Fraser's Detroit Red Wings' 2009-10 Season Preview

I will be previewing all 30 NHL clubs. I will be looking at their available salary cap room, the additions and deletions from the 2008-09 rosters, and where I think they will stack up in their division and conference for the 2009-10 season. 

Let's get a move on with the Detroit Red Wings, which play in the Central Division and the Western Conference.

"To be the man, you have to beat the man." Wrestling World Champion Ric Flair’s catch phrase also applies to the Detroit Red Wings. Since current General Manager Ken Holland joined the Wings' front office in 1985, the team has only missed the playoffs twice (1986 and 1990).

The Wings have won four Stanley Cups, six Clarence Campbell Trophies (Western Conference Championship), six President's Trophies, 10 Western Conference Finals appearances, and 14 Division titles.

Until a team can prove otherwise, all roads in the Western Conference will eventually have to go through Michigan. Since 1994, when the NHL changed the playoff format from Divisional to Conference seedings, the Stanley Cup or Western Conference champs have either defeated the Wings or were defeated by the Wings in the Finals, 10 out of 14 years.  The Wings have been in the playoffs each of these years.

Hockeytown U.S.A. is alive and well.

They have built teams under both the free-spending system and the cap-system. Has the pieces to the puzzle leave due to retirement or unrestricted free agency, Holland just replaces them, either through the draft or going out and finding affordable UFA that can take over the roles of the departed pieces. Players know if they want to win a Stanley Cup and Ken Holland’s number comes up on their cell phones, they definitely better listen.

Case in point, prior to the 2008-09 season, Marian Hossa turned down a number of multi-year contracts worth millions for one shot with the Red Wings. It didn’t work out for Hossa, but for many players it has, such as Larry Murphy, Luc Robitaille, and Dominik Hasek. 

Let’s take a look at the 2009-10 version of the Detroit Red Wings.

Significant Additions

The unrestricted free agent deals that were signed to join the Red Wings this season are as follows: Patrick Eaves (Boston and Carolina), Todd Bertuzzi (Calgary), Doug Janik (Montreal) Jason Williams (Columbus), as well as Jeremy Williams and Kris Newbury (Toronto).

Significant Deletions

The unrestricted free agents that have moved on from Detroit are: Ty Conklin (St. Louis), Marian Hossa (Chicago), Mikael Samuelsson (Vancouver), Darren Haydar (Colorado) and Tomas Kopecky (Chicago).  Jiri Hudler has been awarded a two-year, $2.875 million contract, through salary arbitration, but has also signed with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL, in Russia.

Remaining Red Wings, who have yet to sign a deal with another franchise are: Chris Chelios, Aaron Downey, Darren McCarty, and Randall Gelech.

The Red Wings currently have 22 players, 12 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goalies with roster spots heading into training camp. Currently the Red Wings are sitting at $57.7 million for their salary cap. They are over the cap by approximately $970,000, so look for the Red Wings to only carry 20 players on the NHL roster and shuttle players back and forth from Grand Rapids or they may still have one move left before the season starts.

Top Young Faces in the Organization

The Red Wings have two players currently in their organization with more playoff experience than regular season experience, Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader. It may not be fair, but in any other organization they would be regulars during the regular season, but they probably wouldn’t have contributed in the Stanley Cup finals either, so pick your poison.

Here are the top young faces that will be looking to impress the Red Wings' management this season.

Jakub Kindl

Detroit's first round pick (19th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft has played in the AHL for the last two seasons. Jakub Kindl has already signed a three-year extension to stay with the Wings’ organization through the 2012-13 season. He is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and his extension is a one-way deal, so Kindl is definitely in Holland’s long term plans with the Red Wings.

According to hockeyfutures.com, Kindl has all of the tools needed to be a professional player. He has good size, skates well, and can handle the puck. The rougher North American game has been an adjustment for him, but he can take and deliver a hit and has dropped the gloves, showing that he can throw a pretty decent left.

Defensively the more aggressive forechecking schemes used by OHL teams seemed to baffle him at times, but he had adjusted to that over the course of the season. His positioning, when away from the puck, does sometimes lapse. Offensively, Kindl will need another year to show what he can do; power play time was rare on a Ranger team that often used four forwards on the power play. The smaller rinks and the red line pass were areas that he needed time to adjust to as well.

Ville Leino

Ville Leino signed a free agent contract with the Red Wings prior to the 2008-09 season and he split last year between Grand Rapids and Detroit last season. The 26-year-old Finnish born left winger played in 13 games with the Wings, racking up five goals and four assists. 

It appears that Leino has a roster spot for himself with the Red Wings.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock commented that Leino was the "best player" he had ever sent to the minors.

According to redwingscentral.com, Leino plays a puck-possession style that fits the Red Wings' current system to a T.  He is an exciting, dynamic offensive player who has the upside to be a real home run acquisition. He is good playmaker and is strong down low on the cycle. He controls the puck well along the boards. He is a great puckhandler, who is dangerous 1-on-1, with soft hands and a finishing ability take has come a long way from his earlier years in Finland.

Leino still needs heavy defensive schooling and does not have top-flight speed. He is prone to over-handling the puck and at times has poor shot-pass selection, sometimes opting for neither, and eventually loses the puck.

Brendan Smith

Detroit's first round pick (27th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft has played the last two seasons with the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA.  The 20-year-old defenseman has battled through injuries in his first two seasons at Wisconsin, but is gradually rounding out his already stellar offensive game. How Brendan Smith performs in 2009-10 will determine whether the Red Wings pull him out of college a year early, as they did with Justin Abdelkader and Jimmy Howard or leave him in for his senior season.

He is a potential top-four NHL defenseman.

According to redwingscentral.com Smith is a high-end power play quarterback. He is an outstanding skater who loves to rush the puck. Smith has terrific vision and makes a crisp first pass out of the defensive zone. He has fantastic smarts in the offensive zone and rarely panics. Smith plays with a strong competitive nature. He doesn't punish anyone physically, but is willing to get his nose dirty.

His defensive game has progressed, but continued improvement will be the key. He's a real offensive risk-taker who can get caught pinching from time to time. Maturity and character have come under scrutiny after off-ice incidents resulted in a team suspension.

He needs to add strength to his slender frame, as injuries have derailed his first two seasons at Wisconsin...a healthy season would be a plus for his development.

Thomas McCollum

Detroit’s first round pick (30th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the soon to be, 20-year-old goaltender has been pegged as the goalie of the future in Detroit. Thomas McCollum will either go back to the OHL's Brampton Battalion or turn pro and head for Grand Rapids in the AHL.

Detroit's history is to leave young goaltenders in the minors for at least four seasons, just as they did with Joey MacDonald and Jimmy Howard. If anyone knows how to handle goaltenders, it's Holland who was a professional goaltender for eight seasons including a cup of coffee in the NHL.

According to NHL Central Scouting's Al Jensen, "McCollum’s No. 1 attribute is his net position, it’s second to none, there are rarely any holes and he has a great butterfly. When he is challenging and at the top of his game he is very tough to beat. He has good net coverage and he is very competitive; capable of making the big saves for his team. He handles the puck well and his play has gotten better over the course of the year by leaps and bounds. He is definitely one of those franchise type of goalies in the future. You can see that his team is very confident in front of him and he can see through screens very well. In saying all of this, I rarely see him out of position."

Landon Ferraro

Detroit’s first overall pick (32nd overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, is the son of former NHL forward Ray Ferraro. The elder Ferraro is currently working for TSN as a game analyst and studio analyst. During his playing career he played over 1,200 games, while playing for five different clubs. He was the captain of the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2001-02 season.

According to NHL Central Scouting’s Blair MacDonald, “Landon Ferraro is very good defensively. He has very good defensive positioning; he's always on the right side of the puck. If there's a turnover he's in good position right away. And he comes back deep in his own zone to help. He's very strong defensively, as well as being an offensive threat."

Landon Ferraro has spent the last two seasons with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels and most likely will be heading back for this up-coming season.

Recap of 2008-09

The Red Wings were first in the Central Division for the seventh-straight season, despite a strong season by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Wings' finished second in the Western Conference with a record of 51-21-10, good for 112 points. They were third overall in the NHL finishing five points behind the President’s Trophy winners, the San Jose Sharks.

The Red Wings' offense was lead by Pavel Datsyuk (97 points) and Marian Hossa (40 goals). The Wings had four players reach the 30-goal plateau and 11 players had double-digit goals. The Red Wings as a team ranked first in goals for (289 goals) but were 20th in goals against (240 goals).

The Red Wings' power play ranked first in the NHL, clicking on only 25.5 percent of their chances, but they were 25th in killing penalties (78.3 percent).

Outlook for 2009-10

Even with the loss of key players such as: Kopecky, Hossa, Samuelsson, and probably Hudler, the Wings are losing 88 goals and 187 points, but as is the custom in Detroit, with increased opportunity comes increased production. They will be looking for contributions from Leino, Bertuzzi, Ericsson, and Williams. They may not score as many goals but they should be better defensively. 

The only thing that may stand in the way of their eight-straight division title is the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Considering the Red Wings may have as many as 11 players in Vancouver and have played late into the last two seasons. Compound that with the emergence of the Blues, Blue Jackets, and Blackhawks as serious playoff contenders and would love nothing more than to end Detroit’s dominance at the top. 

In the last two seasons, when the Olympics have occurred, the Red Wings have won the division. Both events have seen key leaders with the Wings play in the Gold Medal games (Yzerman and Chelios in 2002 and Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Kronwall, Samuelsson and Zetterberg in 2006) and 2010 may be no different.

Like I said at the beginning of the article, "To be the man, you have to beat the man" and until some other team can take the Wings down, I believe it is safe to say, the Red Wings will win the Central Division again and this year gain the top seed in the Western Conference.

On Aug. 24, I will be reviewing Edmonton Oilers as I continue to preview each of the 30 NHL clubs. Look for my four-part article on how I would improve the NHL and my other previously published articles on bleacherreport.com.