Anytime I write about the Detroit Red Wings I always feel that I need to issue some sort of apology or disclaimer. Consider the preceding sentence to be just that. After a surprising 2013 season the Red Wings have a ton to look forward to.
Given the fact that Detroit was bidding adieu, or the Swedish equivalent, to captain Nicklas Lidstrom, not much was expected from Hockeytown this year. The Wings whiffed on free agency and filled the Lidstrom hole with some also-rans and question marks. The strength of the team was expected to be the offense, but could they keep other teams off the scoreboard?
Well after coming within a game of eliminating the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit has to be licking their collective chops when they move to the Eastern Conference in the fall. The questionable defense finished fifth in the league, and the “Lidstrom stop-gaps” turned out to be Brendan Smith (24), Jakub Kindl (26) and Danny Dekeyser(23).
Those three young spark plugs will anchor the core of a suddenly strong Detroit defense for years to come in front of all star goaltender Jimmy Howard. The Wings’ netminder had his moments of brilliance this season, and stood on his head at times during the playoffs. Detroit was within a game and even an overtime goal from facing the defending champ Los Angeles Kings in the conference finals.
A season that began late and nearly ended with Detroit missing the playoffs for the first time in 22 years gave a ton of optimism to the Motown faithful. A solid nucleus and superstars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will head to the more travel-friendly Eastern Conference next season when the NHL realigns itself. So how do the Wings matchup against 14 teams that they haven’t seen since 2012?
The answer is the same if they stayed in the west. Detroit will be a top three team in either conference and will challenge for the division. With a good bit of turnover on the Boston Bruin’s roster, I dare say the Red Wings are the team to beat in their respective division (to be named later). The addition of Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss certainly helps the roster depth, but Detroit would be fine based on the youth coming up from the Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins.
With stud prospects across the board, Detroit’s greatest concern is letting their young players over ripen in the AHL. With prospects like Martin Frk, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Sproul, Riley Sheahan and Xavier Ouellet getting better by the second, there is no worry about the strength of the Red Wing’s roster.
Ken Holland appears to be done with his off-season shopping. With just over $3 million in cap space ($2 million deferred with Alfredsson’s incentives) his roster looks ready to contend in the east.
With a more travel friendly schedule based on the right coast, Detroit looks primed to be a player to represent the Eastern Conference a year from now in the Stanley Cup Final. Purists might miss the rivalry with Chicago and St. Louis in the old Norris Division days, but wouldn’t it be sweet to see Chicago defend its title against their old friends from Detroit? It doesn’t seem so far fetched with the strength of the 2013-14 Detroit Red Wings. No bias needed.