08-09 Stanley Cup: Rematch?

There is no doubt that this year's Stanley Cup was a great show, but what about next year? Are the Wings and Pens about to dance again?

The off season, this year, has been a wild and bumpy road. Both Pens and Wings had an interesting one.

The Pens lost Hossa and the Wings picked him up. Not only did they pick up Hossa they picked him up for .45 million more then what the Pens offered. This has the Pens seeing red and might see the two teams battling for the Cup again.

The Pens have a completely new team this year. The signing of Satan and Fedotenko puts the Pens in a pretty good spot. This covers the loss of Malone and most of Hossa's points. Any player matched with Crosby or Malkin is going to turn up the points.

The addition of Cooke is a huge improvement over bruiser Ruutu, and Godard covers any fight that Laraque put in.

That leaves the Pens a few points lost over Hossa moving. However, Pens have a card up their sleeves. Last year the Penguins were plagued with inexperience. The captain was at 20 and the point leader at 21. This year the experience will kick in a bit. The players all know what to expect and how to handle a championship series.

The possible switch of putting Jordan Staal, who has been compared to Mark Messier in the early stages, on the line of Malkin who fetches 110+ points a season could kick the goals into hyper-drive.

(Staal is only 19)

Everyone knows how stacked the Red Wings offense is and Hossa being added among them will be incredible. Zetterberg's playoff performances amazed everyone, and he looks stronger then ever. Hossa also adds playoff talent. With Hossa and Datsyuk or even Filppula, the Red Wings could have the best offensive season they have ever seen.

The possibilities of a rematch are very strong and the road the cup looks like an amazing one. This season promises to be an exciting one.