One of the underlying rationales for a professional sports league to utilize a salary cap is to promote parity across the teams. The theory behind this is that if one team achieves great success, the value of its key players will rise, and eventually that team will no longer be able to keep all of those players because of cap restrictions. On this logic, when a team like the Detroit Red Wings wins the Stanley Cup, one should expect that, come off-season free agency, the Wings would………keep their Cup winning team in tact AND go out and sign the best player on the market??!?!?
It makes no sense, but it’s exactly what happened when the Wings went out and signed sniper Marian Hossa to a one-year deal after decimating Hossa’s Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup final. It’s kind of like that scene in Jerry Maguire, when Tom Cruise has just been axed from his job at the Hollywood agency and his rival, Bob Sugar calls to tell him “Not only did we just fire you, but I’m now hj. Anyways…
Forwards:
There really isn’t much to be said here: the Wings have more offensive weapons than John McCain has houses. Hossa will join the best one-two punch in the league, Hank Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, to form an unrivalled top power-play unit. Coupled with the likes of emergent superstar Johan Franzen, Thomas “J-Lo has nothing on me” Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler, and Daniel Cleary, it is clear that the Wings have surpassed the Penguins for the honour of the NHL’s most feared group of forwards. Like the PGA Tour slogan says, These Guys Are Good.
Defense:
Anyone who watched the playoffs knows that Niklas Kronwall is the new Scott Stevens. Night after night, shift after shift, he would appear out of the corner of the screen and absolutely crush whatever opposing player was unlucky enough to be emerging from his zone with the puck. And oh yeah, that other Swedish defenseman of the same first name isn’t bad either. Brian Rafalski rounds out the trifecta of solid-as-can-be D-men, who, along with others including Brad Stuart, will allow the Wings’ offensive stars to concentrate on what they do best (although that arguably just might be back-checking!)
Goaltending:
Any discussion of a weakness between the pipes was put to rest by Chris Osgood’s performance this past season. As such, no discussion is required here. He Isgood.
Prediction:
Ceiling: 1st in Western Conference
Floor: 2nd in Western Conference
President’s Trophy and Stanley Cup champions.
