There’s no question that the Detroit Red Wings are better than your typical #5 seed in the Western Conference. They might not have been the best bet to win the West, but before the season started, they were the safe bet to make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 3rd year in a row. It’s just like boxing: Anything can happen in the ring, but it’s hard to bet against the champ.
Even though they struggled for the first 4 months of the season, the Wings turned it on down the stretch and showed NHL fans that they still were capable of playing at an elite level under pressure. As injured players rejoined the team one by one, the team steadily improved until they were a healthy, dominant team once again. Ken Holland could have related to Mark Twain when he said, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The Wings weren’t dead. The truth is they never were.
They’re wearing that same Winged Wheel that so many hockey fans have learned to hate, but this is NOT the same team that has played into June the last two seasons. In some ways, it’s a younger team with playoff experience. Those players with experience who are still around are a couple years older. And the depth throughout the roster isn’t what it once was either. No, this isn’t the same powerhouse team that causal observers are used to seeing.
People during the offseason knew that the Red Wings had taken a few hits to their roster. Maybe it’s because they’ve been hot for the last few weeks or maybe it’s because the changes from the offseason were so long ago—but that doesn’t change the fact that changes were made. Unfortunately for Wings fans and their organization, they weren’t changes for the better. And no matter what the organization will tell you now, they weren’t really changes that they WANTED to make.
Marian Hossa isn't walking through that door...
Arguably, the biggest name to change teams over the offseason was Marian Hossa, signing as a free agent with the Blackhawks. That would be former Red Wing Marian Hossa for those of you playing at home. I know that there’s a fair amount of resentment in Motown with how it all went down, but the fact remains that he’s a damn good player that they had last year—and don’t have this season. Ladies and gentleman, that’s what we call a void.
Hossa wasn’t the only guy the Red Wings wanted to re-sign, only to see sign as a free agent with another Western Conference contender. Mikael Samuelsson chose to head to the Pacific Northwest instead of extending his stay in Detroit. Jiri Hudler chose an entirely different continent to show his skills. Throw in Tomas Kopecky, and the Wings lost 3 of their younger forwards who had shown that they knew how to put the puck in the net. No team in the league would be able to continue without missing a beat after that—not even the mighty Red Wings.
Each and every one of the players lost via free agency was replaced by one of lesser caliber. Players like Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves are trying to fill the voids left by the recently departed. Nothing against these character guys—but neither comes close to Hossa, Samuelsson, or Hudler. The bodies may have been replaced on the roster, but the talent was not.
In the past, the Red Wings used to lean heavily on veterans—both as superstars and role players.
Wings fans are hanging their hat on the notion that they have a different caliber goaltender this season. The “Jimmy Howard For Calder” locomotive picked up a ton of steam towards the end of the season. But remember, last season Chris Osgood was quite possibly the best goaltender in the playoffs, and they still lost in 7 to the Penguins. Under the best possible scenario, Howard plays as well as Osgood did last season. Asking for a rookie to be better than a former Conn Smythe winner, while possible, might be asking for a bit too much.
Here’s the deal: When you take a step back and look at this team—they are NOT as good as they were last season. They don’t have the talent they had last season. They don’t have the depth they had last season. And the team that was aging then is a year older, had played a ton of hockey over the last 3 seasons, and had many players in the Olympics. Just like anyone else in the Stanley Cup playoffs, they have a chance to win the Cup. But don’t be surprised if they don’t. After all, last year’s team was better and they couldn’t—what makes you think this year will be any different.
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
