Detroit Red Wings
Is located in Detroit,Michigan and the home matches are played at Joe Louis Arena with a capacity of 20,066 seats.The team manager is Ken Holland and the coach is Mike Babcock.The second team which play in AHL is Grand Rapids Griffins, from where in every year Ken Holland manager promote some young talented players.In their history, Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for 11 times.Detroit Red Wings was founded in 1926 with Detroit Cougars name.In 1930 they changed the name in Detroit Falcons until 1932 when the team changed the name in Detroit Red Wings.The best players were 1-Terry Sawchuk, 7-Ted Lindsay, 9-Gordie Howe, 10-Alex Delvecchio, 12-Sid Abel, 19-Steve Yzerman. These numbers are retired from their jerseys.
The complete list of the 2008/2009 season players:
-Goalies: Chris Osgood, Ty Conklin
-Defensemen: Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Andreas Lilja, Chris Chelios, Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Brett Lebda, Derek Meech
-Left Wings: Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Daniel Cleary, Kirk Maltby
-Centers: Pavel Datsyuk, Valtteri Filppula, Kris Draper, Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm, Tomas Kopecky
-Right Wings: Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen, Mikael Samuelsson, Darren McCarty
The Wings are carrying too many NHL defenseman contracts and they are over the salary cap. Someone will be traded to fix the cap situation. Here are there current roster dmen.
Lidstrom
Rafalski
Kronwall
Stuart
Lilja*
Chelios
Lebda*
Meech*
Quincey*
Ericsson (AHL)
Ericsson is ready to be in the NHL, but can be sent to the AHL without waivers, so he will be in the AHL. They will likely carry 8 dmen, so 1 of Lilja, Lebda, Meech, and Quincey needs to be moved to get under the limits (roster and cap). Quincey seems the lowest on the depth chart, but he is a rare "defensive Dman" in the Wings system. Perhaps Kolosau showed enough in camp to make Quincey expendable? Meech, Lebda, and Pyett are all mirror images. Lebda is probably the most tradeable, and with guys like Meech, Pyett, Ericsson, and Kindl in the background, its probably not a bad move. Lilja is likely tradeable, but I think he has his niche with this organization.
At Forward, there are some other interesting battles being fought. McCarty and Downey each signed "2-way" contracts, but the team will likely keep one "enforcer" with the big club. That means a guy like Kopecky makes the team and Leino and Helm go back to GR. Helm earned his spot with the Wings in the post-season, but a roster squeeze might force him out, which is fine. He'll get his shot next season.
When Babcock came on, he really wanted Filppula on the team, but the roster wouldn't allow it. Eventually, someone got hurt and Flip came up. He never went back to GR. The end game, guys like Ellis or Norton get lost. Helm will likely get called up for good during the season, and a guy like McCarty or Downey or Meech will be lost. So be it. I could see where 2 dmen (Lebda and Quincey?) get traded for draft-picks just to get Helm a permanent spot.
I decided its time for my annual pre-season rumblings on the lineup.
Forwards:
Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Hossa: Whats not to like? You sick Holmstrom on the goalie, have Datsyuk feed Hossa a great pass, and Hossa pound the puck into the back of the net. I fully expect Datsyuk to find similar chemistry with Hossa that he had with Zetterberg, since he plays a very similar style. He's strong on the puck, smart in the perimeter, but knows when its time to head strong for the net. He may not be as good on the back check as Pavel and Hank, but he's still one of the best two-way players in the league. This will probably be one of the PP units as well, with either Raffi and Lids quarterbacking, or Sammy and Kronner.
Franzen-Zetterberg-Hudler: Its great to see Hudler projected by Babcock to be on the 2nd line. Babs has never really had a lot of confidence in him, but it seems he earned it during the playoffs. Franzen can play a similar role as Holmstrom, but is more versatile. He is a better skater, better defensively, and has better hands. Hopefully he keeps up his torrid pace of the end of last season and the playoffs. Zetterberg and Hudler should do a fine job of getting pucks to the net for Franzen to put in.
Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson: In a way, I'm surprised that Filppula isn't on the 2nd line, but there is limited space in the top 6. This is really a 2nd line on most teams, I think, but serves well as a checking line regardless. All three are responsible defensively, and Sammy is far more versatile than most will give him credit for. He's easy worth the 1.2mill he's being paid; he has a good shot and back checks well. Cleary and Filppula are also good defensively, but bring different dimensions offensively. Cleary is a grinder, getting in the corners and popping in loose puck around the net, where Filppula is more of a finesse player. He needs to work on his finishing ability, which should come with time. Overall, its a good defensive line that should provide solid secondary scoring.
Maltby-Draper-Kopecky: This is a true grind line. I'd like to see Maltby replaced with Helm, since I think Helm adds a dimension of speed that Maltby has lost over the last couple of seasons, but that won't happen. Draper is still one of the best faceoff men in the league, and is effective defensively. Both he and Maltby are prone to taking penalties, as they seem to be having trouble adjusting to the new NHL. Kopecky should do well, hopefully he recovers well from his knee injury. He seems to be doing well in the preseason, being very physical, so thats a good sign. This line is more than reliable for 10 minutes a game.
Defense:
Lidstrom-Rafalski: I'll hand it to Babcock, he knew what he was doing by pairing these two together last season. I thought it would be overkill, but they are a dominant duo, especially on the PP. Raffi is still prone to being knocked off the puck easily, but he really seemed to adjust well the the Wings system last year, and I expect him to do better this season. I expect Lidstrom to have another great season, but I do expect him to see less icetime, since Kronwall and Stuart are more than capable of handling their own. I don't see Nick winning another Norris this year, but he still should be the cornerstone of the team.
Kronwall-Stuart: A great physical duo, who play well together and seem to be able to know what the other is going to do. Both are capable of backing the other up if they pinch at the wrong time, and both are capable of producing offensively. Kronwall made huge steps during last season and the playoffs, but still needs to find a way to stay healthy. Hopefully Stuart fits in as well as he did during the playoffs. I think he will do well on Detroit, where he won't face as much pressure as he did in Los Angeles. That said, both are capable of eating up minutes if called upon.
Lilja-Lebda: Should be a solid final pairing, providing a mixture of physicality from Lilja, and speed from Lebda. Lebda has hands of stone to match the rocks in Lilja's head, but both serve well in limited situations. Lilja is a solid PKer, and Babcock is rather fond of him. Somewhere though, Detroit needs to cut a d-man. My bet is on it being either Quincey or Meech, with Ericsson sent to the AHL and Chelios serving as a spare. Losing Lebda wouldn't really bother me either.
Goaltenders:
Osgood: Osgood is Osgood. Perfect for the Wings system, not getting cold in situations where he isn't getting many shots and always staying aware. He has changed his game quite a bit over the last couple seasons, and seems much more confident in himself. He should continue to perform well, but will always be underrated. I'm not sure if he can handle 60 games, but I guess we'll find out.
Conklin: A solid backup. He should do well for the Wings in limited situations. I'd like to see Howard in his place, but that's not going to happen. Overall Our goaltending is clearly the weakest link. If Osgood gets injured, we're left with a tandem of Conklin and Howard. That is not exactly a settling situation. The defensive awareness of the team should do well to offset the weakness in net though, so I'm not terribly worried.
Overall, this is a team built to win. They aren't soft, as many are prone to claiming, they are solid defensively and offensively, and play the puck possession game to perfection. Will they repeat? I don't think so. It's such a hard thing to do, and I think that in the end our goaltending will be exposed. Regardless, it should be a great year.
Based on what I've seen at camp / Exhibition, I think he's out-played Downey and will be used more. So for fighting majors, he'll lead the team. For general minutes, I'll stick with Lilja (which explains why both got the Terrible Ted Award).
NHL Team Preview 2008-2009
NHL Team Preview 2008-2009
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