stellar year last season (including 15 assists and a plus 16 during the playoffs), while Andreas Lilja will look to recapture the magic from his 2004-05 season—his best in the NHL to date.
With the recent signing of Kyle Quincey to a two-year contract, the Red Wings are also insured in the event of injury, while Quincey can also push Lilja and Kronwall for a little bit of rotation on the back end.
Blue in the Baby-Face?
We're going to send you the most entertaining Detroit Red Wings articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
10 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete